Slices/10 by Pizza e Pasta Italiana

Slices/ 10

Pizza equipment and supplies

The first electric rotating single pizza oven by Cuppone

At your side for 60 years with passion and excellence

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EDITORIAL

The artisan of the future. BY ANTONIO PUZZI

Craftsmanship is one of the most precious achievements of mankind. It is, perhaps, what distinguishes us most from other creatures; the fruit of the correct fusion of rationality with creativity.

When we think of the work of an artisan, we often think of a person who works completely alone or in a workshop, with the aid of only their hands or a few tools of which they alone know the technique perfectly. t goes without saying that this is a romantic vision: today’s artisan is a person trained in the school of their predecessors, but who comes into contact with people from all across the globe who share the same profession and constantly exchanges information and visions, thanks to an increasingly globalised world. The equipment is also very different from what we imagine: often a mix of advanced technology and digital electronics, sometimes remotely controlled to intervene where deemed necessary. Is all this also applicable to the world of pizza? This is what we bring you in this issue of Slices, our window onto the current state of the art of the product that has made Italy famous in the four corners of the globe. Travel with us among ovens, flours, shovels, small parts and everything you need to be an artisan today, living - in the words of “A muso duro” by the unforgettable Italian singer-songwriter Pierangelo Bertoli - “with one foot in the past and looking straight and open towards the future”.

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SUMMARY ARTICLES

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Destination: future Green weel being: what to pay attention to in the world over the next 30 years

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

RECIPES

p.12

How do you say “pizza”?

— — A SURVEY ON PIZZA BEYOND ITALY

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE AND MONICA PISCIELLA

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Which oven for my pizzeria? BY FEDERICA MIGNACCA AND ANTONIO PUZZI

p.56

Roberto Susta

p.34

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A question of peels? BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF

Kneader: which one should I choose for my pizzeria?

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BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF

p.60

Roberto D'Avanzo

p.64

Ciccio Filippelli

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Raw or cooked? WHAT IF IT WAS TECH? BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

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1. Destination: future

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

Green wellbeing: what to pay attention to in the world over the next 30 years 6

The spring of 2053 has finally arrived, this early April warmth warms the heart, awakens nature and above all makes people happier. When I think that in a few days I will have to leave to participate in the 60th World Pizza Championship, as my uncle did thirty years ago, I am moved by a particular emotion. When I look back at what has changed in all these years, I can hardly believe how much we have at our disposal. By the way, now I log on for a quick look at the pizzeria, I wouldn’t want this spring to have stirred something up in my dough

too! I turn on the multipoint tablet and watch the dough balls leavening at a controlled temperature and hydration from the internal video camera. The new compressed air cutter has helped my kneading robot to divide the mass faster and more precisely, but I continue to make a hand-worked box out of prudence and perhaps even a little out of nostalgia for those gestures made millions of times together with my uncle. When I started helping him, I was a kid and I hadn’t yet figured out what my professional future would be!

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The dough is ok, I connect to the fridge, the product display has shown me that I have to be careful of the spring truffle! Although it is possible to predict where to grow it, my supplier still collects the Bianchetto or Marzuolo truffle in a natural forest and tries not to dig too much so as not to ruin its delicate ecosystem. I have to make sure that customers appreciate the freshness before they lose their scent and hydration. I have chosen to vary the recipes to be able to accommodate the different natural seasons, but it is still not easy to make people understand how much attention and care truffles require, as one of the few products that we still cannot cultivate intensively! The new dishwasher sent me the notification and tells me that after

1. DESTINATION: FUTURE

washing at very high pressure, without soap, it has just finished drip-drying the dishes. Fortunately, this new model absorbs and transforms the condensation from the hoods, microfilters it and 100% recycles the desalinated water we use for these purposes, sending the washing waste to the tank that feeds the toilet drains. When I think about how much drinking water we wasted in 2020 I get chills! We hadn’t understood how important it was to value it, but today we are more aware and we are saving one of the most precious resources on the planet through precision instruments installed throughout the restaurant: electronic taps, thorough water recycling, careful washing of hands and vegetables, recovery of the condensation, nothing is left to chance… And

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Slices// Slices

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

to think that thirty years ago there was already a lot of this technology even though it wasn’t commonly used! About water! Given the storm tonight I will take a look at my hydroponic rooftop greenhouse; the new solar panel model should withstand anything, plus it optimizes and produces energy that I use directly. The real thing I couldn’t do without anymore is my small hydroponic vegetable garden. San Marzano tomatoes, Pachino of all colours, Zebrino, Ribbed, Ox heart, Fiascone. In a few days I will have to put the varieties of aubergines that I want to use in this summer’s recipes in the seedbed. April is the month of sowing of the Palermo Violet aubergines, the Long Black, the White Oval. I linked a pizza and a vegetable dish to each vegetable and to each season which evokes in part the memories of my childhood and in part the many dishes of cultures and traditions so distant from ours that I have tasted while travelling.

For vegetables, I still can’t be 100% autonomous, but year after year I am enriching my vegetable production to let my customers try some flavours that some considered lost forever. Of course, natural genetic selection and the conservation of seeds of each species meant that this immense heritage reached us to be rediscovered when it started raining regularly again. The sustainable changes of recent years have helped us to almost eliminate food waste, also recycling waste to produce soil for greenhouses and natural fuels. Three years ago, I ordered my new mixed energy hob, which gives me the possibility of cooking on induction, on a griddle for meat, but also the possibility of using the hydrogen stove for those dishes that still require a little liveliness. It no longer has the risks of methane gas, and that bluish combustion fire also releases water vapour which is converted back into water by the dishwasher! I have to set up the new pizza oven! Since it arrived, I’ve only used the basic functions since it arrived, but with the preheating of the chamber done with the solar roof tiles, I can turn it on a few minutes before opening, knowing that it will have reached temperature in just a few minutes. Of course, when we had to hope to have light and a stable connection to make the first 4.0 ovens work, we still didn’t know how much automation would help our trade.

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Today my oven has the “14G” connection and is able to selfregulate: it turns on, heats, cleans and cools until it turns off with the simple touch of a remote screen; the energy used for the ignition phase is partly transferred regeneratively when it is switched off. Refrigerators have become more efficient thanks to inverters derived from the automotive world, today they no longer consume 40% of all the restaurant’s energy, but they are also attentive and equipped with artificial intelligence that helps me manage my shopping based on orders and consumption history. Above all, today I am able to keep the products inside like never before, and I am alerted to products close to their end of shelf life date long before I could notice! Cured meats, meat, and fish, are a little less present in our daily diet.

1. DESTINATION: FUTURE

“WE HAVE GAINED AWARENESS THAT VALUING LOCAL PRODUCE IS THE WAY TO GUARANTEE THE IDENTITY OF ITALIAN PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD” Protein replacements and supplements have not worked and fortunately the trend of chemical cuisine with 3D printed steaks is still a niche, like the Japanese restaurants that serve puffer fish. All in all, we live a varied and nutritious diet, certainly more ethnic and influenced by the various cultures that are now scattered around the world. I find it fun to go out and taste a traditional Ramen or eat tortellini in broth a few blocks away! The evolution of the Planterranean diet (introduced in the first half of the 20s of the new millennium) today represents the nutrition model that those of us who live on the Mediterranean Sea have embraced. In our lives we curate a diet of animal and vegetable proteins, sugars, fibers, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates that come from the many resources that Mother Earth has placed at our disposal. Of course, insect-based products have become commonly used, as in some cultures they have always been, but never as in this moment have we gained the awareness that valuing local products is the resource for guaranteeing the identity of the Italian product in the world.

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Slices// Slices

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

By the way, Italian crops are all accessible by our children who observe the cycle of life and the product, but are managed by digital farmers through robotic operators and recorded by blockchain biological safety protocols. Luckily the bees continue to do their job: how much beauty and how much perfume would have been lost! Instead I have to remember to prepare the fresh flowers just delivered by the florist robot, which I have to put on Saverio’s table. This evening I invited him and his whole family to dinner because his love story began with a candlelit dinner during the blackout of 2024, on an unforgettable spring evening.

