Neapolitan pizza is the most imitated dish in the world, so it is up to us to defend its values of authenticity and its original recipe. Ciao, and many great players of the Made in Italy have been following this commitment very seriously since generations. Here we tell you the story of  Michele D’Amelio, ambassador of the goodness of our tomatoes in the USA.

“Tu vuò fa l’americano ma si nato in Italy”… you want to be like an American, but you were born in Italy… so Renato Carosone sang in one of his most celebrated hits, but it wasn’t like that for Michele.

He decided to be like an American to explain in the new continent what distinguishes the Neapolitan pizza from the stars and stripes pizza.

A life of travel, hands in the dough, fairs, seminars, master classes, and of his own pizzeria: Chest’è Pizza, in Lioni, Province of Avellino, taken over in 2010 to leave a piece of heart in Italy, though part of his family now lives in New York.
Michele’s days pass flying from one country to another around the United States.

Here is what he tells us between a takeoff and landing during #viaggidipizza.

How long have you been using Ciao tomatoes?
I knew Ciao tomatoes when I opened my pizzeria in the province of Avellino. And it was love at first taste. Then, after a couple of years, I decided to start my American adventure together with APN and there I could deepen the uniqueness of the products from South Italy.

Why so much passion for our tomato?

My job is to tell the Neapolitan cuisine to the American insiders. I show how to prepare a good Neapolitan pizza, a good ragu, or a good Italian pasta dish and choosing the right ingredients let me spare a lot of effort.

What distinguishes the Neapolitan pizza from the American one?
First of all the ingredients: flour, tomato, mozzarella, there is no comparison with those from Campania region. While our ingredients do not require additives to achieve the excellence of taste, I cannot say the same for so many products made in USA.

And the future? How do you see it?
I do not rule out the possibility of opening a pizzeria here, too. Opportunity never stops knocking in America, but I miss the simple things I cannot find here: a coffee at the bar, a walk to the square. The difference in the White Art is a mirror of the difference between lifestyles, and the Italian lifestyle is envied worldwide in this case, too!