Inside or outside? As the weather starts to turn colder this will be the dilemma facing all those offering out-of-home food services. Hence the flowering of solutions that make interiors safe, but also welcoming and reassuring. Some of these focus on technological innovations, such as smart cloakrooms that sanitise, refresh, dehumidify and remove the folds from coats in restaurants or in hotel bedroom wardrobes, while others are more about design. After a summer in which most people have been sitting outside, it is now time to think about life indoors.

“Outdoor life for public establishments became a must because of the pandemic emergency. Establishments were forced to close for several months and when they eventually re-opened the collective spaces had to be reorganised if their activities were to carry on,” says Stefania Gallina, marketing manager of Gaber. Customers prefer outdoor spaces, but with winter on its way things will have be rethought again.” The focus on outdoor furnishings will continue to be important, but layouts will have to take account of new requirements that welcome and reassure customers. Different needs regarding comfort and practicality will have to be considered, and outdoor fabrics will need to be completely waterproof and easy to keep clean. “The very survival of establishments will depend on restaurateurs changing their attitudes. Consumers appreciate places that give a sense of cleanliness and are sensitive to matters of public health. First and foremost restaurant owners will have to take precautions with their staff to guarantee health and safety in the workplace, and then also consider customer safety. The Covid emergency has put an end to a situation, in some of the smaller establishments, which previously had numerous place settings tightly packed together in a limited space. The pandemic is basically redesigning the layout of catering establishments. Offering customers an opportunity to enjoy the experience of eating outside in a safer, more socially distanced way, while retaining a certain amount of privacy.”

Pedrali is also looking ahead to a post-Covid future. On 28 April it returned to full capacity at its three production units and its automated warehouse. “Now more than ever we are seeing the wisdom of our strategy to invest in automation and digitisation over the last 15 years,” the firm says.

In terms of new collections, Pedrali has been part of Elle Decor Fab Food. The new spaces and rituals”, the virtual exhibition inaugurated by Elle Decor Italia, and designed by Vudafieri Saverino Partners, which will stay on air until 29 November at https://fabfood.elledecor.it/. Its aim is to analyse those spaces devoted to dining rituals and new food scenarios. Pedrali is participating in the space that represents the new Cook & Share concept in social relations, an idea where people sit down at the same table, but where rules about proximity are respected. “The new 2020 collection is made up of versatile products which, in a year in which attention has been focused on tackling the Covid-19 emergency, offer wellbeing, comfort and sustainability, without sacrificing aesthetic appeal, high-quality, clean design. The pastel colour palette has associations of a suspended, reassuring reality, capable of conveying an idea of beauty, of a dream world.