Without batting an eyelid, my father had taken out the rechargeable LED candles, used only the wood-burning oven for cooking and gave all the clients a magical evening! My work-calendar, connected to the digitised history of the place and the stories of its customers, reminded me that Saverio and his wife met and had dinner together in this place that evening many years ago. This evening they will have the opportunity to remind their children and tell it to their grandchildren! One last thought before being captivated by this day: in a world where multinational catering companies have automated all processes, where it is now common for

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IL VERO TRONCHETTO DI FAGGIO

an excellent pizza comes from the ﬁre the new high performance bricket

robots to take care of all fast food production and delivery is almost completely automated, it has become even better to be a restaurateur.

MY PRESENCE IN THE ROOM, MY KNOWLEDGE OF CUSTOMERS AND HUMAN CONTACT CAN NEVER BE REPLACED. Except when I’m on vacation: my holographic avatar is a faithful replica which, sitting at the cash register, serves to comfort the most loyal old customers while I relax a bit on the beach: the technology of this period is also useful for this!

Only for pizza ovens

the new shape allows air’s flowing, this make ignition and combustion easier

didn’t roll in the oven

high performance and long life

Core&Pizza Q-brick Il tronchetto quadrato

Core&Pizza Turbo Il tronchetto con il foro

coreepizza.it

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE AND MONICA PISCIELLA

How do you say “pizza”? A survey on pizza beyond Italy

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The roundness and the leavened and flattened dough before seasoning and cooking it would associate Italian pizza with dozens of preparations that we can find in all the kitchens of the countries bordering the Mediterranean and which bring similar products to the present day but with extremely different histories. Starting from this assumption, we tried to explore how Italian pizza is perceived abroad, what its evolution has been to adapt to local tastes and above all what our compatriots and experts who live in other countries find on their plate. The spread of contemporary Italian pizza deserves a small historical digression. In Southern Italy - and specifically in Naples at the beginning of the 19th century - there are written testimonies of a product that closely resembles the modern pizza. Considered an extremely common food and consumed in various forms,

HOW DO YOU SAY "PIZZA"?

shapes and cooking methods, the pizza of the time was already interpreted in many ways: rolled out and cooked in a wood burning oven, fried, folded into a wallet, closed up like a calzone. The spread of pizza consumption in the rest of Italy and in the world will only come with the great migratory flows of the early twentieth century, which increased between the two world wars and culminated in the post-war period up to the first half of the 1960s. The Italian emigrants brought with them the hope of a better future and the baggage of culinary culture of their lands of origin and therefore, in our specific case, that tradition of pizza making which has become one of the most famous flags of the Italian cuisine in Worldwide. Coming to the present day - and billions of 13 — pizzas after the first batch - thanks to the contribution of some colleagues and Italian correspondents abroad, we

have tried to outline the characteristics of the pizza consumed in some European and non-European countries, in a sort of small tour of the "pizza" in the world. We begin this journey with the experience of Malcolm Moore, executive editor of the Financial Times, who has lived in Canada, the USA and China and is currently — 14 resident in the UK. Malcolm has travelled all over the world for work and, being a great expert and passionate about pizza, he also participates in some professional events in the sector. “I appreciate and taste pizzas of all kinds,” Malcolm begins. “Given the choice, I prefer to avoid those produced in the fast food formats of the large chains abroad, I find that they lack a bit of personality. In the past I had a strong preference for “Roman” pizza; then, over time, I was able to gain experience in tastings and I realized that the digestibility and balance of flavours are among the aspects that I consider priorities in evaluating pizza.

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE AND MONICA PISCIELLA

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By refining my taste, today I consider the production style of secondary importance, as long as the base and seasoning ingredients are of the best possible quality ". Retracing some of his numerous travels, Malcolm tells us about his "milestones" in tasting pizza: "I have important emotions and memories linked to pizza, like the first time in Rome I tasted the thin one cooked in a wood-fired oven, accompanied by a memorable fried supplì. I remember, as if it were yesterday, the day I learned a two-phase dough recipe from Paolo Urciuoli in Perugia. It happened twenty years ago. And I can't forget the first time I ate an excellent "New York slice" (typical takeaway slice in New York with the thick, crunchy dough, ed.). However, one of the most surprising and fun memories I have was tasting a perfect Neapolitan pizza in Tokyo. Unexpectedly memorable." Speaking of travel and quality, Malcolm continues: “I think the difference in quality pizzerias in different countries is decreasing. Techniques and skills are now widely distributed, understood and accessible. In this regard, thanks to the vast availability of online tutorials, in theory today anyone could learn how to make the dough for Gabriele Bonci's pan pizza by watching his videos on YouTube. On Instagram there are thousands, perhaps millions, of photos of Neapolitan pizza crusts and slices from all over the world."

HOW DO YOU SAY "PIZZA"?

MALCOLM MOORE

15 — We conclude our interview by dedicating a thought to the States. “American pizzerias once used US ingredients and maybe even a little sugar in the dough. During my visit to the 2023 edition of the World Pizza Championship in Parma, I was surprised that many of Team America's pizza chefs used Italian flours and a long traditional fermentation of the dough. At the same time, it seems that Italian chefs and pizza makers are becoming more innovative, embracing processes and combinations of flavours from other places and experimenting with more daring recipes than those tasted twenty years ago". Travelling east, we fly over the Mediterranean Sea to land on the shores of the Persian Gulf. Here we interviewed Francesco Lentini, a businessman who lives permanently in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Italian by birth and a passionate consumer of pizza, Francesco prefers the simplicity of the Margherita or the strong and varied taste of the Quattro Stagioni. With Francesco we explored the habits and peculiarities of the restaurant and pizzeria business in Abu Dhabi, the glittering Middle Eastern metropolis. A very different situation from the one we are used to emerged, — 16 from the consumption of alcohol: “Licenses for the administration of alcohol in the United Arab Emirates are so expensive that only large luxury hotel structures can afford to buy one. The same license can be used by the various catering businesses housed within the structure, among which there is often an excellent Italian pizzeria, often quite expensive, consistently with the context. Given that in almost all cultures pizza is often accompanied by a good beer, for all other pizzerias without a license to sell alcohol, table service becomes limiting.

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE AND MONICA PISCIELLA

Therefore, for many places the primary business resource, rather than seats, becomes the large delivery platforms that deliver food at home day and night. In fact, in a city so teeming with life, the availability of delivery covers the whole 24 hours, to meet the needs of people of different nationalities and habits, who reside in or arrive from the most disparate time zones, and who at any hour of the day or of the night can find satisfaction in the need to eat something or to indulge in the pleasure of good food, being able to order quality food of any kind”.

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HOW DO YOU SAY "PIZZA"?

“The other side of the coin”, continues Lentini, “is that in such a competitive market times are very short and fashions change often, sometimes unpredictably. Restaurants and, even more so, pizzerias, have a favourable business cycle lasting on average three years, between the moment of launch, that of the apex-notoriety and that of the inevitable decline or, rather, the arrival of a new fashion that leads to the birth of a new restaurant”. The turnover of pizza chefs in the kitchens is also very interesting. Initially, the local entrepreneurs aim for a very high standard, involving the best Italian pizza makers or renowned chefs for setting up the menu and the style of the business. “In recent years I have seen several renowned professional chefs and exponents of the best Italian pizzeria schools open highly successful establishments, which have however collapsed over time. This usually happens when the Italian personnel, perhaps having returned to Italy or moved to other projects, is changed for replacement personnel, who often has oriental origins and soon begin to abandon the original rules and recipes that had been prepared by the pizza maker or chef upon opening”, concludes Lentini.

Due to geographical proximity and migratory flows, in Abu Dhabi the kitchen/ pizzeria staff is usually of Indian, Filipino or Arab origin. Some are professionals who travel the world before arriving here and study the ingredients, original recipes and Italian doughs in Italy but then continue their personal journey by introducing their culture which creates an interesting mix of ethnic flavors and traditional pizza bases. Regarding the latest trends, Francesco continues: "in recent times I have seen more and more use of chicken and prawns (here pork and derivatives are quite "off limits") but spices, cheeses from all over the world, onions, curry, of various kinds, fish and vegetables, in a mix from which interesting infliuences can arise”. — 18 Speaking of technique and styles, Francesco explores really interesting aspects of the product: “For the bases I have seen certified Italian, Ukrainian, Russian flours or even a mix of Asian cereals used for styles ranging from Neapolitan to Roman, to American (with bases enriched with cheese); round pizzas, on shovels, in high or low pans, crumbly or soft, in short, an impressive variety. By adding ingredients from all over the world to this variety of doughs and styles, cultures from near and far end up influencing each other, creating menus in which Jewish, Lebanese, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Indian style pizzas coexist; we find the Neapolitan Margherita together with the American Pepperoni, the Diavola together with the Grilled Curry Chicken and so on.

