We saw the stars

Full autonomy and dignity to pizza, as long as you believe in it and equip the restaurants in terms of comfort, choice of flour where there’s a slow yet tenacious revolution taking place and fine tune a wine or beer list with excellent standards. The final debate at the end of a first day of works in the auditorium started off from these coordinates. It was a dialogue between many voices moderated and organised by Paolo Marchi and Roberto Restelli, ex director at Michelin Italia according to whom the idea of giving a star to pizzerias is no heresy, just like it wasn’t a heresy giving one in 1962 when pizzeria Negri in Pontecagnano collected the prize from the Red Guide – the first and only pizzeria - «without anyone noticing it».

Renato Bosco (Saporè – San Martino Buon Albergo, Verona), Enzo Coccia (La Notizia - Naples), Massimo Giovannini (Apogeo – Pietrasanta, Lucca), Simone Padoan (I Tigli – San Bonifacio, Verona), Franco Pepe (Pepe in Grani – Caiazzo, Caserta) and Gino Sorbillo (Pizzeria Sorbillo - Naples) took part in the debate. The link between the many different and similar stories was the leap of pride that marks the icon-dish of Italian cuisine, if one thinks that a pizza chef such as Franco Pepe chooses to have an agronomist working beside him, someone who can have the last say in the choice of raw materials together with the pizzaiolo.

«The world of leavened products is complex and different as well as fascinating, but I believe that in order to reach the satisfactory emotion given by the star we need to make what we do speak for itself more, and be quiet ourselves», said Simone Padoan, that is to say the pizza chef further up north, together with Bosco, among the ones participating. That is to say, «learn new techniques and test the quality of the work with the quality of the ideas», a long road that needs to be taken so as to enter rightfully into the gourmet galaxy of starred restaurants. «Fifteen years down this road are few – ended Padoan – It’s a long road and we’ll get there when we’ll manage, and I hope it won’t happen without any string-pulling».