Pizza&core International n 113

n.113 JUNE

2021

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Let’s enjoy the contest

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nd at last comes the normality! Finally, we can find ourselves around a table tasting a good pizza and, why not, in a pizza event or in a nice contest, always very appreciated and attended by the pizzaiolos, coming from Italian or from abroad.

Here you are an overview of all those events, which now in this second half of 2021 will return to “roar” with the enthusiastic participation of many competitors ready to challenge each other to the sound of doughs and fillings, cooking and spectacular presentations. The first one starts on August 30th and 31st with the Roman pizza trophy, “Ritorno alle origini” (back to the beginning) organized by Fabio Sociani, in collaboration with the Association Impastatori Italiani Ethical Division. The trophy will take place in the magnificent setting of the Roma World theme park.

Later, from 14th to 15th September the 3rd Championship Pizza ai sapori di Calabria (Pizza with the

flavors of Calabria), organized by the master pizzaiolo Francesco Fortuna. The championship will take place in the magnificent setting of one of the most beautiful small towns in Italy, Tropea. Then, in Calabria too, a very active region in the world of pizza, the second edition of the trophy of white art and Calabrian excellence, organized by the MPI (Italian pizza movement), president Francesco Matellicani, will take place in Roccella Ionica. In Calabria from 19th to 20th October an event organized by Matellicani, the 20th edition (a record) of the world championship of Pizza Piccante (Spicy Pizza). In Campania we would like to promote the Pulcinella Trophy in Acerra, organized by the Mani D’oro Association from 11th to 13th October and then again, the 7th national Pizza DOC championship from 8th to 9th November organized by the Pizza DOC Association, that will take place in Nocera Inferiore. After Covid pandemic, we can come back to enjoy some contests, and we wish all the participants may the best win!

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theINTERVIEW

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theINTERVIEW

when I grow up I will be a "cloccatore"

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e entered the restaurant Pizzeria Gorizia 1916 and had a chat with the owner Salvatore Antonio Grasso.

A convinced promoter of traditions, he is also a lover of innovation, president of the “Le Centenarie” Association, prepares his pizza according to the most ancient tradition, topped with products of very high quality. Together with their son, Salvatore Jr, they have fun discovering among the small artisan excellences that the

Italian territory has to offer.

But Salvatore has a secret ingredient: it is passion… which can be captured in each of his gesture and spells.

How did such a Nordic name “Gorizia” come about? Just here, in Naples, the capital city of South Italy?

«It was born for a patriotic fact, because my grandfather took this pizzeria in the period in which the Italian troops were entering to free Gorizia. It was precisely on August

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theINTERVIEW

20th, 1916. My grandfather had already a pizzeria, and perhaps he had intention to change its name and so, taken by a purely patriotic spirit, the Pizzeria “Nuovo Vomero” became Pizzeria Gorizia».

A very auspicious name ...

«Very auspicious, because things began to go well… better and better. And my grandfather said: “I will not change this name anymore!”. In short, Pizzeria Gorizia, the only one with this name, brings Neapolitan pizza all around the world. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine that a pizzeria with the name Gorizia is truly and authentic Neapolitan».

You talked about your grandfather with feeling, I caught a lot of emotion in your face, tell us something about your grandpa Salvatore, as well as your dad, what kind of values and teachings did they leave you?

«They taught me honesty, humility and work are the three basic things that must never be lacking in one’s life. They told me that only with these three values, you will always be able to look to the future with confidence and walk towards it proudly. Only in this way you will be well-liked, you will always get credits from people. I believe that thanks to these simple teachings, which are at the same time deep and strong, today we can proudly reap the results of many and many years of work. For this reason, we have to transmit these values from generation to generation».

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One hundred years of history, many guests, famous faces, has celebrity ever sat at your tables?

«There have been many famous people. Immediately after the war, the Napoli soccer teams who played at the Collana all came to eat at the Pizzeria Gorizia. My father tells me that Eraldo Monzeglio and Bruno Pesaola, great football champions in the world, visited us. And then… the nearby Teatro Diana brought here many actors, including the great Totò who was one of our clients.

There is pizza with artichokes which was also dedicated to him. And then many other actors such as Salemme, Silvio Orlando, Biagio Izzo».

Tell us the secret behind this fantastic “colazione alla forchetta”. What does it mean?