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE AND MONICA PISCIELLA

The feature that makes consumption interesting and unites our culture to a cosmopolitan metropolis like Abu Dhabi is that we all love and eat pizza at least once a week; in some offices there are real weekly pizza days and there is never a slice left!” concludes Francesco Lentini. We now leave Abu Dhabi and continue our journey in the Iberian Peninsula. Guiding us we find Nicola Baraldo who, after having been a passionate pizza consumer for years, decided to undertake a professional catering business in Barcelona, Spain: "When I arrived in Barcelona, about twenty years ago, I didn't find a place to satisfy my Italian emigrant palate. I was more focused on exploring Spanish cuisine than looking for an Italian pizzeria.” Nicola continues: “When I decided to venture into becoming a professional pizza chef, in 2010, I spent about 18 months training and learning in Barcelona. Today, this adventure has turned into two differentiated Neapolitan-style Italian restaurant and pizzeria businesses: a traditional restaurant and a delivery only one.

DEMETRA BY THE NUMBER 2

production units located in the industrial zone of Morbegno-Talamona (Sondrio, Italy)

30,000

square metres of total space

12,000

square metres of covered facilities

+100

workers employed in the 2 production units

8,500

pallet stations available

+7,000

tons of vegetables processed

+100

sales staff members covering the territory (promoters, agents and area managers)

+500

worldwide distributors

As far as the procurement of raw materials is concerned, in Spain I found it very difficult to procure flour selected and specially ground for the pizza dough, as well as mozzarella and local dairy products, which often do not live up to our expectations and habits regarding taste. For cured meats and sausages, on the other hand, I found excellent suppliers and some excellences, such as Iberian raw ham. Otherwise, I regularly order high quality cooked ham and sweet and spicy salami from Italy. Speaking of tastes and preferences, contrary to Italians, Spaniards prefer white pizzas, often enriched with vegetables, pesto, courgette flowers, which remind them of the flavour of some local dishes. Finally, Nicola expresses a consideration on — 20 prices: “My businesses are both in the university area. At the beginning, I was the only Italian restaurateur but over time the competition increased a lot due to the birth of other Italian restaurants. I found my niche and carved out my clientele, also expanding the business with the laboratory specialised in delivery, which I inaugurated just before Covid. The situation in Spain was complex and, locally, I engaged in solidarity activities: every Monday I took orders and distributed free pizzas to the doctors in the local hospital.

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE AND MONICA PISCIELLA

For me, the pandemic period was also an opportunity to study and understand market changes, so much so that today I make just under half of my turnover with delivery. Having to pay about 20% more on imported raw materials, my prices have risen over time to the point of creating an important gap between me and other pizza chefs in the area: my pizzas range from €8 to €27 (for format and toppings, additions etc.) but the conquest of the Italian and local clientele is the result of great commitment, constant quality and communication. Compared to other restaurants and large chains, I focus on an impeccable service with the pizzas delivered hot and the typically Italian quality and refinement in taste". In conclusion, we could quote the saying: " paese che vai, pizza che trovi " (wherever you go, their pizza you’ll find ed.), but by talking to sector experts and professionals from such different situations, albeit united by the same passion, we learn that Italian pizza is increasingly a great ambassador of conviviality, capable of making us feel at home anywhere, in all four corners of the globe.

PIZZERIA? RESTAURANT? BAKERY? Whatever you do, just put your art in it. We’ll take care of the rest.

GRETA 13 speeds dough mixer with energy saving function. For a more oxygenated and hydrated dough.

KING The only electric pizza oven in the world cooking like a wood-burning oven.

AZZURRO BAKERY The high performance and versatile oven ideal for small bakeries and restaurants.

Hall 1P G11 - G21 H12 - H22

Hall B2 Booth 174

a member of ®

MINERVA GROUP

www.gaminternational.it

info@gaminternational.it

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BY FEDERICA MIGNACCA AND ANTONIO PUZZI

Which oven for my pizzeria?

"If there is a universal dish, it is not the hamburger but the pizza, because it is limited to a common base - the dough - on which everyone can arrange, organise and express their difference" is how Jacques Attali, economist and French writer, manages to capture the essence of one of the most loved dishes in the world, which best describes the identity of the Italian territory and its artisans.

Designing an identifying pizza is certainly a trump card from the point of view of recognition and enhancement of the product and the craftsmanship behind it. In order to design a workspace that allows you to reproduce your own pizza, the core business of our business, the choice of the most appropriate equipment and technologies is, of course, essential. It is a fundamental phase of the design, based on some main aspects, including the type of product, the processing phases and times, the assessment of the organisation of the personnel in terms of skills, training and specialisation, the predicted volume of work, the target to be reached and, last but not least, optimisation in the choice of equipment that allows for any scalability in the culinary offer.

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WHICH OVEN FOR MY PIZZERIA?

The oven, used to cook our dough, is certainly one of the more debated appliances. The main types are:

• Wood oven • Electric oven • Gas oven The wood oven is certainly the most traditional and oldest, it can be built by hand and has a circular base made of refractory stone with a silicon base ranging from 55% to 58% depending on the construction techniques, or it can be partially prefabricated with refractory blocks and assembled on site. Some aspects remain fundamental and closely connected: the height and shape of the dome, the width of the mouth of the oven and finally the flue, whose position and dimensions must be closely studied for the specific installation. Where necessary, the combination with special machinery for the reduction of residual fumes could be required by law. Be careful, though! Not all wood-fired ovens are the same, the manufacturers today are highly specialised and offer identity products that allow greater insulation, product durability, use of different specific materials such as different refractory stones or materials such as salts and sands inserted below the floor which allow better heat retention. Pizza is cooked in a wood oven by conduction (i.e. by direct contact with the base of the dough disc), convection (the heat present inside the oven) and radiation (rays of heat coming

from the fire itself and from the dome). The wood-burning oven is utterly "worker dependent": this means that it needs the presence of a highly specialised baker. The skills required range from the first ignition of the oven to its daily ignition which must take place in consider23 — ation of both outside temperatures and those required for a good product result. Often even a few hours before. The task of the baker is twofold: to regulate the temperature of the oven through the introduction and the positioning of wood, guaranteeing the heating of the stalls and the dome (also called the sky); putting the disc of dough in the oven and managing its cooking by positioning and rotating it. The baker must also be able to manage oven temperatures at times when work slows down, taming the flame and temperatures. To do this, a shovel is used to put the pizza into the oven, and two different types of peels: one to handle the wood and one to turn and take the finished product out of the oven, guaranteeing hygiene and quality. Usually, at the base of the wood-burning oven, there is a lodging for the wood itself: in this way, it receives the heat from the oven and a drying process is guaranteed before it is used.

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BY FEDERICA MIGNACCA AND ANTONIO PUZZI

"If Pizza is not cooked in a wood-burning oven, it is not Neapolitan pizza" is what "Don" Antonio Starita of the century-old Pizzeria Starita in Naples claims. He spoke of his essential desire to invest in Turin and Milan, to look for venues that would allow the installation of a traditional wood-burning oven. The wood-burning oven, especially with the post-war construction of public ovens, has represented one of the most democratic tools for the distribution of food, with the aim of relieving the serious conditions of the communities and places affected by World War II, while the Marshall plan had the desired effects.

