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MAGAZINE Februar y/March 2025 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOX Pizza is increasingly a woman's world In Italy, the world of pizza is experiencing a real women's revolution. More and more women are choosing to pursue a career as pizza chefs, de- monstrating great passion and talent in this field traditionally dominated by men. An analysis conducted on the occasion of the 2024 World Pizza Championship showed that the number of pizzerias run by women in Italy has exceeded 9,000 and today the new companies that have been set up in the sector have increased by 475 compared to the same figure last year. ----------------------------------------------------------- AT PAGE 24 CHEF'S FACES Of sand, sea and sky: cooking without compromise GIANPAOLO RASCHI , 58 YEARS OLD, FROM RIMINI, IS A SELF-TAUGHT COOK. EVERYTHING HE KNOWS HE OWES TO THE TEACHINGS PASSED ON TO HIM BY HIS GRANDMOTHER AUGUSTA AND HIS MOTHER TIZIANA OVER THE YEARS IN THE KITCHEN OF THE FAMILY RESTAURANT, ‘GUIDO 1946’, IN THAT KIOSK ON THE BEACH OPENED AFTER THE WAR BY HIS GRANDFATHER GUIDO ON THE RIMINI SEAFRONT. GIANPAOLO ENDED UP IN THE KITCHEN AT AN EARLY AGE, WHEN HE WAS STILL A 23%. In terms of creativity, the requests are clear and the ingredients that Italians would be most curious to try on pizza are, in order: seafood, truffle and exotic fruit. INTERNATIONAL TRENDS According to the international magazine Pizza- Today, which publishes the Pizza Industry Trend Report every year, there are three trends that will characterise 2025, particularly in America. The first is the ‘return to origins’ with classic toppings, but with an emphasis on improve- ment. For example, a unique cheese blend or a drizzle of premium olive oil. The second trend concerns the crust: pizza chefs are creating more flavourful doughs by adding special ingredients to perfect their crust. Finally, there is the trend of ‘international inspi- ration’, which comes largely from Indian, Latin American and Asian cuisine. As for toppings, the report has identified some new trends. First of all, microgreens: from rocket to basil to beetroot, as well as endive and chard, the- se ingredients are becoming a real ‘finishing touch’. The vegan trend continues to evolve, while berries are making their way into the spotlight. Blueberries, raspberries and their ilk are combined with meats and creamy cheeses to create savoury pizzas with a touch of swe- etness. Other ingredients on the rise include green chillies and alternative sausages: while Americans love traditional Italian sausage, they are also moving towards bratwurst, chorizo, chi- cken sausage and nduja. Lemon, sliced, diced or grated, has also found its place on pizza, because it provides a nice contrast of flavours, while cheddar is increasingly often mixed with a delicate mozzarella to create cheesy pizzas. THE MARGHERITA REMAINS THE FAVOURITE SWG research carried out for the Coca-Cola Pizza Village in Milan in October 2024 also in- vestigated Italians' favourite tastes. For six out of ten Italians, the classic pizza (60%) wins, being simple and traditional, with particular popularity in Central Italy (66%). This is followed by the stuffed pizza (29%) and the gourmet pizza (11%). The favourite pizza of Italians is once again the all-time classic: the margherita (48%). In second place is the variant with bufala cheese (27%) while in third place is the capricciosa (23%). Young people, however, tend to be more open to experimenting with new flavours, also showing a preference for the diavola and speck. On the occasion of World Pizza Day, on 17 January, Just Eat also explored Italians' pizza habits, revealing some curiosities and orde- ring trends. Here too, the timeless margherita, diavola and capricciosa stand out among the favourites, which show that Italians have a cer- tain fondness for tradition. Among the toppings most requested in the last year are French fries, sausage and gorgonzola, followed by onion, spicy salami and cooked ham, but there is no shortage of ‘lighter’ requests, such as rocket, courgette and mushrooms. 2024 also saw the success of sweet variations, with hazelnut cre- am or pistachio and mascarpone pizzas that conquered the sweetest of palates. In 2024, Italians ordered over 5.12 million kilos of pizza on the online portal, with an average of 14,000 kilos per day. Saturday is by far the day with the highest consumption, exceeding 1.2 million kilos in a year, while the evening time slot between 5 and 7 pm is the one that records significant peaks in orders. Fratelli Coppola, once again on World Pizza Day 2025, also conducted an online survey to investigate the tastes of Italians in terms of pizza, toppings and other curiosities in Italy: 62% of those interviewed confessed that they couldn't do without pizza, eating it at least once a week, while 29% said they went to a pizzeria once in a while but often longed for it, and only 9% reserved pizza for special occasions. The respondents almost unanimously agreed that the best pizza is cooked in a traditional wood-fired oven, because the very few who prefer homemade pizza know how difficult it is to cook well. Seven out of ten Italians think that the dough should rise sufficiently to make the pizza light and digestible. Tomato and moz- zarella are appreciated when they are of high quality but, respectively, only two and one in ten Italians consider them essential for a great pizza. Also in the Fratelli Coppola survey, the margherita pizza remains by far the favourite (52%), followed by creative ingredients to be added after baking to give crispiness (25%). White pizzas are the least popular, chosen by VI