THE FCSI INTERVIEW
“The human/social sciences and natural sciences give us different languages and different tools to use. They have all helped me to deal with my clients better. Studying philosophy taught me a lot about ethics”
M arco
Amatti FCSI can get very enthusiastic very quickly when discussing his favorite topics. His son’s basketball prowess; the prospects of the Brazilian national football team; the vibrant and varied cuisine of his native Sao Paulo; his new role as an ambassador for the Fispal Food Service and Food & Hospitality LATAM trade shows; and FCSI’s role in elevating global foodservice, are all discussed with an edifying, contagious passion. Amatti, owner of the Sao Paulo headquartered consultancy MAPA Assessoria, is great company, whatever the subject. In truth, the foodservice
sector is lucky to have Amatti, but it was never a foregone conclusion he would join it. Having been a soldier, a champion black belt judoka whose Olympic dreams were shattered by a serious shoulder injury, and a student in philosophy (at Universidade de São Paulo) with a postgraduate degree in chemistry (from Oswaldo Cruz Colleges), Amatti’s natural enthusiasm, intelligence and people skills could have taken him anywhere. But foodservice has played a
part in his life from a young age. His grandparents owned a small store in eastern Sao Paulo when he was young. “It was in the poor part of San Paolo. I grew up seeing and smelling food and retail,” says Amatti. A job as a waiter while at
university gave him a further passion for food. “After a few months, I was leading the team of waiters. Te two partners in the restaurant fell out with each other and one of them
said to me, ‘Do you want to be my partner, instead? And the manager?’ After two years, I learned a lot,” he laughs.
STARTING UP; STARTING AGAIN
Amatti ended up buying the restaurant from his partner and expanding to another three locations in Sao Paulo between 1986-96. “For 10 years I was an operator. But it became too busy and I wanted just one location,” he says. Te strategy backfired when the owner of that restaurant’s real estate sold the property from underneath him. “I lost a lot of money. I went back to zero again. But we must learn from our mistakes.” Undeterred, he became a
technician at Mundial Química do Brasil (World Chemistry of Brazil) between 1999-2000. “I had graduated in chemistry and studied food safety, which means a lot for our business, so my first role specialized in food safety,” says Amatti, who enthuses that his studies in
philosophy, chemistry, physics, maths, and sociology have all played a huge part in his later career as a management advisory services (MAS) consultant. “It all helps with thinking about different points of view and finding different methods for different solutions. Te human/social sciences and natural sciences give us different languages and different tools to use. Tey have all helped me to deal with my clients better. Certainly, studying philosophy taught me a lot about ethics. Behaving honestly with clients and following proper procedures meant that when I first encountered FCSI in 2007, joining the Society was a natural fit for me. I thought, ‘Here’s something that shares the same beliefs that I have’.” Prior to that, between 2001-
2004, Amatti was a partner at PPG Empreendimentos Gastronômicos, a Brazilian advisory and consultancy company for food companies, and a technical advisor for Abrasel SP (2002-2011), becoming an executive director in 2016. His own consultancy MAPA Assessoria was formed in 2004. Amatti is proud to mark 20 years of running his own business, but even prouder that he has operated by always being fair and honest with his clients. “I wanted to be different to some of the other – non- FCSI-member – consultants in Brazil and how they were working in our market,” he says.
FOOD SAFETY FOCUS
His other point of difference, was to focus on food safety. “We go to the ‘stomach’ of a client’s
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WORLDWIDE
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