There are also ovens in which a lateral housing is provided but communicating with the oven chamber for inserting the wood. Recently, to respond also to market needs, sustainability requirements, environmental limitations and to protect the historical heritage, the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana has made a strong commitment to a strict and careful selection of the proposals of manufacturers, recognizing some ovens, other than wood-fired, as having suitable technical characteristics for the recognition of the "Verace Pizza Napoletana" brand. The electric oven cannot boast a thousand-year-old tradition like the wood-burning one and is certainly less charming, but it is certainly the easiest to use and most versatile oven for cooking different types of dough. In recent years, manufacturing companies have concentrated particularly on the quality and thickness of the refractory surfaces and on devising different resistances from the more common "spiral" ones to guarantee very homogeneous heat distribution. Electric ovens are often equipped with functional displays with special software that allow not only the programmability (temperatures and switch-on times) of the oven but also the possibility of managing everything remotely, through apps. The flue is a legal requirement even though it does not require any particular or expensive materials and is therefore suitable for installation in businesses with limited space. Compared to the wood oven, with an electric one the operator / baker has the simple task of putting the pizza in and taking it out of the oven, without having to rotate it

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WHICH OVEN FOR MY PIZZERIA?

25 —

or feed the oven manually as in the case of the wood oven. This aspect is an advantage that can’t be neglected, especially in these current times of staff shortages. Maintenance is minimal and daily cleaning is quick and easy, given that there is no need to clean the refractory surface of any fuel residues. In addition to the standard pizzeria ovens, the category also includes electric tunnel ovens, used for those activities whose core business concerns large-scale production contexts and business visions. The gas oven first spread for reasons regarding the difference in cost between electricity and gas. This aspect is not exactly applicable at present, given the imbalance created with the outbreak — 26 of war in Ukraine. Gas ovens work thanks to a burner positioned along the edge of the oven which is turned on to maximum power until the oven reaches the pre-set temperature. The burner flame produces heat which is pushed upwards by the heat conveyors positioned laterally, thus creating radiation. This offers the possibility of generating conduction and the combination of the two creates convection. Once the desired temperature is reached, the flame is set to minimum. The choice of an oven remains fundamental in order to make the best of our product. Choosing a high-performance oven allows you to maintain a product quality standard. The choice of more traditional ovens such as wood-burning ones or more modern ones such as electric or gas is closely linked to the type of product to be proposed and to the possibility of using the same oven to offer different styles and make the format of one's business more adaptable.

BY FEDERICA MIGNACCA AND ANTONIO PUZZI

However, it is important to know that each company supplies products with very different technical characteristics and therefore the technical data sheets must be analysed in detail. In fact, there are also combined ovens and rotating gas ovens that allow you to cook the dough disc without the intervention of the operator, as with electric ovens. It should be noted that by opening up to training and increasingly feeling the need to explore the whole world of bread-making, the new generation of pizza chefs, including even those who are more tied to the Neapolitan tradition, often decide to combine the traditional with electric or gas, to offer pan, peel or sauté fried pizzas, offering a more consistent range. Despite the immense charm of the wood-burning oven, the use of programmable equipment considerably reduces operator intervention and often also makes it possible to deal with problems regarding the lack of personnel.

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BY EDITORIAL STAFF

A question of peels 28

Putting the pizza in the oven and taking it out seems simple but, if you know Archimedes' principles on levers, you will understand that even holding a peel or a pizza turning peel is actually far from effortless. It is for this reason that, over time, technology in catering has created equipment that is increasingly lighter and easier to handle and above all able to respond to various needs and adapt to the different techniques that have become established around the world.

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To find out more, we asked those who deal with pizzeria work tools every day and who often also work as teachers or consultants: Tiziano De Filippis and Luca Gaccione.

A QUESTION OF PEELS

W H AT I S T H E DEVELO P M EN T OF P I Z Z A P EELS OVER T I M E?

Over time, pizza peels have evolved both in materials, shapes and dimensions. The beech wood peel has always been the only choice for bakers and pizza chefs to work their art. Over time, wood has been replaced with materials that are increasingly lighter and simpler to clean, with better durability and 29 — range of use. Unlike in the past when there was only one peel, pizza chefs can now count on peels that can be used to pick up the pizza from the counter and place it in the oven and small peels to extract the cooked pizzas.

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BY EDITORIAL STAFF

The development of the last 10 years has been very important, with changes of 2 main characteristics: material and hygiene. Today, we use carbon peels, with a light handle that allow you to tackle the job more easily, safeguarding the health of the pizza chef. The head of the peel may be in steel or aluminum that allow it to slide better under the pizza on the workbench. They can be perforated with different patterns for different specific uses, allowing excess flour, which often sticks to the base of the pizza, to fall, so it doesn’t take it into the oven which we know is not very healthy.

This revolution has led the peel to be even more hygienic, both in its cleaning as it’s free from residue and bacteria, and it is healthier as it eliminates the residual burnt flour that then comes out of the oven after baking.

WHAT T Y P E S OF P I ZZ A PEELS CAN WE F I N D O N THE MA RKET? Pizza peels on the market differ according the type of pizza to be made (classic round pizza, Neapolitan pizza, pizza on a shovel, pinsa). Based on the relationship between shape and type of pizza, the peel is made of a suitable material that can undergo the stress of the work but above all that of the temperature in the oven. For classic pizza, there are many choices both in terms of materials which could be steel, light alloy, aluminium, carbon fiber and the fact that they can be perforated to eliminate excess flour when putting the pizza in the oven, or unperforated. The pizza chef can choose between — 32 round or rectangular peels. For pizza on the shovel, the length may differ based on the type of pizza proposed and also in this case they may be perforated or not.

BY EDITORIAL STAFF

DO ES EVERY P I Z Z A CH EF H AVE TH EI R OW N P EEL? That's right! Every pizza chef chooses their peel carefully, because it is an important tool that allows you to work better while giving less stress to the body, especially compared to the peels of the past, which can still be found in some pizzerias. The thing that will affect the choice is the type of pizza that you have chosen to make in the restaurant, customising the peel in terms of size, weight and type of head of the peel itself.

An evolving world, therefore, which shows how the future is in our hands.

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A QUESTION OF PEELS

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BY EDITORIAL STAFF

Kneader:

which one should I choose for my pizzeria? 34 If you make the dough by hand, you can safely skip this article but... since today the help of the most advanced technical instruments allows us to achieve results that were unexpected until a few years ago, perhaps it is appropriate to ask ourselves: which kneader helps me get the best dough?

Here, let's immediately dispel a myth: there is no single answer, because a lot depends on what you intend to do. To provide you with the most accurate consideration possible, we asked for the help of two exceptional technicians: Aurora Napolitano, head of training for the schools of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana and Tiziano De Filippis, technical director of the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli.

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KNEADER

35 — WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON DOUGHS? aurora: Each leavened dough contains living microorganisms (yeasts and bacteria). Consequently, the temperature of the dough must be suitable for their metabolism. Temperature is a determining factor in the life of all living beings, capable of accelerating and slowing down cellular metabolism. The final temperature of the dough depends on several factors: the temperature of the working environment, the temperature of the raw materials used (flour and water) and the heat caused by the kneader. The temperature of the flour, of the environment, that of the water and that generated by the action of the kneading machine are determining factors in the management of the dough. The first

three are easily measurable with a thermometer, while the last one depends on the type of mixer used. On the market we find three types: the fork kneader, which is slower and generates an average heating of the dough of 3°C (5½°F) ; the one with dipping arms which heats the dough by around 6°C (11°F) and the spiral, which raises the temperature of the dough by an average of about 9°C (16°F). WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON THE DOUGH DUE TO HEATING FROM THE KNEADING MACHINE? tiziano: The dough is formed thanks to various steps and elements which, combined with each other, facilitate the work of the kneader itself.

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BY EDITORIAL STAFF

Each type of dough has a different mechanism, which conditions the time it takes to obtain a specific product; some discriminating factors are, for example, the tub, the contrast column, the spiral and the structure, which is usually made of steel. Each element has a different heating coefficient, due to the friction that the dough undergoes during its formation.

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The heat transmitted to the dough must not be low or too high because it would compromise the ideal final temperature required to allow the dough to have the correct balance for good proofing. If the dough is kneaded for too long and therefore heating is excessive, we will have a very stiff and stressed dough, which will cause the product to be chewed for longer and the ball (or loaf) will hold less during processing. Conversely, with lower heating, the gluten mesh will be poorly structured, penalising the development that the dough should have.

