QUALITALY

APR. MAY 2018

XIII

AT PAGE 52

AT THE TABLE

The pizza of contention

Everyone against Cracco. The

‘Neapolitan Pizzaiolo’ refuses to

agree. Whether Margherita or

Marinara, the essential point for

pizza is to excel in the dough

By Mauro Garofalo

Pizza making is an art. And since

December 2017, with the recognition

of UNESCO, this art is a World

Heritage Site. What has changed?

“Everything and nothing,” the

Leopard would answer. In reality,

opportunities are growing in an

increasingly open market - think

abroad - and which still offers ample

margins for growth. With some

basic rules: use quality Made in Italy

products and add a pinch of fantasy.

Pizza, here in our country, is history.

Perhaps it is true that in 1889 the

cook Raffaele Esposito, in honour

of Margherita di Savoia, prepared a

dough with tomato, fior di latte, basil

- the colours of Italy - oil and salt. Or

maybe the “real” pizza was invented

before. What matters is that the

variations on the disk of flour, yeast

and water are endless. Not least, the

version launched recently by chef

Carlo Cracco - with a turnover of €7

million, recently deprived of a star

by the Michelin Guide 2018 perhaps

because of too much TV work as

well as advertising - which, just

launched, has raised many criticisms

especially in the social media among

the Margherita purists. The gourmet

version of Cracco, in fact, involves

the use of cereals combined to make

the dough more crispy and the use

of a thicker tomato sauce than the

original.

The infinite universe that allows this

typical Italian dish probably depends

on its extreme ease.

Both in ingredients and in taste,

as well as the fact that you can eat

standing or sitting, with fork and

knife or even while walking.

These are the big chains that have

made this “easy way”, born in

Naples, a worldwide business. If

you think that the greatest gains in

the world are not made by Italians

but by Americans: Pizza Hut above

all (12,000 restaurants in 100

countries) but also Domino’s Pizza,

with versions perhaps even more

extreme than gourmets: just think

of pineapple pizza or pizza with

chicken, chilli and onion rolls, or the

other with pork, barbecue sauce and

chorizo.

WORLD HERITAGE

The point about pizza, however, is

that as in all the stories that reflect

it, the UNESCO recognition will

impact both on the way of preparing

the dough, and on the sector.

The latest estimates speak of a

market with respectable numbers.

According to the Accademia

Pizzaioli, in Italy, there are 43,000

restaurants and pizzerias, while

28,000 are artisan pizzerias, 4,500

hotels offer pizza on the menu. A

total of 75,000 businesses in which

105,000 pizza makers work: around

80% of them are of Italian origin,

about 20% are North African and

a residual 5% are East European

(according to data, at the weekend

the total number of pizza makers

working in the businesses doubles to

200,000). With a six zero production:

6 million pizzas are baked every day,

for a total of 1.9 billion pizzas baked

in the year (excluding frozen pizzas

from supermarkets).

And if it is true that pizza is the

Queen, the real King is still the pizza

chef, deus ex machina of the success

of Margherita art. Antonio Pace,

president of the AAVPN-Associazione

Verace Pizza Napoletana, makes an

important specification: “UNESCO

has not sanctioned the world

heritage of pizza itself, but the

art of making pizza, the craft of

the Neapolitan ‘Pizzaiolo’”. This,

continues the president: “Does

not mean that only those born in

Naples can be pizza makers, anyone

who speaks any language in the

world can be pizza makers, the

important thing is that they follow

the precepts of the Neapolitan

School”. Becoming a certified pizza

chef is complex, it takes months to

candidate must know our historic

1984 Specifications, continues the

President, which starts with the

basic rules for the ingredients of

the dough and goes right up to the

finished product. At the moment we

have 715 Neapolitan pizza makers

all over the world”. That follow the

golden rules of this profession now

certified as world heritage. Dough,

leavening, rolling, baking. And

baking in a wood-burning oven,

where pizza bakes strictly “from

below”; in other countries of the

world the Association - which is

supported by the University Federico

II certifications - has also recognised

gas ovens, although with difficulty

because of the “problem of the

fourth pizza”, specific Pace.

The point about the craft is one:

“Pizza is a disc of pasta, Pace

continues, then on top of it there are

condiments. But the most important

thing is how the dough is made. And

the way in which it is treated, also

because the “real” pizza does not

stretch out, it expands. In fact, to do

his job as well as possible, the pizza

chef must become a cook.

In the Disciplinary Code there are

traditional pizzas, calzone, says

the AVPN president: “Individual

variations are allowed as long as

they respect the rules of gastronomy