Fabrizio Nonis
Every single door of the artistic and gastronomic jet set world is open for Fabrizio and his recognized fame in the field!
Fabrizio Nonis, thanks to his charisma and his love for meat, moved from his local butchery to the elite of wine and food journalism. He came to perfection with his art of choosing and cutting only the best pieces of meat in such a perfect way to win the title of "saber fencer” – having even a further step and becoming a "foil fencer” of his art! In spite of this success and the countless awards received both in Italy and abroad for his revaluation of craft butchers, Fabrizio still considers himself as a son of his country and of his region, strongly close to Eastern Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia – at the same time, he claims his strong cosmopolitan nature and marked communicative abilities.
Tradition and innovation are the perfect couple for Fabrizio, and represent the real secret of his success: "I grew up both in Canada and in Cinto Caomaggiore – Fabrizio says – I learnt a lot about this amazing craft helping my father during the summer, realizing that he treasured mainly his professional experience as migrant in Canada. Papà Celso (my father Celso) wanted me to have an adequate education and, after the high school, sent me back to Toronto, where I got a Master’s Degree in Corporate Public Relations. Back to Italy, I used to work as Manager for a large international company and then, when it was necessary to take over my father’s business, I decided to devote myself to revive our historic butchery.” Fabrizio meant business since the beginning and with few devices and an efficient marketing strategy, renovated the image of the butchery – from a village shop to a meat boutique. That was not a mere restyling, it implied an evolution of the concept of eating well. "I went on studying everything it is possible to know about meat, and then I tried to propose high quality products while holding the prices in order not to upset our usual customers.
In addition to the idea of the simple butchery, in fact, I soon got involved into the world of gastronomy, an evolution that allowed me to develop my creativity without forgetting the use of first class products. My vocation in choosing excellence in products and my creativity in offering them allowed me to be chosen as Professor into the Università dei Sapori in Perugia.” Since then, an escalation of opportunities brought Fabrizio about being a journalist, with the same target ever: let people know the art of eating and drinking well. Then, the collaborations, the articles and the reports for the most important food and wine magazines and for national broadcasting channels – TG5-GUSTO on Canale5; Alice, Marco Polo, Gambero Rosso on SKY; Italia7 Gold and last but not least Rai Uno Mattina.
Fabrizio is particularly proud of his creature "Sconfinando" – a television format in which he deals also with tourism. He is often committed in promoting the international and national delicacies and most beautiful spots. "I would like to diffuse the love for my land, for its typical products: in order to do this you have to know how to effectively use the communication channels we can have. It took me a lot of time, commitment, sacrifice and money to arrive exactly where I am – things that most of young people do no longer want to do. My suggestion for them is to look not only at their possible income, but first of all to passionately be engaged with their work. Being a butcher/gourmet is not only a matter of work: you have to feel the idea of being a butcher/gourmet – an craftsman which is not afraid of risks, of counter trending the market logics typical of the mass distribution. It is necessary to recover the genuine contact with the clients, to advice them with competence and courtesy, in order to have them loyalized. It is then necessary for everyone involved to have empathy and to undergo a continuous training – as well as being in love with their work.
by Michela Bozzato
Fabrizio Nonis was born in Toronto on May 9th, 1963, under the sign of Taurus, the Bull (could it have been any other animal?).
Following in his forbearers footsteps - his father was a butcher, his grandfather a grocer - Fabrizio completed his studies in Italy and then returned to Canada for a Master in Business Public Relations. After a few years of experience as a manager in companies, at the end of the 1980s Fabrizio returned to his great passion, which had accompanied him since his childhood: working in a butchery.
The search for quality, the creativity and the relationship with the customer have always been the aspects of the trade which he is passionate about and leading him to become a Professore at the Università dei Sapori in Perugia.
Since 2001, he has combined his work in the butcher shop in Cinto Caomaggiore (VE) with journalism activities for local stations. He currently collaborates with TG5 Gusto, Sky, Alice, Gambero Rosso and Italia 7. Finally, he is the host of the television format "Sconfinando", where he deals with food and wine tourism.
To find out more about Fabrizio Nonis and his work, visit the website www.bottegadellacarne.it.
The journalist Paolo Marchi writes:
Fabrizio Nonis, butcher and journalist, falls into that category of people who can be classified as "forces of nature", people without rest, who think and act even when they sleep (but…do they sleep?). They seem to never take a day off - it's from work and commitment that they get their real reason to be and to fulfill themselves. Imagine a rock in the desert. Well, Fabrizio is exactly its opposite, a spokesman not for himself but for the passion of his life: meat.
Anyone who lives and works without experiencing true emotions, whose goal is just to punch the time-clock and to pick up a pay check at the end of the month: these people are the anti-Nonis. Fabrizio is never satisfied. He has got a great shop, why in the world would he want to be on television? For notoriety? Sure, you bet. Being famous, being recognized by the bartender and at the newsstand makes anyone happy. But in his case, there's another reason for it. That of good meat.
Nonis gives it all he's got, and he has also managed to find time to write this book. You could not in fact be able to learn enough about good things: large-scale food industry might care about the health of their clients, but they cannot look after details, nor pursue the usual host of Nonis’ counters: absolute quality.
And it is no longer enough to sell great cuts. Who can recognize them anymore? Just a few. That is why you have to go beyond grumbling - to teach what you mean talking about white meat and red meat, what this or that cut is, what principles and delicacies can be found in that cut of meat or in those entrails - which may not look so great, but always are such a delicacy... And the Nonis family is especially suited to teach this, because in addition to the words that any marketing genius could come up with, they know how to add a real example, made of filets and kidneys, roasts and ribs, hams and salami. Meat is great, and unfortunately there isn't that much of it. But if lots of people would get to know it well and demand that to be first quality, major dealers would be forced to raise their quality. And even if someone like Fabrizio would always be a step ahead, he perhaps would not be the only one fighting, and meat-eaters everywhere would be happier, with so many more delicacies to choose from.