KNEADER

WHICH KNEADING MACHINE IS BEST SUITED FOR REAL NEAPOLITAN PIZZA? aurora: The fork mixer remains synonymous with tradition and is the favourite of historic pizza chefs. The spiral mixer which initially involved excessive heating of the dough, with the advent of technologies and technical modifications to the worm and the rounded bowl has now become a commonly used in Neapolitan pizzerias. In my opinion, however, the dipping arm mixer remains the closest to simulating manual skill and preserves the delicacy of the dough.

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BY EDITORIAL STAFF

LET'S IMAGINE WE DON'T WANT TO MAKE NEAPOLITAN PIZZA: WHICH KNEADING MACHINE CAN WE RECOMMEND TO "NONNEAPOLITAN" PIZZA MAKERS? tiziano: There are many types of kneaders on the market. Usually, for the pizza world, the most recommended is the spiral one, as it allows you to manage more complex recipes or in any case different types of dough. Each mechanism gives a very precise characteristic, above all in the consistency of the dough, obviously with different rates of heating. The fork kneader, for example, is the one that heats the least, therefore the time of use will be medium-long, without stressing the formation of the dough too much, and is therefore also very suitable for Neapolitan pizza. The one with dipping arms, on the other hand, allows you to make doughs that need to remain longer during their formation and is therefore ideal for pastry and large leavened products. The spiral one causes medium heating and therefore, based on the characteristics of how it is structured, it allows you to make any type of dough (even those with high hydrations). However, I don't want to forget to mention the planetary mixer used both at home and in the restaurant and pastry sector, which allows you to do many processes but with a much more energetic and aggressive mechanism. So, may you be the judge.

Next meetings:

www.sunmix.it

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

Raw or cooked? 40

What if it was Tech?

In mid-January 2023, the report "Investments in agrifood-tech in Italy 2022" was published, which portrayed how much and what was done in Italy last year by companies and investors. A report that tells of the slow but promising Italian growth in this sector, with a total invested in 2022 of more than 156 million euros. This certainly represents a large sum for those who are not used to the large numbers that Agrifood Tech generates worldwide, but which represent approximately 0.3% of the 51.7 billion dollars invested in 2022. Compared to our daily economic dimension, these are staggering figures on a global level!

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The great protagonists of this report are, of course, the entrepreneurs and start-uppers who create companies with an innovative vision which apply new technologies. On the other side of the game, there are funds or individuals who invest in these companies by "betting" on future success: the so-called Venture Capitalists.

This world is apparently complex and often little known by those not involved in finance and innovation but it deserves a careful look because through these companies we are interpreting the future or its trends.

RAW OR COOKED?

In the agrifood tech sector we find not only companies that produce agricultural technologies, raw materials or semi-finished products but also innovative distribution and catering companies. Discovering this report, we will analyze what is closest to catering to focus this "look" towards the future through innovative companies and products that will be in our everyday lives in the future. The analysis that 41 — I report in this article is the most pertinent to the world of catering, but the report is free and available online for anyone wishing to explore all the topics.

The "Restaurant Tech" sector is worth €18.35 million in investments: within it we find technologies, IT, digital services, innovative dark kitchens. Among the leading companies of 2022, some may already be present in your restaurant!

At the top of this list we find Deliveristo, one of the first European B2B marketplaces dedicated to Ho.Re.Ca., where restaurateurs can order directly from a selection of 350 producers (increasing) something more than 60,000 agricultural items, fresh and dry food. Compared to any food-service supplier, the relationship between Deliveristo and the restaurateur is completely digital through apps and allows for flexible ordering. Another big name on this list is Soul-K, a B2B company with three brands dedicated to the three main food-service channels. Established several years ago, it has specialized in offering restaurants, supermarkets and mass catering a proposal made up of fresh ingredients, semi-finished products and ready meals in a direct supply chain. — 42 Moreover, Soul-K is not only an innovative food industry but also a technological company. In fact, it is among the first companies in the world to apply innovation to food production through an industry 4.0 system, using "just in time"

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

production logics and methods. Among the companies in the tech world, we find Qodeup, an "Order&Pay" type app for catering. That is, it is a digital menu with an integrated pay-at-the-table system, so that customers can manage the order and payment process, simplifying order management. In the same field we find Qromo, which also offers an "Order & Pay" system with which customers can order directly from the table using their smartphone. Qromo offers a complete solution, equipped with restaurant management and that of telephone orders, delivery and takeaway. Also excellent for those circumstances such as concerts and events where having customers order and pay with a single app allows you to eliminate the classic queues at the tills. Among the innovative catering formats rewarded by investors in 2022, Kuiri and Delivery Valley certainly deserve mention. They operate in the digital catering sector, with business models with completely different characteristics.

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Kuiri can boast the merit of being the first Italian cloud kitchen, a cross between a coworking space and an incubator dedicated to digital catering. After careful selection, the restaurateurs within Kiuri can find a "turnkey" space in which to set up and test a new business idea with a virtual brand. Alternatively, it is possible to use the spaces to "open" with your own brand in new cities, without the need to immediately invest in a laboratory or restaurant to open from scratch. Kuiri also has an innovative IT management system which allows, via the Megamix app, to be able to order different dishes from the various brands of the companies present in the cloud kitchen at once: an important innovation to satisfy increasingly mature and demanding customers of delivery. Delivery Valley, on the other hand, specializes in the creation of laboratory kitchens in which the company's 8 brands are made. Started with four great classics, i.e. pizza, hamburger, chicken and hot-dog, the unique characteristic of Delivery Valley is that, as the founders say, it is a dark kitchen that has decided not to remain in the dark, having decided on visible and street facing outlets, on captivating communication on social networks and on the use of digital technologies. JoJollly is characterized by a completely different business as it is dedicated exclusively to human resources. It is a startup that helps restaurateurs to find

RAW OR COOKED?

personnel to manage productivity peaks and unforeseen situations. Innovative, simple to manage and economically sustainable for the restaurant business, JoJolly is a platform that simplifies the meeting and management of job supply and demand in the restaurant business with the guarantee of service quality, facilitating all bureaucratic aspects. Launched in April 2019, it has intermediated more than 13,000 regularized services and 400 jobs created.

Speaking of products, we cannot overlook the importance of "Plant Based", which 43 today represents one of the strategic assets in the innovation of products for cuisine. In Italy, in fact, investments are mainly concentrated on this sector characterized by innovative proteins and meat of vegetable origin, which we will have to learn to live with and - why not - take advantage of innovation and research opportunities to invent some dishes of the restaurant of the future.

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

The future of restaurant tech seen through the eyes of Peter Kruger. 44

PRESIDENT OF AGRIFOOD-TECH ITALIA, MANAGING PARTNER AT AGFOOD VENTURES, CHAIRMAN AT AGRIFOOD-TECH ITALIA, CEO EZECUTE, CEO STARTUPBOOTCAMP FOODTECH.

Interviewed about the 2022 report, to the question on how and what he sees in the future of the Restaurant Tech sector, Kruger says:

“Ten years ago, we witnessed the growth of Food Delivery with an increase that had been unimaginable until then, just as unbelievable as the current scenario. Today, the large marketplaces are at a standstill worldwide, but they are working in two directions:

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consolidation of distribution partnerships including off food (from household appliances to medicines), home shopping delivery and above all increasing margins minimum to support the business model as it matures"

RAW OR COOKED?

With regard to the world of catering, an interesting thought emerged:

“In this socio-economically complex moment, catering is unable to express highly innovative exploits or formats, rather I note the growth of the software and services sector. At the moment we are witnessing a strong

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

innovative push for tech solutions such as connected appliances 4.0, hot transport systems or robotics applied to the industrial production chain. Apart from the large marketplaces and some innovative models linked to virtual brands, the Italian restaurant sector proves to be decidedly conservative or, perhaps better, fond of the traditional restaurant model".

In conclusion, looking positively at the numbers and growth potential of the sector, Kruger concludes:

“The catering sector and the processing and transformation of ingredients is natively innovative and therefore products and trends are

being tested around the world that will impact the way we consider food and the choices we will be able to make in the immediate future. Think about what happened years ago with the arrival of ethnic food proposals on the Italian market and their reworking”. Speaking of the future, one last point from Kruger is also linked to the tech evolution of logistics in catering, with an increasingly qualitative approach in B2B and B2C delivery services. Meanwhile, delivery itself may have been revolutionized through the self- driving of vehicles dedicated to home delivery.

