Lastly, where meal preparation is performed on a regular or periodic basis, the contract shall qualify as a procurement-supply hybrid, governed by Article 1677 of the Civil Code24. This line of reasoning, however, has not met with unanimous approval. A number of scholars have maintained that the distinctive structure of the catering contract is sufficiently original to justify the recognition of an entirely new contractual type25. While acknowledging that catering possesses a certain degree of autonomy and uniqueness, this paper aligns with the prevailing interpretation, which, moreover, facilitates a clear identification of the autonomy of the banqueting contract in relation to that of catering. Although, in common usage, the terms are often used interchangeably, frequently attributing to catering services that are, in fact, characteristic of banqueting, a return to the linguistic origins of the terms in English-speaking countries, where both practices developed, allows for a more accurate distinction. The word catering derives from the English verb to cater, meaning to supply or provide food, whereas banquet refers to a formal meal or feast, thus implying the offering of a full banquet with all the associated services26. VIII. BANQUETING Banqueting refers to a contract whereby a party, often a catering company, undertakes, in favor of another party, to organize receptions and events on the occasion of special celebrations, in return for payment27. 24 G. Tellarini, Il contratto di catering aeronautico, in Il nuovo diritto aeronautico, Milano, 2002, p.748, states that the doctrine is accustomed to distinguish, within the broad phenomenology of catering, those hypotheses of collective catering characterized by the phases of preparation and set-up, packaging and administration of meals, tidying up and cleaning of the premises, from those, instead, in which the catering company limits itself to carrying out, at the pre-established deadlines, the delivery of pre-packaged meals, quantitatively and qualitatively adequate to the needs of the customer. In the first case, the situation must be brought back within the scope of the service contract, as regulated by art. 1655 c.c., and following, since the obligation of giving is absorbed by that of doing (…), in the second, however, the relationship that is established between the parties can only be configured as supply, pursuant to art. 1559 c.c., and subsequent ones, since the packaging of meals, as a service to be provided, represents the mere consequence of the obligation to deliver the meals. 25 See Tellarini, The aviation catering contract (Il contratto di catering aeronautico), in AA.VV, Il nuovo diritto aeronautico in ricordo di Gabriele Silingardi, 2002, Milano, p. 752: “starting from the analysis of the economic reality and the concrete structure of interests pursued by the parties, it is believed that it is possible to affirm the absolute originality of the purposes of catering, whose economic-social function presents peculiar and autonomous characteristics, such as to make any possible comparison with already known legal models inadequate”. 26 Banquet: a dinner for many people, usually for a special occasion, source: dictionary. Cambridge.org. 27 For the definition of banqueting contract see: A. Addante, Il contratto di catering, in (a cura di) Bocchini, I 41 ITALY, FOOD, CONTRACTS
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