01 /2013 © Caffè Moak S.p.A.

01/2013 © Caffè Moak S.p.A.
Dear readers,
The first 2013 The Sign Moak issue has been enriched with
a new graphical appearance and new contents. An additional sign of dynamism and change we could like to convey to
those who are part of the new Moak generation (moak generaction) like us.
Curiosity and research material, interviews and suggestions
about the world of coffee that hopefully accompany you to
a pleasant spring reading. The new section of Chef Carmelo Chiaramonte “Coffee and Surroundings” will guide you
through a discovery trip to new combinations with coffee,
starting with the sea as a first stop-over. The wish to stay in
the open air will reveal new outdoor trends in “The style of
furnishing” pages. Even this time, coffee will be protagonist
of the recipes of star chefs Sultano and Candiano. As always,
we will talk about the Moak projects, from the cultural ones,
such as the “Letterario and Corto Moak” competitions that
opened the curtains to the new announcement, to the ones
bound to design, like Ecoforme 2 and the new for[me]moak
Tin’s house display.
To finish with, we will tell you why and how passion for
fashion or sport is born: an interview with fashion designer
Marella Ferrera and President of the Italian Fencing Federation Giorgio Scarso, both worldwide ambassadors of made in
Italy excellences.
All accompanied by a selection of pieces of music we chose
for you and which will make your reading more pleasant.
Wishing everyone a new and wonderful season.
The President
Giovanni Spadola
Marella Ferrera celebrates twenty years of activity - interview at page 24
01/2013 © Caffè Moak S.p.A.
On the cover:
“point of views” of the Tin’s house project
www.caffemoak.com
Posta target Magazine – Fees paid – DCB Central/PT Magazine
Subscript. R.O.C. nr. 23325 – valid from 18/03/2013 - Aut. Court. Modica
nr.218/2013 - News nr.1/2013
Responsible Director: Rosaria di Pietro
Editing: Annalisa Spadola, Sara Di Pietro,
Gianni Monciino, Corrado Barone, Alessia Melilli.
Pictures: Paolo Pluchino and for[me]moak.
Graphic Coordination: for[me]moak
Art work: for[me]moak
Translations: Luisa Pacifico
Publisher: Moak Holding S.p.A.
Viale delle Industrie s.n. – 97015 Modica (RG))
tel.0932-904755
www.caffemoak.com, e-mail: [email protected]
Company with certified quality system by ISO 9001/14001
Exclusive printing for Moak Holding S.p.A. in Soverai Mannelli (CZ)
According to the article 7 of the law nr. 196/03 the addressee can have
access to his data, ask for changes or cancellation
or object writing to: Moak Holding S.p.A. Viale delle Industrie s.n. – 97015 Modica (RG) - Italy
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Caffè Letterario and Corto Moak
2013 Announcement about to start
Caffè Moak achieves the kosher certification
All crazy for cake design.
Interviewing Beatrice Petroni.
Finocchiaro Factory.
From candy factory to Literary Café.
Star chefs Sultano and Candiano
Interpret Caffè Moak
5 “M’s” of coffee.
“M” like Manutenzione (Maintenance)
Tin’s house.
The display for coffee tins
Coffee to read
Coffee and health
Coffee prevents diabetes
Industrial design
Ecoforme 2 started
Marella Ferrera, The fashion designer
celebrates twenty years of activity with “That’s Sicily”
Coffee and surroundings
The style of furnishing.
Outdoor
Moak at Dubai’s Gulfood
Fencing, sport, therapy and life style
[ the sign moak ]
03
Caffè Letterario
and Corto Moak.
The 2013 announcement
about to start.
by Sara Di Pietro
C
offee is again protagonist of stories and movies.
The 2013 announcement of the two competitions, literary and short film, promoted by Caffè
Moak in cooperation with Archinet, is already open. The
topic is obviously always bound to the world of coffee,
including a purely literal meaning as well as the sense
of meeting place or ritual to be honoured. Arrived at its
12th edition, Caffè Letterario Moak wanted to pay homage to the memory of Albert Camus, French writer and
Noble Price in Literature, in correspondence with his
centenary birth anniversary. You can compete by sending an unreleased short story with a minimum of 5 and a
maximum of 20 pages to the following address: [email protected].
On the other hand, the communication of Caffè Corto
Moak, international short-film competition arrived at its
8th edition, is dominated by E.T., the extra-terrestrial
invented by American director Steven Spielberg in his
sci-fi movie dated 1982. A homage to one of the most
mentioned and honoured characters in the film history of
the last thirty years.
The free contest is addressed to all fiction, documentation, animation and video art short-film authors that
refer to coffee in its wider sense: plant, coffee bean,
beverage, rite, mania, obsession, meeting place, need.
The 2013 announcement includes some news that
will make sending methods of the material easier. The
short-films have to be made after January 1st, 2011
and besides being sent via mail, they can also be sent
through “wetransfer” at moak.wetransfer.com, a multimedia platform that allows sending works easily and
quickly. One can only take part with a single shortfilm, made in any language including dialects, with
maximal length of 15 minutes.
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Instead, the names of the panel of judges of the two
contests, who will have the difficult task to select the
finalists competing for the winning award of the 2013
edition, are still unknown. One thing is certain: even
this year, choice will be among well-known names
of the world of Italian literature and cinema. Caffè
Letterario and Corto Moak winners will be revealed
during the price-giving evening held as always in the
new Moak office district on October 5th, where coffee and its scent will be frame of the event.