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BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

Green washing or green economy?

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GREEN WASHING OR GREEN ECONOMY?

THE DARK SIDE OF GREEN Pondering which was the best approach to writing this article, I explored different possibilities: positive, negative, possibilist, conspiracy theorist… All these ways would have followed a path which, while still seeking a virtuous approach, would in some way have ended up talking about the same companies, perhaps listed in a different order. I decided to start with the clarity of the concepts (and examples) of Green Economy and Greenwashing applied to the world of food & beverage and referable, finally, to catering. I‘ll start with the dark side of green, but not to feed suspicion and distrust! I'd like this first paragraph simply to be considered the part where I'm going to show you the worst way to approach it. Using the words that we have been taught since childhood: "duty before pleasure"! Greenwashing certainly represents what many large companies should make amends for: using a noble purpose to

improve their image or - worse still - their profits. It is not an approach 49 — from which I would draw an example as it is not up to me to judge what happens in the world of industry. Specifically, to give an example from a certain source, I cite the survey "Unilever's Plastic Playbook" (A Reuters Special Report) which caused a sensation at the end of June 2022 because it involved the well-known multinational Unilever, a manufacturer of food and non-food consumer products, in an intricate system of blackmail. It seems that, as far as the food and soaps/detergents sectors are concerned, Reuters journalists brought to light the news that Unilever, publicly committed to reducing the environmental impact of its most polluting packaging, used its influence (locally) to put pressure on politicians and commissions so that certain environmental protection laws would not be passed. These laws would have had an important economic impact on the mul-

tinational's profit, with sanctions and marketing bans, precisely in the product lines that the company is eliminating in the rest of the world to reduce the environmental impact. Unfortunately, in some developing nations, these single packs are precisely the most profitable ones as more pieces are sold at a lower cost... but at the environmental cost of being the most polluting! This example shows us how even the company that publicly seems to be the most attentive to the "green" issue can hide a "dark side" from which completely different purposes can be deduced. Unfortunately, this system is as common as it is ignored, because it would need — 50 heartfelt explanations for something that has nothing hearty about it... If you would like to learn more, the survey is freely available on the Reuters website.

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

THE COMPANIES THAT SAVE THE WORLD Let's now move on to the Green Economy, looking for righteous examples that are not the "usual" facade of something else but courageous stories of companies that try to "save the world" with facts and daily commitment. A couple of Italian cases can be codified as companies that have long pursued the goal of "saving the world" in a sustainable and profitable way and, of course, they are both open to external collaborations and participation! 3Bee, a startup born in 2017, intends to support the ecosystem of Italian bees and beekeepers through an integrated system with a very low environmental impact: for beekeepers it has implemented technological innovation capable of monitoring the state of health and performance in the " harvest".

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GREEN WASHING OR GREEN ECONOMY?

For individuals, it offers the possibility to "rent" a beehive, follow it online and receive the honey produced by their own beehive directly at home, which is especially interesting for involving children. Finally, 3Bee offers the opportunity to larger companies to integrate corporate projects that have a social and responsible relevance to introduce impactful actions for the well-being of the territory and nature. Green in style, but based on productivity, the Biova Project is bringing interesting innovation from Turin to a sector in constant ferment: that 51 — of beer! The idea, as simple as it is ingenious, foresees that the company recovers the unsold bread from the project partners and that, through a production process, it transforms what would have been waste into excellent beer! This ancient process takes us directly back to the historical evolution of beer. It seems, in fact, that the "first" beer was born in the Sumerian era precisely for the fermentation of bread and water in a poorly sealed skin. Biova started its activity in 2019 and proposed a circular replenishment of bread as a raw material: about 100 kg of stale bread is used in each batch of beer, which reduces the need for malt by 30% with a positive economic and environmental effect, reducing the environmental impact of the final product on the cultivated raw material.

Wondering how a green approach could be applied to catering, in addition to the examples already mentioned last year in the issue of "Pizza e Pasta Italiana" dedicated to the fight against food waste, I came across an October 2022 interview with Heinz Beck, chef of the well-known three-Michelin-starred restaurant "La Pergola", in Rome. It is interesting how his approach to environmental issues is organisational, social and economic. To quote him: "In our restaurant we always know how many customers we have, we organise ourselves accordingly and there is no waste. We have always worked in a sustainable way also for a question — 52 of social responsibility.

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

credits: Instagram: @heinzbecklapergola

Fifteen years ago, I started applying circular economy to the preparation of dishes and, after so many years, today we use products from sustainable agriculture; 90% of fruit and vegetables come from biodynamic and regenerative agriculture" Heinz Beck continues: “We do not order in crates, but in pieces or kilos, so waste is almost zero. Now we have developed a new system to avoid wasting raw materials. For example, when a cabbage arrives, it is immediately dissected and the various parts are placed in different containers in specific spaces in the refrigerator. In this way, the employees always know where to get the most suitable part of the cabbage for the preparation of a certain dish. This also avoids waste due to carelessness, like using the heart when the outer leaves will do fine.

But above all, you avoid using the heart and throwing away the rest. If you have to manage an activity with good economic results - as well as quality - you must be careful of anything that could be a cost; there are costs that cannot be avoided such as energy, personnel, raw materials, but waste is an avoidable cost”. Never as in recent months have we experienced the consequences of the extraordinary events of these years: pandemic and war have opened our eyes to how important every single gesture, aware choice and investment in innovation can be for the survival of commercial activities but also for their all-round impact on the world. If we tried to — 54 pay the utmost attention to detail and production processes, I am convinced that the collective impact of catering and hospitality could have an increasingly environmentally and economically sustainable footprint:

BY DOMENICO MARIA JACOBONE

in our small way we could try to change the world.

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ROBERTO SUSTA

Roberto Susta

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Tell me your professional history My story begins when I was 14: I cleared the tables and carried the dirty dishes to the kitchen. One day, while I was working, I felt like making a pizza but when I was about to roll out the dough the owner scolded me. Thirty years ago, there was the jealousy of the trade: “hey, what are you doing there, get off the counter immediately”. That prohibition made me so angry and gave me a lot of energy to learn how to make pizza. That’s how it started. Over the years, my brothers opened a gaming arcade: I made pizzas in the home oven and some sandwiches for customers. One day, my eldest brother of the family, who was already a pizza chef, had an oven built overnight. The arcade became a pizzeria. The expertise of the pizza chef follows a process, step by step, first covering less valuable and dignified roles. I spent a few years near the oven and, in the meantime, I was learning how to make pizza. Initially, I prepared it for myself and ate it: you know, when you do something for yourself there is a very gratifying emotional leverage. Salvatore and I opened Sustable, which is technically owned by him and I work there. The idea was his. In 2013 we enrolled in a cooking class. He was a master and there we learned all the basics of Italian cuisine: knowledge of the process-

es, the use of the blast chiller, the vacuum machine, etc. I have always maintained that pizza should be made with natural products and not with canned things. What is pizza for you and what is the philosophy that guides you in making it? In the school we attended we improved a lot. The owner admired the fact that two already established pizza makers were there to take a cooking class: many do consultancy and then make customers believe that it’s all their own business. He had a vision, and asked us if we felt like being teachers of the Scuola Pizzeria and we accepted the challenge. The course had two, maximum three members: with our dedication we took it to twenty participants. It was also quite expensive. We elevated something that was really down and eventually we were kindly dumped. Relations worsened, today we have made peace but we are no longer teachers of that school anyway. Pizza for me is a gastronomic journey, which is why my goal is

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to stimulate the five senses. I also collaborated with an Italian-American youtuber, Vito Iacopelli and tourists come to Volla to eat our pizza: many pizza makers and cooks also come. Since I like to understand what customers need, I questioned them and asked: “when you want to eat a good pizza and you don’t come to my place, where do you go?”. Each one listed me positive and negative feedback of the places they went. For example, they told me that for fried pizza they went to the Figliole, for the Margherita to Michele and so on. Everyone concentrated on the single product, today of course this is no longer the case. Everything must be impeccable: the pizza, the fried food and even the dessert, which we make ourselves thanks to the cooking school; they have to be a “happy ending”. However, the latter must also be there in terms of digestibility for the next day and I also give great importance to seasonality.