«It’s not “colazione” (breakfast) but “colezione”(collection), it’s a fork breakfast. My grandfather was illiterate, and even though he was

theINTERVIEW

a fairly cultured person with great charisma, a very clever person, he spoke Neapolitan but he could not read and ordered to write “Colezione alla forchetta” on the glass because in Naples we say “e fatta a colezione?” (did you have breakfast?). So, it was a graphic mistake and it was written “colezione” on the glass.

Nobody thought to check that mistake and so it remained. What is that? It is the first fast food invented in the world, my grandfather invented it because at the time it was a rural place, here there were farmers working nearby, there was pastoralism and they came with homemade bread. They came here to take a fork of “friarielli” or peppers or augebrgines, to fulfill their bread. This is why “colezione alla forchetta”: they took a side dish with a fork to put in the middle of the bread they made».

And now the last question, the most difficult one, the one to which Salvatore will answer surprising us: what will Salvatore Grasso do when he grows up?

Salvatore Grasso’s dream when he grows up is to become a “cloccatore”.

Did you expect a surprise from me? I surprised you!

I imagine myself laying on the seashore, taking the pebbles and throwing them into the water …”cloc, cloc”. It means doing nothing. It is fantasizing, thinking about dreams, those I have realized and those that I will still have to realize… because it is the dreams that help to go on».

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mondoHO.RE.CA

Finding a drink to match with pizza?

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t is said that matching a drink with pizza is above all a matter of taste buds. Therefore, it deals with a personal taste and probably also for this reason the flavor combinations between drinks and pizzas are numerous and various. Undoubtedly, the choice of the beverage to drink with pizza is made to enhance your consumption experience to the maximum, it is also made in order to counterbalance any excesses and balancing the flavors. Among the most common combinations with pizza, there is certainly the one between pizza and alcoholic beverages, such as beer or wine. This is because the percentage of alcohol contained in these drinks, goes perfectly with the savory and sometimes sour taste of red pizzas or even the more intense one of white pizzas. However, even soft drinks can balance the intense flavors of pizzas: in fact, more and more Italians prefer to accompany refreshing non-alcoholic drinks to the pizza. Being sweetened, these drinks are ideal for dampening the flavor of the most seasoned pizzas. Thirst-quenching and sugary drinks, they are quite always chosen by teenagers or by those who do not particularly appreciate alcohol. Tasting a drink with a pizza allows you to perfectly contrast the sour taste of red pizzas and the taste of more intense cheeses, such as gorgonzola or Parmigiano.

The correct match between pizza and drink depends on many factors: the occasion of consumption, the place (if at home or away from home). According

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some pre-covid market surveys the so-called “destructured” have been recently preferred

by Italian customers, due to the pandemic. It is a phenomenon that involves at least 70% of consumers. A trend that will come back into vogue as soon as the pandemic has finished and also the restriction in restaurant will last. We are referring to the consumption called ON THE GO, that is a modern trend where consumers do not adhere to certain consumption times and, in the choice of food, they choose practical easy-to-eat products such as pizza, piadinas, sandwiches.

Therefore, following this very recent consumption trend, the opportunities for the beverage industry - in particular drinks and soft drinks - are very interesting, considering that the habit of consuming destructured meals prefers an easy, practical and tasty drink.

The trend has been caught by the producers of beverage market, which offers products and formats suitable for this kind of consumption. In a few words, marrying pizza is an ambition for everyone.

And then there is the wine ...

The first drink that as first had ever married pizza was undoubtedly wine, we can read about it in the history books, for example the book “Ombre Napoletane” by the writer Salvatore di Giacomo, tells of a pizzaparty in Naples at the Bourbon court (we are therefore well before the famous story of Queen Margherita

of Savoy dating back to 1896). In the case of Di Giacomo’s tale, the noble was Maria Theresa of Austria, second wife of Ferdinand II. The book Ombre Napoletane tells: “One beautiful evening, while Ferdinand II was in Capodimonte for a short vacation, the pizza chef Domenico Testa, to his great surprise, was invited to court because Queen Maria Teresa and her ladies had exploited their desire to taste pizzas”. We can consider this a fairly revolutionary request, because at that time pizza was considered the dish of the poors, but the curiosity for this dish was very high, which the folk liked so much.

The request of the noble Madams was to taste common and democratic pizzas like those that in Naples were sold for two grains each. “The Queen - writes Di Giacomo - arrived with ladies and other nobles and the tasting of the pizzas was accompanied with white wine”. It is not known whether they drank Falanghina or Fiano or perhaps a Greco di Tufo, it is certain, Di Giacomo concludes, that the nobles appreciated very much and even complimented the pizza chef.