Therefore, young authors and those passionate about
writing can take paper and ink as well as films, in
order to give life to a story or a short-film. It does not
matter if it is an invented or autobiographical story;
the important thing is that they have that specific
scent of coffee. Deadline of the two announcements
is June 10th, 2013.
Caffè Letterario and Corto Moak, born from the company’s passion and will to spread culture and knowledge, are expecting many young emergent talents and
successful artists to take part; ambitious and not, but
who will anyway have the chance to stand out in the
national panorama of cinema and literature.
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more information on
www.caffe-letterario.it
www.caffe-corto.com.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: The Coffee Song - Frank Sinatra
Caffè Moak achieves the kosher certification
by Alessia Melilli
A
fter the certifications
of organic and fair
trade coffee, Moak
also achieves the kosher certification. In Hebrew, the term
kosher (or kasher) means
“suitable”, or better, in accordance with the particular
Jewish food laws deriving
from the Torah (Jewish Bible). Indeed, the testament forbids boiling “a kid goat in its
mother’s milk”. A rule that imposes rabbinic tradition not
to cook different types of meat or milk (or derivatives) together, except for fish. For this reason, Jewish persons use
two different plate and tableware sets, two separate compartments in the refrigerator and two different sponges.
In the food industry, and therefore even in the roasting
sector, a product necessarily has to meet strict quality
rules, including production and packaging methods, in
order to be awarded with the Kosher certification. Moak
very well complied with these rules when the Rabbi, su-
pervisor of the Milanese delegation of the Italian Kosher
Union, visited the company.
A further quality seal Moak chose to obtain, improving
its quality in accordance with the environment and the
end-consumers.
However, buying a kosher certified product is not only
bound to a religious tendency. Indeed, many market
surveys showed that it is often the vegetarian or lactose
intolerant consumer that buys kosher food.
However, the highest percentage is given by an ethical
and healthy choice, given that kosher branded products
are symbol of food safety, because they are guaranteed by
control as of quality and origin of the raw materials.
In Italy, the demand for kosher products is experiencing a
continuous growth, while it has become a nearly mandatory brand in the United States, in order to be included in
the large-scale retail trade.
That’s why this certification represents an important
opportunity to expand the market share for the export
of Italian food companies – above all in the US, Israel
and Europe.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Hava Nagila - John Murphy
[ the sign moak ]
07
All crazy for cake design.
Interviewing Beatrice Petroni.
by Sara Di Pietro
I
n the Renaissance, it was considered a luxury reserved to
aristocratic people. Today, it has nearly become a mania,
where you not only need to be a good confectioner, but
also very patient and highly creative, and have a good manual
skill. It’s the Cake Design or Sugar Art, the art of decorating
cakes, muffins and cupcakes, using sugar pastry as main base.
With all due respect to the traditional confectionary products,
more and more confectioners nowadays offer cake designs,
catching the clientele’s attention with real artworks. A success
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highlighted by the web, where English sites started to suggest
cakes and pastries to be decorated for every occasion, catching not only the attention of those being into it, but also housewives and those passionate about pastries and design. Beatrice
Petroni, cake designer, but also mother and housewife, knows
it well. Neapolitan by birth, she lives in Cagliari, where she
discovered her passion for Sugar Art at the age of thirteen. She
already published a book entitled “Cake design” printed by
Rizzoli, and organizes modelling courses all over Italy.
Where does your passion for cake design come from?
Five years ago, I was searching for some inspiration
on the web, while trying to make a homemade cake for
Mother’s Day and I chanced upon an English website
where wonderful decorated cakes were published; at that
moment, Cupid shot his arrow.
How much did your artistic studies affect your profession?
Very much. There is no point denying that this type of art
goes hand in hand with expert manual skill.
Do you necessarily have to be a confectioner, in order to
become a cake designer?
In my opinion, the two roles can coexist. Cake design is
a kind of art that started in the UK and is above all based
on the cake’s aesthetic beauty, its decoration to be more
precise. In addition to that, being also a confectioner is an
enrichment, but few pastry-making basics and much manual decorative practice is enough to be a cake designer.
and levels on the internet. I personally teach modelling, a
technique that helps making any kinds of characters, from
animals to human beings and cartoons. A field that is highly sought-after, above all with reference to making cakes,
where the design of different characters is essential.
Easter Tutorial by Beatrice Petroni
Ingredients:
- Sugar pastry: white, brown, beige, yellow, lilac, orange,
green, pale blue
- Powdered food colouring: pink, pale blue
- Muffins
Cake design is having great success in Italy, above all
among young people. What kind of working opportunities
does it offer and how do you become a cake designer?
In Italy, cake designers are currently not legally acknowledged as a profession. Indeed, sometimes you identify
yourself as a cake designer too easily, without considering
one’s real skills, without a personal style and probably only
because you made some cake. There would be working
opportunities, if only the laws would be simplified. Unfortunately, the current regulations not providing financings,
but only long bureaucracy to open a workshop, dishearten
many young people to open new businesses.
Instead, for a confectioner, can it be an innovative decoration technique and an additional opportunity to enhance the product’s offer?
Sugar Art currently is a very sought-after decoration type.
For those who are not very into decoration, I would suggest
to attend courses. You can enhance the product’s offer only
by learning techniques, above all the manual skills. Even
confectioners attended my modelling courses, who found the
updates about different cake design techniques very useful.
How do you attend the courses and, above all, do you
need a good technical skill as a base?
