Nancy Silverton and Franco Pepe: Authentic emotion

 

We have written on many occasions about Authentica, the project of the outstanding pizzaiolo Franco Pepe, who has built a pizzeria within his celebrated pizzeria Pepe In Grani in Caiazzo. Beginning in December 2017, when Paolo Marchi gave a preview of its genesis.

A room detached from the rest of the pizzeria, on the top floor of the building that houses it: a small, contemporary wood-burning oven, a counter for rolling out and seasoning pizzas, but also for seating a maximum of ten diners. An opportunity for meeting, for exchange, for dialogue between those who cook and those who eat. "A model that brings us closer to the rituals of the pizza chef and his oven, in the intimacy of the signature pizza," we wrote in our Guide 2023, awarding Authentica (along with two other signs) as the best Chef's Table of the year.

To celebrate Pepe In Grani's tenth anniversary, in 2023 Franco Pepe is organising a series of meetings, under the title Authentica 10: gastronomic dialogues with fellow chefs and pizza makers, for which that special room is the perfect theatre, as happened on the 2^nd of May, with the meeting between Pepe and Californian Nancy Silverton, star of bread-making, Italian cuisine and pizza in the USA (recounted, as was also the case for Franco Pepe, in an episode of the Netflix documentary Chef's Table).

In presenting the evening, the Caiazzo-based pizzaiolo allowed us to understand, in just a few words, another profound meaning of Authentica, which links him directly to his most intimate roots, those leading back to the pizzeria of his father and brothers, from which Pepe moved on to open Pepe In Grani. He pointed at a large black and white photograph hanging on the wall, showing his father in the pizzeria, recalling how even in that restaurant there was an ante litteram chef's table, a wooden counter from which he could observe the entire room and where friends and regular guests, where they could foster that human relationship that is the essence of hospitality and passion for this work.

Here, Authentica is above all this: a direct and powerful tool to get to the heart of the work and vision of Franco Pepe, who is much more than a talented pizzaiolo. He is a man who lives for his passion, who infuses every ounce of brain and heart into his work, turning it into a kind of mission.

There was also a lot of intensity in the emotion with which Pepe introduced his guest, Nancy Silverton, to the lucky diners at Authentica 10. He met her several years ago and he was her guest, at the celebrated Los Angeles pizzeria Mozza, on more than one occasion. "Never would I have expected, when the Pepe In Grani story began, that one day I would find myself here with Nancy by my side, ready to cook with me. These evenings celebrate the tenth birthday of my pizzeria, but they are also an opportunity to thank colleagues and chefs who over these years, thanks to our sharing of ideas, have made me grow as a professional and as a man."

But how did you, Nancy Silverton, creator of enormous gastronomic success with several restaurants in America (including Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles, located next door to the pizzeria, with a Michelin star) and beyond, meet Franco Pepe? "Thanks to a friend whom you also know well," she replies with a smile full of warmth, "Faith Willinger. One day, when Pepe In Grani had just opened, Faith called me. She told me that she has eaten the best pizza of her life, that I absolutely had to try it. But it was in Caiazzo! I couldn't come there immediately: then I took advantage of my home in Umbria, where I've been going for 30 years. And one evening I finally arrived at Franco's: it was love at first bite, as we say where I come from.’

Her passion for pizza, on the other hand, was triggered by having tasted, several years ago, a creation by Chris Bianco: his interpretation of the leavened disc is certainly different from the classic Neapolitan one, which is why she approached Authentica's oven with some trepidation.

'I prepared the pre-ferment at my home in Umbria. Then it travelled all the way here, which as you know is not the best way to preserve its characteristics: here I prepared my dough yesterday, using the tools Franco provided me with great emotion. My pizza bakes at a different temperature from his: between 300° and 350°, for about six minutes. While Franco's bakes for 90 seconds at a much higher temperature: we'll have to manage to calibrate the oven in the right way, alternating cooking, and I hope to be able to demonstrate that even a different version of pizza can be delicious.’

Nancy Silverton has done just that, let's say it without hesitation. On the other hand, but perhaps this realisation is not so widespread in the States, for several years now in Italy there’s been a development of different interpretations of pizza that differ significantly from the classic Campania version. His has a distinct fragrance, a light and crumbly crispness, with a delicate wheat scent suitable for pizzas with even rather rich and elaborate toppings. Of which he gave more than one demonstration in the evening at Authentica, playing successfully with the clichés associated with the United States and American-style pizza.

Right from the start, from the first course, in which Silverton reinterpreted a dish found in almost all American pizzerias, he explained. The Italian Salad: as often the case, there is no such thing in Italy, because of how we tend to fill the bowl containing it with non-vegetal ingredients. 'But,' he added, 'it can become delicious if you choose these ingredients carefully: as in my case, with caciocavallo, finocchiona, red onion, radicchio, chickpeas...'. Rich, certainly, but also fragrant and delicate: a mix with many protagonists, but united in harmony. It was served with Franco Pepe’s focaccia seasoned only with chopped herbs.

The dialogue in the form of pizza continued with several stops, alternating the proposals of the two protagonists. Pepe also joked with 'American-style' recipes, presenting one of his delicious fried cones, inspired, however, by the classic Pepperoni Pizza, with spicy salami and a tomato sauce prepared for the occasion by Neapolitan photographer Luciano Furia, who slavishly followed the recipe for New York pizza sauce published in Modernist Pizza by Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya.

But he then took his guests back to the heart of his story, in particular of the territory of which he is an ambassador, with classic pizzas such as Sole nel piatto (with buffalo mozzarella, tomato del piennolo, Caiazzane olives, and anchovies from Cetara), or the sweet Crisommola (in the unusual form of a fried cone, with buffalo ricotta seasoned with lemon, apricot jam from Vesuvius, Caiazzane olive powder, toasted hazelnuts, fresh mint), a Pepe In Grani must, which closed the evening fittingly.

Nancy Silverton, on the other hand, went on to serve the classic ingredients of the American breakfast on a pizza with her Breakfast (fior di latte, fontina cheese, ashes, cream, bacon, potatoes, egg added halfway through cooking); she told how she fell in love with a pizza with cream and sausage in Umbria and then made it into one of Mozza's workhorses, the Fennel Sausage Pizza (with homemade Mozza sausage, fior di latte, cream, spring onion, fennel pollen). Finally, she paid tribute to her second son, who passed away last year, with a pizza created several years ago for him, a lover of pineapple pizza: 'I wanted to make a pizza that he could eat without me being ashamed of it! That's how Benno was born' (with tomato puree, fior di latte, very thinly sliced pineapple, jalapeno, speck and chives).

For us, however, the most beautiful moment, but also the most fascinating tasting of the evening was the pizza that the two protagonists created together. They took their cue from Silverton's intention to give Pepe a gift: on the road to Caiazzo, she stopped at their mutual friend Dario Cecchini's (the butcher and restaurateur also featured in an episode of Chef's Table), taking one of his porchetta to take to Franco. The latter, instead of eating it, used it for a special pizza dedicated to Cecchini, complete with a video call to show it to the world's most famous Tuscan butcher. Here is the Porchetta for Dario Cecchini, with a base of Alife onion cream, the legendary porchetta, smoked scamorza cheese, and raw fennel and onion.  The result showed surprising freshness, as well as undeniable deliciousness.

Smiles, stories, exchanges. Pizzas improvised on the spot or almost. Authentica is all this and Franco Pepe's idea continues to convince: the series of four-handed dinners will continue in the coming weeks, with prestigious Italian and international guests. To receive updates on the next appointments, follow the dedicated page on the Pepe In Grani website.

Translated into English by Slawka G. Scarso