Born in Italy, Rino Tamburrelli came to Panama when he was just seven years old, back in the 1960s, by the hand of his father, a forerunner in the country's art of pastry making.

Today, the former mom-and-pop business embraces a chain of highly-recognized pizzerias and restaurants. In addition, Mr. Tamburrelli is the head of the Panamanian Association of Restaurants and Related Businesses.

"In this family business we have a payroll of 560 employees, several outlets in different cities other than the capital. We own 18 pizzerias under the Tamburrelli brand name and three called Tambal. In addition, we have three bistros in the in the Amador area and there are some projects in the pipeline to open two more affiliates, and La Distribuidora (The Dealer) that supplies all the sauces and ingredients to pizzerias."

- What are the main features of the culinary association you preside over in Panama? «The association has a hundred members, laid out in such a way that each and every franchise is represented by one member. For instance, McDonald has just one member representing 20 to25 different outlets. Tamburrelli has one representative, even though the chain has 18 restaurants.

«Our goal is to try to get more professional personnel for the restaurants and the travel industry. The Restaurant Association is a proud member of the country's Tourism Chamber, providing the government with our ideas and opinions.

«One of the main issues in this sense -something I'm deeply convinced of- is the need to capitalize the personnel because the good handling of human resources is all what matters to me. That's why the Association, over the past year or so, has paid so much heed to this particular activity because finding a cook, a helper, or a headwaiter is sometimes a painstaking job, especially because the good one are already taken.

«I believe the art of good cuisine is basic for the culture of any society. If people are not well fed they just can't generate ideas and work. This is the key to success.»