You need to have a good manual skill as a base, in order
to reach a good technical and artistic skill. I obviously
speak about those people, who attend advanced or master
courses, in order to get specialized. However, there also
are basic courses, mainly addressed to those who approach
Sugar Art for the first time, in order to learn something and
have fun. Joining is easy: there is a wide range of sections
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Sugar - Billie Holiday
[ the sign moak ]
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Finocchiaro Factory.
From candy factory to Literary Café.
by the editorial staff
I
n Corso Italia 199, in Giarre, in the Etnean province, the first Sicilian candy factory was born in
1914. Founder was Santo Finocchiaro, who together with his wife, coming back from Argentina, decided to start his own business and to launch a business
of homemade candy, sugared almonds and sugared
peanuts. He invented cigarette-shaped candy, for
which he soon received important awards, such as the
gold medal at the International Trade show in Milan
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and in Tripoli. Famous people like writer Di Maggio
and the historian Giarizzo were among his customers.
In 1935, the passion for confectionary art also involved his son Giovanni; and in 1960, thanks to his
entrepreneurial leadership, the small factory turned
into a real confectionary industry, called Dolfin, and
entered the large-scale retail trade. The family tradition continues with Gaetano Finocchiaro and his wife
Katia, who keep the premises of Corso Italia alive
to the memory of the founder. In 2006, the factory
is converted into a Literary Café, acknowledged as
Italian Historical Shop and suggested by Gambero
Rosso. A place where you can taste confectioneries,
chocolate and pralines of more than forty types,
accompanied by a selection of coffees and teas. The
coffee shop also becomes salon where to read a book
or play draughts, where the frescoes and liberty style
arches often act as frame for photography shows and
cultural events.
For those who love to stay outside, the lounge gives
access onto a nice garden with flowered terrace,
where the old steam coffee machine or the old candy molds can be found next to wrought-iron tables.
Items and minutia representing history, timeless passion. Unforgettable memories in memory of Gaetano
Finocchiaro, who used to run along those rooms as a
child, pleasing his childhood with candy and sweets;
every child’s dream. A dream that still keeps on reviving as master chocolatier. Hence the idea to
organize Choco-lessons, involving children and
young students that could learn how to create a
chocolate egg or fruit candy and afterwards be
awarded with sweet rolls and hot chocolate in the
winter and cold one in the summer. The Finocchiaro Factory also hosts events, parties and choco
happy-hours, dedicating even space to beauty, proposing wellness lines as well as chocolate fragrance
oils. The café celebrates its 99th birthday this year.
“We wanted to give higher value to the year preceding the centenary. – explains Gaetano Finocchiaro.
– For this occasion, we will present a special stamp
cancellation in cooperation with Poste Italiane, as
well as a product line branded 99”.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Non voglio cioccolata - Mina
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Star chefs Sultano and Candiano
interpret Caffè Moak
by Sara Di Pietro
T
he Ristorante Duomo is set in via Capitano Bocchieri number 31, in the wonderful frame of Ragusa Ibla, few steps from the sumptuous St. George’s
dome. A place where tar did not touch the cobblestone,
where scents of yore and the striking baroque landscapes
intersect, without disturbing, with a modern and innovative cuisine, which is at the same time respectful of the
history of men and their land. A visceral bond with
“a variation”, as Franco Sultano, called “Ciccio” names
it; chef and author of the dishes he defines it “construction of historical memory, where to identify weak points
of the tradition and turn these in actual and modern ones
through technical elaboration”. A philosophy Michelin
awards with two stars.
“Buttoned” Sicilian lamb”, in Arab stuffing crust, coffee
sauce and cardamom and Moak coffee powder
Ingredients for 4 people: 1 boned leg of lamb, 50 g Ragusano PDO cheese, 4 garlic slices (previously left for 24 hours
in milk), 10 blanched parsley leaves, salt, black pepper, extra
virgin olive oil, poached garlic, rosemary, and kitchen cord.
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For the chops: 1 loin of clean and stripped lamb, a potato of 100 g, 50g fresh bread crumbs, 2 g minced ginger,
10 chopped almonds, 10 chopped pistachios, 10 g raisins
and 10 g chopped pine nuts, extra virgin olive oil in the
right amount, juice and peel of half a lemon.
For the sauce: 150 g lamb demi-glace and 1 Moak
espresso.
For the powder: 10 g ground Moak coffee, 5 g ground
cardamom seeds (mix the two powders).
Preparation: Cut 4 regular slices from the leg, add parsley, cheese in matchsticks, a garlic slice, salt and pepper
and close them by wrapping them like a roll; then tie
them with the cord and let them cicatrize in a pan with
hot oil, poached garlic and rosemary; put to the side.
For the chops: mix all the ingredients, till a compact
mixture is formed; then cover the loin with it, by forming
a 1 cm crust; cicatrize in a non-stick pan with hot oil and
put to the side.
Completion of the dish: bake the lamb at 210 degrees
for about 9/12 minutes, the roll for about 8 minutes and
the loin for 4 minutes. Arrange on a plate and serve.
R
istorante Locanda Don Serafino
Within the scenario of Ragusa Ibla, heart of
the Sicilian south-east baroque, there is another starred restaurant. The new location of Ristorante
Locanda Don Serafino, run by Antonio and Giuseppe
La Rosa, is situated in the old storehouses next to the
Chiesa dei Miracoli, a UNESCO monument. The perfectly restored rooms nestled in the rock host alternatively wine-bar and Cigar List services. With more than
1400 labels, the wine cellar numbers among the most
important ones of Sicilian restaurants. However, real
protagonist is the kitchen of Chef Vincenzo Candiano,
who has been awarded with a Michelin star. The dishes
are presented in a refined and elegant way, following the
seasons’ influences, with special care for the local area
and its abundances.
