The rustic-gourmet pizza by Gilmozzi

«It’s simple, after all: you cannot be a great pizzaiolo without being an excellent chef, because you need to have the knowledge of the latter so as to present toppings of the highest quality. It is in the meeting of these two aspects that one can find the common points between the two roles» says Alessandro Gilmozzi, at the helm of the multi-awarded kitchen of El Molin in Cavalese. But he also joins the long list of chefs “with their fingers in the pie” as for a long time he’s been presenting a gourmet pizza in his second restaurant, pizzeria Excelsior in the same town near Trento.

This is a historic place in Cavalese, opened in 1962 and always run by the Gilmozzi family. First Alessandro who worked there with his brother Stefano: «He had chosen for Excelsior a format based on good quality and large numbers. As form me, having taken care of the restaurant since 6-7 years ago, I added to a good quality pizza with Molino Quaglia flour, another one, which I call “rustic pizza” and not gourmet pizza because this word is a little intimidating for the people in the valley».

Hence the dough is made with Petra 9 flour, sourdough and a leavening of at least 36 hours. The style is a “new take on classic” with a hint of Neapolitan tradition but something more: «I’m inspired by the work of Franco Pepe». The dough is rolled out by hand on the shovel, half cooked, topped and then fully cooked.

It’s not a “Padoan-style” pizza. The dough is not thick and cut into slices. «The goal, however, is still that of having a balanced and easy to digest disc». The extra is given by the toppings, «we select the best Italian products, from Piennolo tomatoes to anchovy colatura from Cetara, to Radicchio di Treviso PDO». There’s a creative recipe every week, «for instance pizza with Scallops, black truffle and roasted leeks». In other words, Gilmozzi takes the best from El Molin and conveys it in the topping for the leavened disc. «I have great fun. Since I have a fine dining restaurant, everyone’s expectations are high. But it’s fine: people must understand that even in a pizzeria you can enjoy a gourmet experience».

Before Gilmozzi, other great chefs told us their relationship with pizza: Ugo Alciati, Moreno Cedroni, Nino Di Costanzo, Andrea Mattei, Peter Brunel and Nobuya Niimori.