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He's the dominus at Piano B in Syracuse, "Tre Spicchi" for Gambero Rosso's Pizzerie d’Italia 2020 guide, which also received the best “Pizza da degustazione” award. It opened in 2011 at the entrance to the island of Ortigia, close to the Santa Lucia and Umbertino bridges, not far from the statue of mathematician Archimedes. «We gave the restaurant this name because we had another plan. In a different location. This was our plan b, which became real», Friedi explains.
Schmuck was born 40 years ago in Rome but – as one can sense from the name – his father and grandfather were from Bressanone and he spent all his summer holidays, as a child, in the Dolomites. Then, at 11, he moved to the island where his mother was born, to Syracuse. «I grew up in Rome, at Olgiata; I would play outside with my friends and consider myself Roman. I have a strong connection to Alto Adige and its flavours, especially now that my father is no longer with us», he says. But for many years now his home has been in Ortigia.
After working at length in the tourism industry, he wanted to widen his horizons and, influenced by his mother's passion for cooking, he approached the wine world, attending the AIS courses. Then, in 2011, he decided to open a restaurant with pizzeria, Piano B: «In Syracuse there was no place making Roman-style pizza, the thin and crispy kind, so we decided to focus on that. And on pizza alla pala, which nobody had ever made here. We brought some fresh air».
Friedi returns for a few months to Rome to attend the API courses with Angelo Iezzi and Massimiliano Bacich, but initially his plan is to run the dining room. When his pizzaiolo leaves, however, he starts to put his finger in the pie. Meanwhile, the meeting with Molino Quaglia and the courses at Scuola del Molino open his mind to the world of leavening and flour: «It was a turning point. From that moment on my passion for pizza captured me completely. I would have never thought I'd spend my whole days in the pizzeria, looking after leavenings and dough, but I cannot do without it!».
At Piano B he continues to study new solutions and new types of dough (at the moment they offer five different ones), as well as researching the best ingredients for his toppings: «The goal of a pizzaiolo starts indeed from the moment he selects the raw materials: I always try to add something new, we revolutionise the menu every four months, always adapting it to seasonal products».
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This article is curated by Identità Golose, the publication that organises the international fine dining congress, publishes website www.identitagolose.com and the online Guida Identità Golose, on top of curating many other events in Italy and abroad
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Friedrich Schmuck, pizza-chef and patron at Piano B in Ortigia, in the heart of Syracuse. He will speak at Identità Golose 2020, his lesson is scheduled on Monday 26th of October in Sala Blu 2, at 2,40 pm, as part of Identità di Pane e di Pizza, in collaboration with Petra® Molino Quaglia). To register, click here
The speakers at Identità di Pane e di Pizza, 16 masters of pizza under the spotlight, for eight very interesting lessons throughout the entire day on Monday 26th October in Sala Blu 2 at MiCo in Milan, always in collaboration with Petra® Molino Quaglia. From the top left corner: Ciro Oliva, Cesare Foschi, Christian Marasco, the Donne di Pizza Donne di Cuore, Simone Padoan, Friedrich Schmuck, Luca Pezzetta, Fabrizio Mancinetti, Francesco Martucci.
TO REGISTER IN IDENTITÀ MILANO 2020, CLICK HERE AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
On the 6th of November the curtain fell on edition 2019 at PizzaUp inside the school of Molino Quaglia in Vighizzolo d'Este (Padua) after three days of works with the presentation of the first volume of the Almanacco della Pizza. In the middle, wearing a black t-shirt, the man who revolutionised contemporary pizza: Simone Padoan