Ice-cream truffle with Moak Coffee, with chocolate glaze,
buffalo yoghurt mousse and lemon sauce.
Ingredients for 10 people: for the ice-cream: 250 g fresh
whole milk, 200 g fresh cream, 2 yolks, 150 g sugar, 160
g coffee beans, a cup of Moak espresso. For the lemon
sauce: 500 g cold water, 3 lemons, 50 g sugar, 5 g carob
seed flour. For the chocolate glaze: 40 g chocolate, 120 g
fresh cream, 160 g water, 180 g sugar, 50 g unsweetened
cocoa powder, 12 g gelatine leaves. For the buffalo yo-
ghurt mousse: 250 g natural buffalo yoghurt, 50 g fresh
cream, 15 g icing sugar.
Preparation: for the ice-cream cook milk and cream
together with the coffee beans at 80° C, remove from
the heat and leave in the fridge for a night. Add espresso
and sugar and bring it to the boil, leave it to cool for 5
minutes, then add yolks and leave it to cool, filter it and
pour into an ice-cream freezer to cook until creamy; fill
the small moulds and freeze.
For the glaze, bring cream, sugar, water and cocoa to
the boil at 103° C, remove from the heat and melt gelatine and chocolate. Mix everything and put in the fridge.
Grate the lemon peel on a clean dishcloth, then bundle
it, dip it into the water, transferring the whole lemon
essence. Mix the carob see flour with the sugar and pour
into the lemon water, bring to the boil and cook for
another 2 minutes. Leave to cool in the fridge. Mix the
cream with sugar and yoghurt, filter and pour into the siphon, charge with gas and keep in the fridge until used.
Completion of the dish: cover the coffee ice-cream
pie with chocolate glaze, leave to cool in the freezer for
about 5 minutes. Put the ice-cream truffle onto a dish,
pour some lemon sauce drops, dispense the mousse next
to the truffle with help of the siphon, and decorate with
coffee and cocoa powder, strawberry cubes and coffee
isomalt caramel.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Catfish Blues - Jimi Hendrix
[ the sign moak ]
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The 5 “M’s”. M like maintenance
by Gianni Monciino
“M
aintenance activities don’t pretend to change the world; their
aims are not easily expressible,
they don’t have the breathtaking charme of
activities that produce items, they are repeated
continuously and periodically; if they succeed
you can’t see their result”.
Pier Giorgio Pirotto, designer of the first personal
computer for Olivetti, stated it. His concept of maintenance is not only referred to IT, but expresses in
few lines the importance of our last 5 M-rule, in order
to make a perfect coffee: Maintenance.
Like in any manual to be respected, each rule has
to be followed, in order to reach a good final result.
Even for coffee it’s not only about choosing an excellent blend and a nice coffee machine. Few simple op-
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erations have to be observed, which make you avoid
wastes and damages at tools, besides guaranteeing
a good coffee, if done on a daily basis. That’s why
the barman’s role is essential. He’s the one that has
to carry out normal maintenance, including simple
interventions, such as daily cleaning of filters, filter
holders and coasters or shower screens. The latter
guarantee a perfect and uniform hot water supply
from the group. Specific detergents removing burnt
coffee grounds from continuous dispension (coffee
extraction) are usually used.
Special maintenance is as important, which in turn
requires a qualified technician.
Its role is not limited to intervening at the clients’ to
replace any broken or worn spare parts, but checking that heat or water balance is in harmony with
the used coffee blend after reparation. Moreover, the
operator has to regulate machine temperature not
only at installation, but periodically, given that the
percentage of humidity can change based on season
in the location. IT’s essential to evaluate the drinking water’s quality, verifying its hardness that can
vary based on different areas. Water contains different mineral salts, among which calcium and magnesium defining its hardness. Due to temperatures
arising within the boiler and heat exchangers, these
deteriorate causing deposits, circulation blocks and
consequent decrease of temperature transmission,
and considerably nullify the output in the cup. This
is why the technician has to be able to suggest the
use of a manual or automatic water softener and a
good cleaning of the resins. This treatment prevents
the break of the organoleptic substances of coffee,
avoiding that molecules form, which affect the
drink’s bodiness. It’s good to know that ideal water
hardness should be around 5 degrees.
A qualified technician carrying out good maintenance also has to foresee when it is necessary to replace the grinders and to clean the machine’s doser.
His role also includes giving the barman right information and providing useful tools and suggestions,
such as how to manage the space equipments are
surrounded by at best.
Our discovery trip towards the “five ems” came to an
end. We sum it up for you and invite you to observe
it. Only that way you will have a perfect espresso and
success with your clients.
The 5 “M’s”
M like miscela (blend)
M like macinadosatore (grinder doser)
M like macchina (coffee machine)
M like mano (hand)
M like manutenzione (maintenance)
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Mechanical Man - Bent Bolt & The Nuts
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Tin’s house. Moak introduces the display for coffee tins
C
onceiving an item that is not only bound to
its prime function, but has an adaptable and
infinitely flexible soul. That’s the Tin’s house
“genetic code”; the new 250 g tin display that has
been projected and designed by for[me]moak. Tin’s
house rises from the idea with the wish to create a
box that is suitable for different spaces, like a bar
counter or a shop window. The cardboard’s tones
kraft, red and black – bound to the Moak brand colours – create a pattern that is always different, an ever-growing texture within endless different surfaces.