I know that your workhorse is the Pizza Fiocco, what story is behind its conception? I strongly believe in primordial tastes: people don’t like tastes that don’t belong to us. I was inspired by the potato gateau. I thought about when mothers and grandmothers prepare it and create that little crust on top that comes out of the pan and that you feel like stealing when you’re hungry but you can’t, because your mother tells you that you have to wait for your father for dinner! So, you know, that delicious, slightly forbidden recipe... in reality it is nothing more than a base of cream, cooked ham and potato grains with cheese and pepper which caramelize when cooked, so that the pizza becomes crunchy. To make it known, I made real campaigns. When the dads came to buy

the usual 4 Margheritas, I gifted them a whole Fiocco. The next time they would came back and tell me that the children had fought over that pizza, so I started giving it cut into wedges. Then I personally did tastings on the street, went out and threw myself in front of cars. The first few times the situation embarrassed me but then it became more and more pleasant. People became familiar with it and even the traffic policemen said to me: “But isn’t the pizza coming out tonight?”. But humans get bored easily. A customer once told me that if I didn’t make a new pizza he would never come again: panic. At that moment, the cook was preparing the bolognese fettuccine, I took a ladle of it and thus the “Bolognese” was born. In my opinion, all pizza chefs in the world should train as a chef.

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Propose just one pizza to me, other than the Fiocco, and explain how it is made. If you came now, I’d offer you the Giallo Fiume: cooked yellow tomato sauce, sautéed green chilli peppers, provola cheese and stretched bacon. This combination allows me to stimulate the palate with the sweetness of the tomato, the flavour and crunchiness of the bacon and the softness of the chilli pepper. It’s typically summery. However, the offer is very vast, in every sense. We are carrying out a project called “No-one excluded”, because it is important for us that all customers are happy to come here. The word restaurant contains the meaning of “restore” and we need to be able to cater for everyone. We offer vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and lactose-free menus: a complete service. We are not talking about simple pizza but also fried food and desserts: a complete itinerary.

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The Fiocco pizza was born from the creativity of Roberto Susta, a pizza chef from the outskirts of Naples, more precisely Volla. In short, the Fiocco pizza contains several flavours together, namely pizza and Cattò (typical Neapolitan recipe). It is prepared with a disc of well-leavened dough, — 58 a thin layer of cream, cooked ham, mozzarella and chopped potatoes, which take on a golden colour when cooked and make the surface crunchy while the heart remains soft, and grated aged cheese salt, pepper and oil.

Pizza Fiocco Method Knead: flour, water, yeast, salt. Form loaves of 300 g (10 ½ oz) Let them rise for 8 hours Roll out the pizza, spread 60 g (2 oz) of cream, place the slices of cooked ham trying to cover the whole pizza, add the mozzarella with the help of a potato masher, add the boiled potatoes and season with salt, pepper and cheese and press it on the pizza and bake in a preheated oven at 250°C / 482°F and cook for 15-20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS: Potatoes 1 kg (2 lb 3oz) Salt and Pepper To Taste Cheese 100 g (3 ½ oz) 00 flour 1 kg (2 lb 3oz) Water 700 ml (23.7 US fl oz / 24.6 UK fl oz) Salt 25 g (4 ½ tsp) Brewer's Yeast 2 g (1/3 tsp)

ROBERTO SUSTA

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ROBERTO D'AVANZO

Roberto D'Avanzo 60 Roberto, tell me about your professional history and how BOB Alchimia a Spicchi (Slices of Alchemy ed.) was born. My professional history was born by chance. I attended the surveying school and during the summer I worked in Veneto in my uncles’ hotel. There, I took my first steps in the pizzeria. Upon my return I continued to work while studying in other places, and was unaware of the fact that this would become my future. After graduating I enrolled in university. However, some things “distracted” me from studying: I lived with two dear friends and, during the afternoons of study, it made me really happy to prepare something good for them. One day pizza, another biscuits or croissants for breakfast. After a while, I convinced myself that my path was probably another. I’ve never got lost in chit chat or stopped. I’ve always tried to value time, which in my opinion is essential for professional growth. I have certainly sacrificed something but I have never felt my choice to be a burden: those

who embrace this profession do it as a lifestyle. I dropped out of university without thinking too much about it and enrolled in the Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli in Caorle. After the course I started working in various places from North to South. I dedicated myself to teaching for a few years in Michele Intrieri’s Scuola Italiana Pizza, with whom I shared moments of work and happy days. For me, being an artisan really means drawing happiness from what you do because through your profession you express yourself: a vision, a memory, an emotion, a perspective. It is from these principles that BOB was born. A small room of 50 square meters in Montepaone. Together with Anna, my partner in business and life, at the age of 28 I created the place from scratch. I baked all day: bakery in the morning, pizza in the evening. We often didn’t even go home at night, the weekends we still baked after midnight. I always say BOB was born with little money and lots of love. The greatest happiness is being able to experience all this

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in my land: Calabria. It seems absurd but, when we opened, there were practically no pizzerias offering Calabrian products. In a short time, there were endless queues outside the club. Everything exploded suddenly and unexpectedly. From two hearts and a hut we have turned into a family of over 18 people: my “Band Of Brothers”. We first expanded and then moved. Over the years we have had many satisfactions, no demands but a great driving desire: best sweet pizza 2019 with the iconic “Ricotta and bergamot”; among the 100 best pizzerias in the “’l’Espresso” guide; Carlino d’Argento award

for youth enterprise; Gambero Rosso Three Wedges, Best “pizza company” 2023 for Identità Golose. Other projects were then born such as the “Bobfest”, a charity event together with AIRC and TIMO in memory of my father, which sees the participation of professionals from all over Italy; “Alchemists for love” or “Bob Drive”. Bob is based on the principle of community, there are no individualisms. Everyone in this place knows they have a friend. With some there was already a friendship before the opening, some were customers and then moved behind the counter. We all have the same goal: together we dedicate ourselves to studying, to outings to the country, we spend time together and share the desire to work ethically. What is pizza for you? I know that your philosophy is that of #MangiamiConLeMani (#EatWithYourHands ed.) and that you are also a great experimenter with topping and doughs. Pizza is my only means of expression. I always have the enthusiasm of a child whenever I create. Pizza is the food that best gives happiness to man. I am thrilled to be able to dispense this happiness. I feel that everything comes back, only positive waves: isn’t it the most beautiful job in the world? We continuously experiment in order to improve our doughs among other things. Every month we always find new proposals and techniques that can make them unique.

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Among the starters, for example, you won’t find rotisserie but different variations of pizza and bread products in single portions. Our philosophy is based on: respect, empathy, coherence, consistency, all applicable to the territory, ingredients, collaborators and customers. The idea of #mangiamiconlemani comes from a series of different technical and non-technical conclusions: touch is a sense that must necessarily be involved when eating and which completes a series of stimulating sensations that integrate with the rest; the bite we make to the slice accompanied by the hands allows us to taste all the individual ingredients; there is greater focus on reach; serving the pizza already cut on wooden cutting boards allows evaporation, avoiding the condensation of excess humidity, ensuring a better shelf-life of our dough; in front of a pizza we are all the same, we like to see pizza as a “level” that does not demand rigidity and composure despite the refinement of the raw materials. How much importance do you give to your territory in the choice of raw materials? We are “story assemblers”. In Calabria it was common to import identities and products from models outside the region: it will seem strange but it was almost impossible to find a Calabrian tomato on a pizza. When we opened, it was enough to look around to find everything we needed within a few kilometers and give our pizza an identity. Starting with the tomato pulp (in my opinion the best in the world) from Agricola Migliarese or

RECIPES

ROBERTO D'AVANZO

the goat cheeses of Maria, an artisan and fantastic person; to move on to Ciminà caciocavallo, tomato and Gammune of Belmonte, Slow Food Presidia; to mozzarella produced with only Calabrian milk from the small Mancuso dairy; hand-woven Tropea onion; al mulupu, a soft Aspromonte cheese created with ancient Calabrian techniques etc. My menu is a tale of these stories, I always try to thank them by bringing them together on my pizzas. I chose to be on the side of all of them, whose importance is essential to me. If I came to eat at your pizzeria, which pizza would you suggest? I couldn’t choose just one pizza. I recommend a starter that we will soon include in the menu: “when it rains it pours”. A stale focaccia, clarified tomato soup and crunchy base, pesto powder and flying cloud of mozzarella. For clarification we need 4 days of processing in which it is cooked, seasoned and gelled, blast chilled for 24 hours and left to drip dry slowly in the fridge for another two days on etamine cloths. In the tomato water we soak our focaccia obtained from sourdough and a cut of jermanu, the “Calabrian rye”, regenerated “upside down” and dabbed in a pesto powder obtained with the Pacojet and dried for 24 hours. To finish the composition, we will make it “rain” mozzarella water from a flying cloud. Nothing but a touch of tomato, mozzarella and extremely fresh, delicate and captivating basil.

