The Margherita of the future already exists

On Thursday 10th November the PizzaUp symposium, now in its tenth edition, had its first trip abroad. This time, following the desire of organiser Molino Quaglia, it was not celebrated in the headquarters in Vighizzolo d’Este (Padua) but in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Let’s put aside acrobatic pizzas, gourmet pizzas and four-handed pizzas, two belonging to a pizza chef and two to a chef, and move to the most important day, with a dozen contemporary pizza chefs discussing in front of an audience made mostly of professionals working between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, some Italian.

The topic of the conference was «The pizza of the future and the future of pizza». Here are the notes taken by Piero Gabrieli, the mill’s marketing director and the creator of this day together with Chiara Quaglia: «Pizza of the future or future of pizza? The doubt is solved after a three-day full immersion in Italian pizza making abroad, which resulted in the first international congress on Italian pizza celebrating PizzaUp’s tenth anniversary at the International Cuisine World Summit in Dubai.

«The pizza of the future is the vision of Simone Padoan («Pizza is built on a base rich in flavour and with state-of-the-art leavening») interpreted in these ten years with multiple types of dough and a strong wheat flavour by the pizza chefs he inspired to explore technical paths following the route traced by Università della Pizza.

«This including a long research and the capacity of putting oneself to the test, going uphill in a journey towards quality that focuses on repairing the carbohydrates paradox: good according to the Mediterranean diet, which is healthy, and, at the same time, accused by dieticians of being responsible of many contemporary diseases.

«The pizza of the future is now in Italy, successfully served every day by those who understood that the tradition of our recipes can be improved by interpreting them in a contemporary way and communicating them simply to consumers who want to eat well and feel good. Simone Padoan’s choice of seasonal nature on his “bread crust”, Renato Bosco’s dough and yeast encyclopaedia, Beniamino Bilali’s extreme fermentations, Lello Ravagnan’s journey through pizza, Corrado Scaglione’s Neapolitan neatness, Luigi Acciaio’s “Neapolitan gourmet" starting from stone milling, Antonio Pappalardo’s pizza, a bridge between Neapolitan memories and Australia in search for real Italy, Massimo Giovannini’s Tuscan pizza or like Fortunato Ostacolo and his strenght to be always italian with his pizzas in Dubai are just a few examples that stood out without neglecting the merits of many others who were equally interesting. And then between Identità Golose and Dubai you realise that similar seeds of future have taken root in Australia, thanks to Tony Nicolini in Melbourne, and France, in particular thanks to Gennaro Nasti in Paris, and who knows where else in the world.

«Let’s instead speak of the future of pizza. It surely doesn’t have to do with the spectacular acrobatic effects we’ve incredibly seen in Dubai to communicate Italy in the dedicated pavilion. Those images of pizza and pizzaioli do not focus the attention on high quality Italian pizza making. In fact, they overshadow the constant research and attempt to improve of those who work with pizza with innate respect for food thanks to their education at home.

«The final congress for the tenth edition of PizzaUp instead summed up the feelings of the pizza chefs and chefs, moderated by Paolo Marchi and Francesca Romana Barberini during a debate that shed light on mature and aware thoughts on the role of farmers, producers, pizza chefs and communicators in establishing a style of pizza making that considers both ingredients, technical skills and nutritional aspects that can help the health of the environment and of consumers, the research of intelligent recipes that can valorise the nature of the ingredients and the essential role of the dough.

«So this is the future of Italian pizza as traced by the congress and summed up in the final conclusions of its two presenters together with us:

«Flair and creativity in pizza making, but only with the right dough and cooking techniques. Learn the alphabet and the grammar first, then explore new paths. Always keeping in mind that we’re not alone in the world and that pizza is the perfect Troy horse to make Italian excellences known everywhere», Paolo Marchi.

«Gastronomic culture above all: speaking about pizza and the story of the pizza chef is only effective in the right historic context. Tradition should not be an alibi not to change, but the reason behind a contemporary approach to food», Francesca Romana Barberini.

«A pizza that is good for the palate and for the health is born from processing techniques enhancing the quality of its accurately selected ingredients. In this sense, the direct collaboration between pizza chefs and the producers of agricultural produce enhances the nutritional transparency of the food and where it’s originated», Chiara Quaglia.

«Finally we return to Piero Gabrieli: «The future of Italian pizza is online, by discussing ingredients and techniques in real time, with professionals sharing their knowledge among themselves and with consumers who value awareness. Let’s start to build the future of pizza, starting from the pizza of the future, which is already a reality in Italy».

Then at the end of the congress, someone in the audience asked what the flour of the future will be. But that’s a completely different story.