The concept of this project rises by observing Lego
building blocks, which create an endless world through
a module and different colours. A single joint action
with different solutions: that’s the only method used
to build a tin house. A universal base including twenty holes that allows to wedge in both the horizontally
placed four-tin model and the crossed model holding
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the tin vertically, without using a drop of glue. A versatility of positioning and joints that communicate the
exposed product with strength and immediacy, increasing the brand’s visibility and proposing the different
blends being hosted in the tin’s house to the end-user.
The two displays can be alternated or repeated “x” times
based on defined space, so to be developed in height and
width, creating a strong visual impact.
The principle of stackability is the Tin’s house strong
point. And so is the chosen material, volcano cardboard,
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which is the same used for furnishings of sustainable
design and make the displays resistant and able to support even more than one wedged elements.
An innovative design that searches for functionality,
besides aesthetic value, with great attention to the environment.
Tin’s house is fruit of an entirely self-produced project: drawings, studies and prototypes have been
created and tested by the for[me]moak team, before
being produced.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Tetris Theme - London Philharmonic Orch. and Andrew Skeet
Coffee to read
in cooperation with
Coffee not only to be drunk, but also protagonist of books and short stories. In the first 2013 issue, we wanted to enrich The
Sign Moak with a new section, “coffee to read”, dedicated to those who love reading, those who don’t read yet but would love
to do it, those who love coffee and its world, infinitely wide and fascinating and since ever a source of inspiration of timeless
literature. Happy reading to all of you, maybe between one coffee sip and the other.
Caffè d’orzo, latte di mandorla e seltz
(Barley coffee, almond milk and seltz)
by Alessandro Savona
A
Novantacento editions
Book series: out of series
Edition:February 2013
Number of pages: 132
Dimensions: 12 x 16,5
Price: 9,90 euro
ISBN: 978-88-96499-429
town recovered from the traps of forgetfulness through a backward
trip with many stop-overs. A memory trail swinging backwards and
forwards in time, from the late 19th century to the legendary Sixties.
This is the pulsating heart of Caffè d’orzo, latte di mandorla e seltz (Barley
coffee, almond milk and seltz) by Alessandro Savona, who, acting somehow
like a meddling reporter, somehow like a creative writer, collects ten small
fragments in his volume, fruit of family tales, memories or really happened
dialogues with the protagonists of these happenings.
With a direct, but intimate style, and a prose accurately combining romanticism and practicality, the author retraces stories of important places of
an old-fashioned Palermo and resets the portrait of famous Sicilian men or
simple souls. The title recalls tastes and scents of tradition, with particular
reference to the Caffè Caflisch event, laying bare the life of young rebels
during the years of dreams and free love.
The author
Alessandro Savona was born in Palermo on 1967. He graduates in architecture at Milan engineering school, works as self-employed professional and
takes care of literature and theatre. 2004 is the year of his first novel, Corpi contro (Bodies against), and of the play Corpi a nudo (Naked bodies).
These were followed by the novel Etica di un amore impure (Ethics of an
impure love) (2008) and the stories included in the anthologies A.A.A. Cercasi (Looking for) (2011) and Anthos (2012).
[ the sign moak ]
19
Coffee and health. Coffee prevents diabetes
by sa.di.pi
W
ho drinks coffee has fewer risks to develop
type 2 diabetes. This discovery comes from
the United States thanks to a survey that was
recently carried out by a team of researchers of California University in Los Angeles on random samples
of eighty women and forty men. An additional healthy
effect endorsing coffee drinkers, above all for those who
drink it daily and regularly, according to the researches
result. It is important to underline that coffee can prevent, but not cure an already arisen pathology. To find
out more, we interviewed Prof. Carlo Bruno Giorda,
diabetes specialist and president of the AMD (Diabetes
Doctors Association).
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How can coffee prevent diabetes?
Coffee taken in high quantities (about 6-7 cups per day)
can protect from type 2 diabetes, or adult diabetes, a serious disease, which also is an important risk factor for
coronary diseases. In fact, coffee contains an antioxidant,
the chlorogenic oxide, which can moderate and decrease
the intestinal assimilation of glucose. Moreover, caffeine
is healthy towards blood vessels, which is particularly
useful in diabetes. It reinforces the arterial tone without
altering pressure and also enhancing the coronary arteries’ flow. However, one has to bear in mind that effects on
the heart can be observed in high quantities, above all for
those considered as negative effects, that is tachycardia.
How much coffee does one need to take on daily basis
without having other contraindications?
You need to know your body. Caffeine is metabolized by
an enzyme called cytochrome P450 1A2. Fast metabolizers don’t have any problem taking even 10 cups of coffee
per day, but the slow ones feel palpitation or agitation
after 2 cups. It’s public knowledge that some people “do
not sleep” because of a coffee taken after 5 pm, while
others are not affected at all.
Does the drink have to be sweetened?
For the purpose of preventing diabetes of coronary diseases, this is not of importance. The antioxidant power of
coffee does not feel the effect of sugar.
In what percentages can you reduce the risk to develop
pathology?