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PIZZA EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

Transparent Margherita

" I recently formulated the idea of a white pizza that deceived the eye but was actually a margherita, this using the tomato clarification technique, you should see our customers' faces when they bite it and can’t believe it! The sensation is that of a more delicate and light pizza especially for those who have difficulty digesting seeds and tomato peel. I thought of it on our plate pizza base."

DOUGH: 500 g / 17 ½ oz type “0” strength flour 400 g / 14 oz type “1” strength flour 100 g / 3 ½ oz type “0” or “1” flour w 220/240 800 ml / 28.2 UK fl oz / 27.1 US fl oz water 30 g / 1 oz extra virgin olive oil 25 g / 0.9 oz salt 9 g / 1/3 oz Compressed yeast CLARIFIED TOMATO: 2 kg / 4 lb 5oz of tomato pulp 25 g / 0.9 oz salt Basil

Garlic

Crystal maize

0 g / 1/3 oz of gelatin

Method

• For the pre-dough Mix the strong flours with the yeast dissolved in 405 g (13.7 US fl oz / 14.25 UK fl oz) of water and leave raw, store at 10C° / 50° F for 48 hours • Refreshing the dough 1 hour before the pre-dough is ready, put the 100 g / 3 ½ oz of remaining flour with 60 g / 2.1 UK fl oz / 2.03 US fl oz of water and cover Once the time has elapsed, add all the predough and 135 g / 4.6 US fl oz / 4.75 UK fl oz of water, after 5 minutes add the salt, the remaining part of the water slowly and finally the oil Leave to rest in a tub, fold after 30 minutes and wait another 30 minutes before cutting loaves of 250 g / 8.8 oz up to a maximum of 280 g / 10 oz. Leave to rise for 8 hours at +8 C° / 46°F before rolling out and putting in the oven, or for 12 hours at +4 C°/ 39° F. • Season the tomato a day before and leave the aromas to macerate, taking care to remove them afterwards. Soak the gelatin in cold water and dissolve in the tomato by bringing it to the heat, proceed with negative blast chilling and once a solid block is obtained, strain into a container filtering with etamine cloths in the fridge for 48 hours. After the time has elapsed, weigh the liquid obtained and thicken with 5% of Crystal maize. • Conclusion Roll out the disc with a diameter of 30 cm / 12”, distribute 90 g / 3.2 oz of clarified tomato, a sprinkling of Parmesan, basil and mozzarella. Bake at a temperature of +380° C / 716°F

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Ciccio Filippelli 64

Tell me about your professional history and how you got to where you are now. My story begins as a youngster. In the summer months off school, I worked seasonally at a beach club as a handyman. In those times I would look into the kitchen and during breaks I would help the pizza chef cut out the dough, then I would “steal” a loaf of it and work it myself. After graduating from accounting high school, I took a course for pizza makers, I began studying dough preparation techniques and mechanics. After this diploma I worked for a year in a pizza restaurant in my town (Paola, Cosenza, Italy). I really wanted to grow and have experiences that could enrich me personally and above all professionally. In 2015 I met a group of young Milanese entrepreneurs who had the aim of opening locations in the city. So, I moved to Milan. Business was going very well and so they opened a second one after a few months. It is precisely in this environment that I have grown a lot professionally and have achieved wonderful results such as the inclusion in the 50 top pizza 2017 and 2018, two Gambero Rosso wedges, the guide by l’Espresso, La Repubblica, Agrodolce, Identità Golose and Dissapore. Growing up, I increasingly developed my own identity, my own style, also understanding the managerial as-

CICCIO FILIPPELLI

E pects of a company. In 2019, together with some partners, I opened my first restaurant in Milan and, after a year, a second one in Seregno (again achieving excellent results: i Magnifici 7 and Dissapore). However, it was in 2020 that, during Covid, thinking and rethinking, I felt the desire to go home to Calabria. In August 2020, I left the Milanese company and returned to my town. I wanted to bring my pizza to my home town and to work well. It was precisely in 2021 that, again together with my partners, I opened “Duodecim Pizze” in Rende (Caserta, Italy), the first project 100% mine. What is your concept of pizza: what does it represent for you and how important is the raw material? I can only conceive pizza as a set of experiences of taste, personality and tradition that come together to create a unique and constantly evolving product. Today it is not only my job but also a life purpose, a reason for joys and sacrifices. I am

I “N’dujAMI” E SLICES/10

PIZZA EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

thinking of pizza made only with extremely high-quality products; In my opinion, a good product can only be defined as such if it is made with sought-after and certified raw materials that have a positive impact on our health and the environment. For me, these are the essential elements for the production of every pizza I make. Propose a pizza to me and explain how it is made The “Ndujami”: PDO Campania buffalo mozzarella from the “Caseificio

Colonne”, with Fior d’Agerola from “F.lli Fusco”, Nduja of Spilinga “F.lli Caccamo”, yellow tomato from the Vesuvius valley “Virtuna”, Apulian cows’ stracciatella from “Ignalat”, poppy seeds, wild chive sprinkle, 20-month Grana Padano flakes, fresh basil, “Guglielmi” organic extra virgin olive oil. This certainly reflects my personality, but above all the flavours of my land. Perhaps it is, together with the Margherita, the one I am most fond of.

Pizza

" Our dough is a double leavened direct dough made with type 0 and type 1 flours from Molino Quaglia."

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DOUGH:

TOPPINGS:

flour

PDO Campania buffalo mozzarella from the company "Caseificio Colonne”

water

yellow tomato from the Vesuvius valley company "Virtuna"

brewer's yeast

Nduja of Spilinga from "F.lli Caccamo"

fine natural salt

20-month Grana Padano flakes

a dusting of poppy seeds local fresh basil and “Guglielmi” organic extra virgin olive oil

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PIZZA E PASTA ITALIANA Monthly food and food culture magazine Published by PIZZA NEW S.p.A. With permission of the court of Venice n. 1019 del 02/04/1990 n.10, September, 2023 English Issue Repertorio ROC n. 5768

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Massimo Puggina EDITOR Antonio Puzzi EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Lorella Di Vilio ADVERTISING Caterina Orlandi EDITING OFFICE 30021 CAORLE (Venezia) via Sansonessa, 49 Tel. +39 0421 212348 Fax +39 0421 83178 E-mail: redazione@pizzaepastaitaliana.it follow us

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ASSOCIATED WITH THE ITALIAN UNION FOR PERIODICAL PRESS FOR ADVERTISING OF FOREIGN MAGAZINES ITALIA Pizza e Pasta Italiana U.S.A. Pizza Today, P.M.Q. – TEL +39 0421 212348 FAX +39 0421 83178

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Since 1990, Pizza e Pasta Italiana has been the Italian magazine of reference for professionals working in the pizza sector. As the organiser of international events such as the Pizza World Championship, Pizza e Pasta Italiana magazine tells the story of pizza over time, in Italy and in the world, through scientific articles, interviews with professionals, thematic insights on toppings, ingredients and specialities, processing techniques and new trends, with a constant spirit of service towards the restaurateur.

Slices is a print and digital publishing project that continues to grow by looking into some of the basic raw materials to make pizza to perfection. "Slices" of culture for professionals only, offering them a practical and immediate tool to progressively contribute to spreading knowledge of raw materials, processing techniques, technologies and the most suitable tools to prepare, with passion and love, one of the most loved dishes in the world.

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