Gary Mehigan, a renowned judge from MasterChef Australia, food critic, chef and entrepreneur, visited AROMA during his travel in Italy. AROMA is a specialty coffee shop in Bologna created by Cristina Caroli, one of the leading figures of the coffee community thanks to the institutional roles held in Sca Italy, and Alessandro Galtieri, Italian Brewers Cup Champion in 2018 and in 2019.
Gary Mehigan, as a true home barista and coffee enthusiast, shared his personal relationship with coffee and how he chooses high-quality coffee for his restaurants. In order to know more about Gary Mehigan passion for coffee in detail, here is the article written by Cristina Caroli herself.
Gary Mehigan at AROMA in Italy
by Cristina Caroli
BOLOGNA, Italy – “Today, we had a special guest visit us – Gary Mehigan, a renowned judge from MasterChef Australia. He was in Italy working on a new television show on our country’s culinary excellence.
Gary is a well-known television personality, food critic, chef, and restaurant entrepreneur. Despite being a star, he showed us authentic sympathy and empathy, with a passion for experimenting and understanding without preconceptions.
During his visit at AROMA in Bologna, we talked about consumption habits in Italy and how we offer a real list of coffees to choose from; we then concluded with some of the most successful artisanal coffee-based delicacies. As a true home barista and coffee enthusiast, he shared his personal relationship with coffee and how he chooses high-quality coffee for his restaurants, which he has been loyal to for decades. He believes coffee is an essential part of the overall food experience and should be selected with the same care as other ingredients.”
Gary also emphasized the importance of quality, consistency, and customer loyalty in the competitive market of coffee shops and restaurants. He believes, and we can’t agree more, that professionals should prioritize these elements to create a valuable experience for customers.
“This message is especially important in a market such as the Italian, where the propensity to spend on a cup of coffee needs to be increased.
Interestingly, in Australia, a land with countless coffee and milk-based drink fans, Italy is still seen as the centre of an iconic relationship with coffee. However, we must not take this privileged position for granted. The culture of coffee, its origins, and processes are more widespread abroad, and in Italy, we need to push the culture of the product to avoid falling behind or being trivialised in a market that evolves globally.
In the world of haute cuisine, coffee can play a significant role in creating unique and innovative dishes. Chefs use coffee as a key ingredient to enhance the flavours and increase the overall value of their dishes. With its many distinct characteristics and qualities, coffee can inspire chefs to unleash their creativity and imagination.”