It’s good to specify that coffee is one of the most examined substances in epidemiologic field on a huge
population range and despite worried negative effects
on health, it has been scientifically acknowledged by
now that the sole biological effect allocated to its assumption is the increasing heart frequency and gastric
secretion, which could cause some light problems in
predisposed people, which can be easily treated. Furthermore, often coffee is accompanied by dependence
or misuse of potentially more damaging substances,
such as smoke and alcohol. The protective effect of
coffee in preventing type 2 diabetes is another proof
of non-toxicity of coffee. The intensity of the statistic
survey makes one think of a safe protective effect of
this kind and can be estimated in a percentage of about
10-15% less cases.
How widespread is diabetes and who is mainly affected?
In Italy, about 5 % of the population is struck by diabetes.
In 95% of the cases, it is type 2 diabetes, adult diabetes;
initially not insulin-dependent, often associated with
overweight, cholesterol and high pressure. In less than
5% we are in front of cases of type 1 diabetes, insulin-dependent right from the beginning, which is a typical onset
among children and young people.
Advice and precautions?
In order to avoid type 2 diabetes, one has to be careful
not to be overweight, avoiding above all accumulation
of abdominal fat and be physically active. After the age
of 40, or even earlier in case of risk factors (overweight,
hypertension, high triglycerides, etc.) it is good to carry
out a fasting glycaemia and repeating it every three years,
if result are average. In case of doubts, carry out a blood
glucose curve upon medical advice.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Ice Cream Man - Tom Waits
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Industrial Design. Ecoforme 2 started
by Sdp
T
he box including fifty pads will be protagonist
of Ecoforme 2. After the success of Paper Ball,
Moak launches its second eco-friendly packaging project of sustainable design.
Even this year, the task has been entrusted to students of the Graphic design course of the School
of fine arts in Palermo, assisted by Cinzia Ferrara,
professor and Aiap vice-president (Italian Association Design of visual communication). The briefing
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“Together for a sustainable packaging” is equal to
the 2012 edition, where the aim was to create a box
that could turn into an item to be reused, besides its
main function to hold and protect coffee pads. The
only new element in Ecoforme 2 will be the size of
the box: not 150 pads, but one containing fifty pads.
The choice has been mutually taken by a commission consisting of Cinzia Ferrara, Marco Lentini,
graphic designer and Annalisa Spadola, Caffè Moak
Marketing Director, and arose from the need to be
able to work on the packaging’s stackability; smaller
packages, which allow the project to be developed
in a small series. That way, the consumer can collect
several items, given that the fifty pad boxes are more
used in the household. “The brief – explains Cinzia
Ferrara – is unchanged, because we realized that the
topic of eco-sustainability is very important and is
worth further exploration. Students are enthusiastic,
like in the previous edition, and already at work. A
task that will also be a challenge, not only from an
educational, but also a professional point of view”.
Among the presented works, the commission will
judge the project that will best respect the briefing,
in order that the paper material used for the creation
of the packaging could have a new life, with a new
form and new function, able to lead the consumer
to reuse the same material. The Ecoforme 2 winning project will then be produced and marketed by
Moak. A great opportunity for students to see how
their project could be realized, rather than just remaining a prototype or drawing on a sheet of paper,
as happened to Ornella Cillari from Palermo, winner
of the 2012 edition. Her paper ball project has been
produced by Moak, with a circulation of 20 thousand
pad packages, where 20 thousand decorative spheres
have been obtained from. Ornella even developed
her graduation thesis on paper ball, and she will attend an apprenticeship at Moak in 2013. “Ecoforme
– highlights Annalisa Spadola, Caffè Moak Marketing Director – has been an initiative that allowed us
to spread once again the values combined with the
culture of coffee and that are the base of our business philosophy, such as sustainability and attention
to human resources. Our aim also is to offer many
young people the chance to stand out and confront
themselves with the real needs of the world of work,
with logics and dynamics that are often different in
comparison to those you learn during the educational
and academic course”.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Oceania - Bjork
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Marella Ferrera, the fashion designer celebrates
twenty years of haute couture with “That’s Sicily”
by Sara Di Pietro
A
mbassadress of the Italian style in the world, her
creations are real sculptures on a body, timeless
dresses, which accompany a trip discovering fragments of Sicily. A trip that Marella Ferrera is travelling
through again all along. While celebrating her twenty
years of activity, her eyes still light up like the ones of a
mother who talks about her child.
We met her in her fashion house, the Biscari Museum, in
the heart of the Etnean city, where Goethe stepped on the
same floor now mannequins and needlework are placed.
Going in, you instantly feel the visceral love for her land,
present in each exposed dress as testimony of a timeless
beauty; the same of those Women-Madonna, exhibited on
the occasion of the “That’s Sicily” vicennial.
A strong emotion that continues with the interview,
where it was not necessary to ask too many questions,
but only listen to her moved voice full of passion,
while she tells her story under the whispering gaze of
her creations.
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After twenty years of activity, what changed today?
The concept I followed in the past twenty years is the
same projecting me in the next twenty ones.
It’s the endless wish to have written pages about
fashion that maybe were not too bound to the concept
of real fashion, to have created forms called dresses,
sculptures that tell a piece of Sicily, a region full of
contradictions; the same I hand over to my dresses,
where female frailty meets with its power and beauty
is hurt by its own pain.
An often forgotten beauty.
How arose passion for fashion?
It was born with me. It’s an ever existing visceral bond. I
followed my parents’ footsteps; my parents were tailors
and set up a fashion house in 1958, where I was born and
spent my childhood.
