There’s something about Pepe

With Hollywood just a stone’s throw away, this is the land of people acting as prima donnas. Yet Franco Pepe is almost daunted as he reads the Los Angeles Times defining him as “the best pizza maker in the world”: «Oh dear, they gave me such a welcome! Yet I wouldn’t like people to get jealous…». Of course, his diary, in the past few weeks, was that of a superstar: first in London with Identità Golose and Harrods. Then in the US, playing solo, nine days between Los Angeles and San Francisco, with six tasting events.

«The result: sold out. And at the end, they’d never want to leave. They were all asking things, shaking my hand... There were people coming especially from Texas, some even from Mexico. And there were many entrepreneurs, they made me staggering offers, too big for me». Pepe is in fact an honest man and when you ask him what was the compliment he most appreciated, he mentions Jonathan Gold.

And not because Gold is a famous American Pulitzer-winning food critic and journalist, rather because of what he told him, after eating his pizza: «Dear Franco, you know what? It tastes like Caiazzo», that is to say the village in Campania where “Pepe’s granddad opened his pizzeria” – again we mention the Los Angeles Times and its reporter Russ Parsons, author of an article titled Italian pizza master Franco Pepe visits the Mozza-plex. And where today "almost every night Pepe’s pizzeria, Pepe in Grani, is open, as many as 400 customers find their way down the narrow alleys to wait in lines that can last two hours".

Lots of praise, enough to get intoxicated, to get stunned, «a great experience for which I must thank Nancy», who’s surname is Silverton, patron of a some very popular places in LA (and Singapore), called Mozza and Spacca, in co-ownership with Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich: «She visited me a few years ago in Caiazzo».

This is how it went, in the words of the LA Times: "Silverton said she had been talked into driving to Caiazzo - four hours from her home in Umbria - by Italian food expert Faith Willinger. «I had been to all the places I was supposed to go in Naples, and honestly I just wasn’t that thrilled with the pizzas I was eating there», she said. But when she got to Caiazzo, she realized there must be something special, «with 400 people patiently waiting in line for his pizza. When I sat down and had my first bite, I understood why»”.

Well-deserved praise for Pepe, that is, who shares the merit («I mentioned Identità Golose very many times, at every event; the journey of growth was a shared one») and also indicates the reasons behind this enthusiasm. First, «I explained the new Italian pizza, the one that interacts with fine dining to the Americans. I stressed how I come from tradition, but I’m not afraid to correct it, if necessary. “Classic” pizza chefs add basil during the cooking, but I, in order to preserve its aroma and freshness only add it when it’s time to serve».

And here’s the second reason behind all this praise: in the US they like this idea of Italy being strongly connected to its roots, but not static, (finally) knowing how to innovate too. «They were fascinated by my desire to experiment. I represent the third generation of pizza chefs and bakers in my family. However, I look ahead: I told them of Scugnizzo, the electric oven I brought to Identità Milano (we wrote about it here ). I knead the dough by hand, but I’m trying to help in the making of a kneading machine that can ensure the same result. And then I only use my blend of flour…».

Pepe’s final conclusion can only be positive: «They understood that I no longer work to have a good pizza, that’s a pre-condition. I want a healthy pizza. And in California they are very keen on this aspect». Nancy Silverton’s last comment is ironic: «As an entrepreneur I made a big mistake by inviting Franco. And you know why? Because now my clients will compare my pizzas to Pepe’s. I’ll be shattered».

“Pepe is not some rustic pizzaiolo, but one of the new breed of Italian gastro-philosophers”. (Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times)