In the early 60s, Italy experienced the first expressions of consumer culture: it was the dawn of a gastronomical tourism that since then has virtually exploded.
There were all the ways to give life to the brilliant intuition of Dino Villani, one of the masters of the advertising of that time, who shared his idea with his friend Orio Vergani, founder of the Italian Kitchen, during a travel by car. The completion involved other famous characters of our past, like the great gastronome Angelo Berti.
Their intuition led to the innovative idea was to unite restaurants that shared the same high regard for regional cuisine and make them offer a souvenir of the hospitality and their kitchen's specialties: the Buon Ricordo plate, a souvenir of flavors and pleasant moments.
So, in 1964, the Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo was founded in Milan with the first 12 restaurants.
Each restaurant has its own Buon Ricordo plate that is a lasting souvenir of its dishes and the hospitality. The plates are made by Ceramica Artistica Solimene in Vietri sul Mare, and with their lively and brilliant colors are meant to recall the joy of good cooking and of genuine hospitality at the restaurants visited.
The Buon Ricordo restaurants are found all over Italy and, for some years now, also in a growing number of other countries. They serve as a reference point and a map of eating and drinking "all’italiana" and - despite the regional differences - represent a synthesis of the concept of Italian cuisine.
The 12 restaurants of 1964 have - after 49 years - become 103 in Italy and 12 abroad, with 9 restaurants in Japan and one each in Hong Kong, Luxemburg and Vienna.
One of the most successful initiatives of the Unione Ristoranti del Buon Ricordo is the cooperation, over more than 20 years, with the Touring Club Italiano. We celebrate the anniversary of this institution in all Buon Ricordo restaurants. 2007 saw the 24th festive dinner, and every year, until 2006 a special plate depicting one region of Italy is issued. From 2007 special plates will represent one italian national park.
In January 2009, on a night extra, was remembered with the plate on the cuisine of Lazio, previously, had not yet been presented, and the 115th birthday was celebrated in November the same year with a dish that sponsors a book of the TCI entitled "The great mosaic of Italian cuisine".
Every year, the Unione Ristoratori updates the list of participating restaurants, some of which may have changed their specialty and therefore the souvenir plate, and new restaurants in Italy and abroad join the Unione.
