Giovanni Giorgi, from Pollenzo to Berlin’s Food Art week, now Marketer at Choco
©Andrés González Hidalgo
How was your passion for gastronomy born and what brought you to Pollenzo in 2014?
I think my passion for food was born out of wanting to prove to be a good cook. My parents used to get home late from work and preparing a good meal was a way to make a nice atmosphere after a stressful day, but also to challenge myself. I’d say the fact that food can save your day is the main aspect that made me develop a passion for it. Later in 2014, I started reading a few books about food and sustainability, such as “Good, clean, and fair” by Carlo Petrini, which helped me open my eyes on today’s world and radically change many of my habits.
Can you summarize your experiences that led you to the Master of Gastronomy: Creativity, Ecology and Education (evolved into its newest edition into Master in New Food Thinking)?
I signed up for this master’s program in 2018 for its first edition, right after the undergraduate program, mainly because I was into the topic of food connected to art. At first I wanted to become a gastronomic journalist, but during the masters I had the chance to discover new examples of careers that made me reconsider my path, for example, event management in the area of arts and culture, but also diplomacy and politics. I’d say that the main reason why I decided to keep studying was to gain as much inspiration as possible before starting my career, and I actually think it was a great choice.
©Jochen Peperoni. Plastic and Water project – Food Art Week in collaboration with BSR.
What values has this master given you that you bring in your everyday life and at work?
It gave me more elements to understand how to build a brand in the area of gastronomy and sustainability. Working in marketing at a food tech startup, the master gave me an advantage of having industry knowledge, it made me faster in finding new ideas and also more confident in managing projects, especially thanks to the group works and internship. In fact, I moved to Berlin in 2019 to help artist and activist Tainá Guedes with various initiatives, including the Food Art Week, an event focusing on environmental topics. During this time I had the chance to do many things, including logistics and marketing, or even a small art performance together with another student. At a personal level, all of this had a huge impact on me, especially because I learned how important it is for me to work in more than one specific area and do things that are out of my comfort zone.
What is it like to work in a food tech startup and what are the main problems you face?
My current job at Choco — an ordering app and software connecting foodservice operators with their suppliers — is exciting, especially because from the very beginning I had, once again, the chance to work at many different things, rather than focusing on one single function. Today our platform helps thousands of chefs, restaurant managers, and food vendors save time (and food) in their business operations so the most challenging aspect for me and my team at the moment is finding the right balance between growing our user-base while leveraging the existing community, but this continues giving us new opportunities at an international level.
What would you recommend to those who want to undertake a similar path?
To gain hard skills as much as they can and follow the example of a good industry-leader.
