The Co-op Q&A with Bianca Maria Orlando
By Patrick Pauley
Member-owner Bianca Maria Orlando is a semi-retired Italian expat from Rome. Most of her family is still in Europe, which helps explain her affinity for travel. Additionally, she is eagerly waiting for the return of the performing arts in NYC, specifically operas, concerts and the theater.
Q: How long have you been a member of the Co-op, and what motivated you to join?
A: I just checked, and I joined on Sept. 10, 2010 — thanks for making me realize I just had my 10-year anniversary! I really wanted to have a better food option in the neighborhood, and the landscape at that time was way worse than it is now in fact.
Q: Can you describe your work at the Co-op? Have your roles and responsibilities changed in the last couple of months with the COVID-19 outbreak?
A: I oversee all of the financial activities of the Co-op, with the valiant help of eight committee members — thank you all! This includes cash-flow monitoring, bill paying, taxes, payroll and facilitating the preparation of financial statements (for presentation at our monthly meetings and to report to Ray Jowdy, the board member who is designated as “Finance liaison” or the de-facto treasurer of our Co-op!). I do, in fact, spend a great deal of my time on bill paying.
The COVID-19 outbreak was an operational rollercoaster for us all at the Co-op, and riding the tiger was indeed an all-consuming challenge even from a financial point of view!
Q: What do you enjoy about your Co-op work?
A: Some of the relationships I developed with a few vendors, which make for less dry communications (and some leniency in terms!), and the fact that numbers don’t lie. I have a humanities background and I was surprised by the harmony of bookkeeping (which, by the way, was invented by an Italian-Franciscan monk in the 13th century). I do believe that reconciling a checkbook gives the equivalent feeling of a yoga session.
Q: What are your goals in the coming year at the Co-op?
A: To catch up with a couple of long-standing accounting and tax projects for which we need a bit more manpower, and to finally find a co-chair — so if you are out there, and are a CPA/bookkeeper and would like to join our committee, please raise your hand! Seriously.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to shop for at the Co-op?
A: Probably the cheeses: in particular, the two selections we carry from La Tur, a robiola and a creamier round. The producer, from Piedmont, is well known in Italy and has won a lot of prizes!
Q: Has the Co-op changed the way you interact with food? If so, how?
A: Yes, it has been educational in making me aware of the wonderful local options and made me shop more “seasonally,” especially with produce. This is the way I grew up, before everything was made available all of the time; seasonal tastes better because it did not have to travel thousands of miles to get to you!
Q: What’s your favorite hidden—or not so hidden—gem about the Co-op?
A: A little Italian snack called taralli. They are from the region of Puglia, and they are traditionally enjoyed as an aperitif on their own or with salami, cheese and a glass of wine. While the traditional version comes with fennel seeds, we offer them in a spicier cacio e pepe version, or a farro one. They are super cheap and they fly off of the shelves; ditch the chips and try them!
Q: Anything you’d like to see more of at the Co-op, whether it’s a product or practice?
A: Fish! While, as I said before, the overall food landscape has improved around us, we still live in a bit of a fish desert! I love that we have started restocking the Hudson Valley steelhead — a bit pricey, but great for a special meal. I would welcome more individual frozen portions of cod/salmon, etc.! I also LOVE baby octopus, but I understand that might be more of a fringe offering!