Hum.us in Venice, new idea for a university canteen opens in the city

Hum.us. The project in Venice

It's called Hum.us, it has been operational for a few days in the heart of Venice, and it's a canteen rethinks the idea of collective service in a more interactive way. Definitely a challenge for the times, but above all a reasoned project that has brought together trusted partners to make dining out a tool for cultural education and food awareness, starting with the enhancement of craftsmanship and creativity. Hu.mus takes shape near the Ca' Foscari University, within a university residence managed by Camplus, which is the first student housing operator in Italy, and that in the Lagoon hosts 650 students in its structure in Santa Marta (present in 12 Italian cities and in Spain, Camplus manages 9,000 beds on the Peninsula).

Hum.us. A good canteen for students and beyond

Hum.us, which is the result of a collaboration with IDEA Food & Beverage, will also be open to the city, offering 400 square meters of indoor spaces - which can be constantly remodeled to set up co-working areas - and 300 square meters outside, available to students and restaurant customers. The initial strategy draws on the pro approach of reference figures in the gastronomic and design world, with the intention, however, to incorporate the suggestions and needs of those who will "consume" the space and the dishes proposed, setting an innovative idea and canteen subsidiary, conceived as an incubator of ideas and energies (on the subject of innovative projects rethinking university canteen services, see also the Milan Bocconi campus at the former dairy plant, in collaboration with Daniel Canzian). At the helm in the kitchen is Cristian Scarpa, a chef already known in the Lagoon (while the two young managers, Michele Pasotti and Alberto Vianelli manage the space), who will make use of a constant exchange with artisans and suppliers of quality raw materials, called to participate personally in the activities of the space.

Hum.us craftsmen and suppliers

Lorenzo Busetto, creator of the Mitilla brand, who introduced the world to the smaller and more savoury mussels raised on the island of Pellestrina, reared in the sea on pergolas and nets for about a year. But also Enrico Meschini, master roaster of Le Piantagioni del Caffè. And with them David Bedu, baker symbol of the Central Market of Florence, French by birth, but Florentine by adoption, awarded with the Tre Pani recognition for the products of his Pank La Boulangeria; and Raimondo Mendolia, Genoese master pasta maker in love with Sicily, also in the Central Market circuit, who's breen in Venice for the summer experience of the Umberto Montano format, at the Santa Lucia railway station. For the dairy quota, on the other hand, Giovanni Minelli joined the team from Caseificio Malandrone in Pavullo nel Frignano, the temple of Parmigiano Reggiano. But Peppe Zullo, an Apulian chef who was one of the first to make garden cuisine a pillar of food awareness and the pleasure of eating at the table, also participates in the experiment. So Hum.us will function as a café, restaurant and meeting point, from breakfast to dinner, also offering take-away service.

The Hum.us menu

The starting menu of the restaurant opens with a selection of courses based on fresh pasta (Mendolia), stuffed tortelli included (12 euros, €5.50 for all other formats, €7.50 for lasagna), soups with local products, some suggestive dishes exotic (like Filipino pancit guisado), burger (€6.50), fish & chips (€8), Mitilla di Pellestrina mussels (€6). Beverages include craft beers of the Birrificio della Granda, another partner of the project. And in the cafeteria space the blends and the single origins of Piantagioni del Caffè, a selection of herbal teas, juices, paired with croissants, brioches and breakfast pastries. While at aperitif time the drink list also yields to the inevitable star of Venetian bars, the spritz.

Hum.us - Venice - Calle largo Santa Marta, 2137 - www.humus.space

by Livia Montagnoli