As a child, my pastime was to stay under the tailor’s shop
tables creating dresses for dolls with fabric of swatches
and scraps, and then make them model on the runway
adapted on an ironing board.
It was the years where values were still strong, above
all the sacrifice of working; I perfectly knew what I was
heading for and what would be my direction. At the age
of 18, I went to Rome, where I attended the Academy of
Art and Fashion, and then moved over to Milan, where I
experienced important working skills of real business. I
had all a young fashion designer could ever want: success
and profit. But I was missing passion. The distance from
Sicily started to mean too much. One night, I packed and
abandoned everything.
A brave choice to come back?
It was not a way back, but a starting point. I had to start
from here, in order to say what I wanted to say. Through
my creations, I started to talk about Sicily at a historical
time, when talking about it was seen as tasteless, when
customers wanted to have French lace, while I was offering Sicilian lace and embroidery. It was a long and
winding progress; each step was weight out, and today, I
see this twenty-year analysis like a colour film, the same
of Caltagirone I brought in my dresses. In each of them,
I wanted to sew a piece of Sicily, making the concept of
the state of being contemporary abstract. Haute couture is
culture, tailoring unified to the idea to hand over a message of beauty.
A message you were able to hand over all over the world?
Being described as “ambassadress of Italian fashion
worldwide” has been a great satisfaction, because it really
represents my life path: In each place, from Japan to the
US, I have been able to leave a piece of Sicily, a testimony of my land, through fashion shows all over the world.
Pieces of Caltagirone mosaics, molten rock, but also
coffee beans are nestled in your dresses?
All of my creations tell about a Sicilian experience.
Coffee has been an additional way of communicating
through a new and universal language, by creating a corsage embroidered with raw and roasted coffee beans. It is
a highly striking and obviously scented effect.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: La mavarìa - Rita Botto
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Coffee and side dishes
“Coffee and side dishes” is the new The Sign Moak section that will tickle your fancy and disclose how coffee can be combined
with innumerable foodstuffs, from citrus fruits to fish and pasta. Chef Carmelo Chiaramonte will accompany us through this trip
full of surprises foe eyes and palate. Culinary scenographer, television writer for Gambero Rosso Channel, he also published a
book “A tutto tonno” (word play of a tutto tondo = all around, and tonno= tuna). He defines himself “ramble cook”, though with
a strong sense of identity towards his region, Sicily, rich of history and sayings he loves to recall in his cooking.
Spaghetti for breakfast,
close to the sea
S
ometimes it’s useful to get one’s thoughts in order
with reference to everyday events, in order to match
unusual combinations. It happens to many people
to drink a coffee in front of the sea, but only a few close
their eyes to feel the smell of iodine blending with the one
of espresso. It’s easy to carry out a pretext to change some
annoying rules and dedicate oneself an interesting pasta
dish. Indeed, it’s a classic recipe of many Italian harbours.
You just need to add some young scent and a touch of coffee. The nuances of our beloved brown liquid get very well
mixed with the sea taste: they include nuances of roasted
scent into the mussel’s saltiness and windflowers manage
to string out the taste of spring that is hidden in this dish –
let’s say it frankly – to be eaten on a Sunday morning…
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[ 01/2013 ]
by Carmelo Chiaramonte
How to prepare it
Cook the spaghetti in boiling and salty water. Heat
up a pan and put garlic, fennel, mint and mussels in.
Cover it and leave it to cook until the sea food open.
Shell some of the mussels and put them again into the
pan sauce.
Mix the pasta into the pan and add vinegar, chilli
peppers and capers.
Put the spaghetti into 4 cappuccino cups and garnish
them with flowers, mussels and drops of olive oil.
Before serving, pour a drop of warm coffee into
each cup.
Doses and ingredients for 4 people:
200 g durum wheat small spaghetti
800 g clean mussels
½ clove of Italian garlic
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of minced capers
Fresh chilli pepper as required
Windflowers, wood sorrel, borage and calendula
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, strongly fruity
1 tuft of fresh mint and one of wild fennel
2 cups of caffè Moak
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: You’re not the only oyster in the stew - Fats Waller
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The style of furnishing.
Outdoor.
by the editorial staff
Either large or small, outdoor spaces are worth being designed and taken care of as if they would be real open living
rooms. With the upcoming nice season more and more bars dedicate a particular care in external furnishings for their
outdoor: from flower boxes to lamps and seats, dialogue with design is becoming stronger and stronger. Here some
ideas of recreating new hospitality forms.
TULIP S-XL
Cheerful and informal, the lamps suggested by
Myyour have two different sizes: the “small”
version is suitable as placeholder or table lamp,
while the XL can be used as furniture.
Both made of mass coloured polyethylene, available in different colours.
COMMUNITY
Composition of table and four ergonomic shaped chairs in order to
create a single block of clean forms. Table or seats can be of different colours, giving outdoor settings or public spaces some fantasy.
By Moredesign for Myyour.
DÉJÀ VU
Polycarbonate chair.
Comfortable and
stackable, available in
different colours.
By Belair.
TAO
Pot system that proposes
to get rid of any geometric
bondage, getting inspired by
the rhythmic concepts of yin
and yang. The opposing forms
of the three elements of the
system are joined in endless
combinations in a fluid way.
Design by Rosaria Copeta
for Myyour.
BAGIGIO
A modular element, single but can be endlessly
joined, three-dimensional representation of the
infinity symbol. White, coloured, able to light up.
