The daily ricotta run at the Institute of Tourism Studies

A member of my international worldwide network of spies rang yesterday to tell me about the harsh cost-cutting measures being implemented in food provisioning at the Institute of Tourism Studies. The result is that cookery instructors now have to tailor their lessons according to what the purchasing officer says they can have, rather than the instructors telling the purchasing officer what to buy according to the lessons they need to teach.

The cost-cutting measures now include a complete veto on Maltese milk, which means that there is no fresh milk ever at the Institute of Tourism Studies. They’re buying UHT milk instead, because it is cheaper. The result of this is that the milk company has stopped its daily deliveries because it is not worth its while to call every day just to drop off some ricotta and fresh cream.

So every day, two members of the Institute of Tourism Studies staff drive from St Julian’s to the milk company stall at the Valletta bus terminus, in one of the Institute’s cars, buy the ricotta and cream, and drive back with it – losing far more money on the swings than it saves on the UHT-milk roundabout.

“They’re taking all these ridiculous measures to cut down on money spent on food supplies because since 2013 they’ve put so many cronies on the payroll and the wage-bill has shot up,” says the member of my IWNS. “Last week, for instance, the students had to make pecan pie without pecan nuts. Before 2013, we had one man here taking care of IT. Now there are five, and they’re on a far higher salary scale than the original one was. We used to have one receptionist. Now there are three people working at reception, staring and killing time.”

Edward Zammit Lewis – the minister responsible for the Institute of Tourism Studies