In facts, the pizzaiolo Domenico Testa received as a prize the title of Monsù, that means “great master” of pizza. This is what happens when pizza finds the right partner.

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mondoHO.RE.CA

Top World Artisan Pizza Chains 2021 Da Michele is the best artisan chain of pizzerias in the world. Sorbillo and Big Mamma Group are on the podium

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he creation of artisanal chains is a recent phenomenon but it has recently grown up.

For this reason, 50 Top Pizza, the most important guide in the sector, (free available online) has decided to foresee a special ranking and a prize devoted to the Top World Artisan Pizza Chains 2021 - Latteria Sorrentina Award. There were 20 brands present in the first edition of this special ranking. On the top position of the podium is the Da Michele brand, a historic Neapolitan brand that has got 19 restaurants all over the world, 8 in Italy and the other ones located in England, Spain, Germany, USA, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Japan. In second position another celebrity of the pizza world, there is the name of the Neapolitan school, that of Sorbillo, which includes several stores throughout the Italian country, in addition to those in New York, Miami and Tokyo. Third place for the French Big Mamma Group, with numerous clubs in the country, in London and Madrid. The jury has taken in consideration pizza restaurants that have at le-

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Gino Sorbillo

ast 5 locations in the world. All the inspectors of the 50 Top group participated in the vote, about 1,000 distributed in all continents, respecting anonymity both in presence and for the delivery service, following the rules of policy of the guide. The commission examined all the pizza styles proposed in the world, although, at an artisanal level, the classic-Neapolitan one remains the preponderant and often synonymous with high quality.

In the ranking drawn up by 50 Top, the Italian brands dominate, there are 7 names out of 20: in addition to the above mentioned Da Michele and Sorbillo, there are also Berberè, Da Zero, Saporè, Fra Diavolo and Rossopomodoro. There are also 3 British brands, one French and one Spanish, bringing the total of the Old Continent to 13. The scores of the ranking show that the phenomenon is global by the presence of chains coming from other 4 continents: 4 are from North America (including the American Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, at the sixth position), one from Latin America (the Brazilian Bráz, seventh), one from Oceania (the Australian 400 Degrees, eighth) and one from Asia (the Thai Peppina, ninth).

Big Mama Group

Font & photo: www.horecanews.it/50-top-pizza-da-michele-e-la-migliore-catena-artigianale-di-pizzerie-al-mondo/

Alessandro Condurro – Da Michele

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Ricettando con

Ingredients - Cirio Alta Cucina Peeled Tomato - EVO oil - Fresh basil - Buffalo Mozzarella from Campania - Flour - Water - Salt - Passion Procedure Stretch the dough by hand with the slap technique, add the Cirio Alta Cucina Peeled Tomatoes spreading them in a circular way on the dough, leaving 2 cm in the edge. Then add a few leaves of fresh basil and then the buffalo mozzarella cut with the stick on the counter. Season with some drops of extra virgin olive oil and cook in a wood oven for a maximum of 90 seconds.

In the heart of the historic old town of Naples, the Ristorante Pizzeria Mattozzi since 1833 offers the best Neapolitan traditional cuisine and an original Neapolitan Pizza.Founded over 150 years ago, after the generation of the Mattozzi family, in 1959, the restaurant was bought by Alfredo Surace, who had been the restaurant manager of the Pizzeria Mattozzi in via Marchese Campodisola since 1930. Alfredo started the new business with his wife Concetta Perrone, and brought with him his two sons, Franco and Lello. Lello founded in 1984, together with Antonio Pace, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana AVPN making the art of the pizzaiolo a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Currently, Paolo Surace, son of Lello, is the owner of the historic pizzeria, where he proudly continues the tradition of the True Neapolitan Pizza and the work of his father in the True Neapolitan Pizza Association to protect and diffuse this heritage all over the world.

Ristorante Pizzeria Mattozzi - Piazza Carità, 2 - Napoli - Tel 081/552 43 22 - www.ristorantemattozzi.it

The Italian tomato par excellence PEELED TOMATOES are the iconic product of Cirio Alta Cucina: large, full-bodied and bright red in color, they have a high yield thanks to the rich sauce and high drained weight. Suitable for any type of preparation, even the most difficult, they give their best in prolonged cooking. They can be passed to the cutter before cooking for a smooth and velvety result. www.cirioaltacucina.it

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