Design by Simone Micheli for Myyour
info contact consulant for[me]moak designer:[email protected]
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Moak at Dubai’s Gulfood
by S.d.p.
F
rom March 25th to 28th, Moak attended the 4th
Gulfood edition, the most important Food and Beverage exhibition of the Middle East, taken place in
Dubai’s World Trade Center. A three-day tour where a
high number of visitors has been registered and could appreciate the real Italian espresso.
“The Event – explains Alessandro Spadola, chief executive of Caffè Moak – represented an influential platform
to strengthen our brand in the Arab Emirates, where we
already have a distribution net we are going to increase in
2013. Nowadays, the Middle East represents one of the
highly growing international markets with an increasing
turnover and business trades, where made in Italy products and the culture of a real Italian espresso arouse more
and more interest”.
During the trade show, thousands of visitors were welcomed in the Moak stand and more than a thousand
coffees per day were consumed. What stroke the investors and the wide public coming from the surrounding
Emirate countries was the strong communicative impact
and the more and more innovative and dynamic way the
company started its new marketing action with, besides
the suggested blends. “The Gulfood – continues Alessandro Spadola – has been an excellent test bench, which
showed how the new Moak Generaction ad campaign
spreads a new philosophy, actually ours, in an easy and
immediate way, using a universal language and a communication way that manages to differentiate us from competitors, so that we are appreciated not only for the quality of our product, but also for the way we present it”.
A new philosophy, not only communicative, but also commercial, thanks to the highly growing programme the company started up in the foreign markets a couple of years ago.
“In the last years – Alessandro Spadola finishes – we
concentrated on export, with important investments both
from a production as well as distributional point of view,
going maybe in countertrend to the period of economic
crisis, but with bravery, conviction and firm belief that
this dynamic and optimistic approach could give us important results”.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: Far Far - Yael Naim
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Fencing, sport, therapy and life style
by Sara Di Pietro
T
he Olympic Games 2012 in London came up with
three gold medals for Italy. Of undisputed social
and cultural importance, Fencing nowadays is one
of the disciplines that passes on sport as well as ethical
values. Born in the Middle Ages with shields and broadswords, it was replaced by the use of one-handed swords
in the Seventeenth century, laying the foundations for that
code of chivalry that can still be seen in the three weapons: foil, sabre and epee. Today, the Italian Fencing Federation keeps the flag of the Italian team flying all over
the world. An acknowledgement of merit goes also to the
Scherma Modica (fencing team) and its founder, fencing
instructor Giorgio Scarso. It was the year 1984, when him
passion for this discipline led him to give life to a sports
association with about ten athletes in the gym of a school
in Modica. This love was soon reciprocated, obtaining in
few years goals of agonistic excellence in the international setting. A strong dedication that has been appreciated
even by the Italian Fencing Federation he is president
© Photo BIZZI
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[ 01/2013 ]
of today. After twenty-five years, the Scherma Modica
is still animated by the same passion and devotion for
this sport, by those values not only experienced on the
platform, but also in everyday life. The same shared by
Moak, naming the fencing hall of the county “Palamoak”.
The London Olympics 2012 with the gold medal won by
Giorgio Avola left a mark on Modica’s fencing history.
Which emotion prevailed? The one of instructor, president or Modican citizen?
The feelings I had in London surely belong to all of the
three spheres, but obviously in a different way. As instructor, I felt an immense satisfaction seeing one of my
athletes conquering an Olympic gold medal, the first one
of the Conad Scherma Modica history. As president, the
formal role prevailed, and therefore the happiness that
I were able to affirm the Italian fencing team as medal
mine of the Italian sport. As citizen of Modica, I felt an
incredible pride.
© Photo BIZZI
© Photo BIZZI
© Photo BIZZI
Today, fencing is seen as one of the sports disciplines
having a high educational and social value, but it is also
seen as elite sport?
A sport of cultural and educational elite, definitely yes,
but not a noble elite, sort of “caste”. In these years, we
worked towards the opposite direction, with the aim to
make this sport more and more popular and accessible to
all social classes. Results surely prove us right.
© Photo BIZZI
of the blade. They also differ as for a valid objective. A
further difference lies in the athlete’s personal features:
the epee-player is reflective, the foil-player is inventive,
and the sabre-player lives on pure instinct and incredible
reflexes.
At which age it is advised to start fencing and which
rules have to be followed?
The right age to start is definitely at seven. Precise behavioural rules have to be accepted: respect for the instructor
and the opponent, and accept arbitral decision for better
or for worse. These rules seem like taken for granted, but
they are essential in our sport.
A discipline spreading strong social values, like the one
of disability. Modica is once again promoter of fencing
for blind people.
Any sport cannot but have a high social value of solidarity. Thanks to the lavished commitment of instructor
Giancarlo Puglisi over the last years, Conad Scherma
Modica today can be the proud holder of a project that is
becoming established all over the world, which is giving
blind people the chance to practice our sport. Being pioneers is a huge strong point of our association.
What’s the difference between the three weapons, and if
any, is it just about technique?
Foil and sabre are conventional arms, epee is a non-conventional arm; in foil and epee, you can only touch with
the weapon’s point, while in sabre only with the edge
Next stages and targets?
The task I always carry on is the one of a further
growth of our organization, in order to arrive at the
next Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, competitive more than ever.
Recommended song for the reading of the present article: The duellists - Iron Maiden
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pdf download: www.caffemoak.com/the-sign-moak - www.caffemoak.com/en/the-sign-moak
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