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pizzamakers

Pizza Senza Frontiere
Ciao in Rome for “Pizza senza frontiere”! 810 450 cmdo

Ciao in Rome for “Pizza senza frontiere”!

Ciao – Il Pomodoro di Napoli is always at the side of Italian and international pizza makers to hold high the flag of pizza excellence. The next stop of this mission will be on April 25-26 at the Polo Fiere in Rome for Pizza Senza Frontiere, the first world challenge between artisans of the year.
Here’s what awaits us

2 days of challenges
10 categories in competition
250 competitors
400,000 square meters of kermesse
These are the numbers of an event that will involve the key international players of the food industry, and among them obviously Ciao – Il Pomodoro di Napoli, since the Neapolitan pizza will be one of the most fascinating categories of this two-day event.

The 10 challenges will cover

– Roman-style tray pizza
– Peel pizza
– ‘Al mattarello’ round pizza
– Four-hand pizza on Roman specialties
– Surprise pizza – Mystery box
– Classic pizza
– Neapolitan pizza
– Pizza by the meter
– Pizza freestyle, single
– Pizza freestyle, team

Pizzas will be judged based on:

– their baking
– taste/matching
– appearance
The judge at the oven will evaluate the dexterity/cleanliness/handiness/manner of working giving a score from 1 to 100.

All first place winners in each category will join the final match of Master Pizza Champions, the first talent show dedicated to the White Art of baking.

There will also be 3 category prizes.

Pizza in pink: for the woman pizza chef who will receive the highest score in one of the competition categories.

Emerging pizza chef: for the under 30 pizza maker with the absolute highest score in any of the competitions.

King of Roman Pizzas: awarded to the pizza maker who will get the best overall result as the sum of the scores of the different competitions involving Roman pizzas (tray, peel, ‘al mattarello’ round pizzas).

All we have left to do now is to wish the best of luck to all competitors and wait for the names of the next champions!

Follow us on our social media to meet them!

ciao e #pizzaunesco
Ciao and #pizzaunesco: on the square in support of the Art of the Neapolitan pizza makers 1024 576 cmdo

Ciao and #pizzaunesco: on the square in support of the Art of the Neapolitan pizza makers

The art of Neapolitan pizza makers is now an Intangible Heritage of Humanity, pride of the Neapolitans and of the whole of Italy. But the battle does not end with this recognition. This is the warning launched during the celebrative event that took place in Piazza del Gesù in Naples. Let’s find out why.

December 14th is a date that Naples and the world of pizza will remember for long: the presentation to the city of the Art of Neapolitan pizza makers as a UNESCO heritage.

To celebrate this important recognition, a big party has been held under the banner of the conviviality, a key feature of the world of pizza and pizza makers. Piazza Del Gesù, in the heart of the old town of Naples, was the obvious stage for this celebration.

Many were the guests on the square.

At the forefront, the pizza makers of the APN, who handed out 5000 pizzas to tourists, Neapolitans and enthusiasts.

And then, of course, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, Pesident of the Univerde Foundation, that from the Napoli Pizza Village 2010 launched the petition campaign to ask UNESCO the recognition.

“The status of Intangible Heritage of Humanity – tells Pecoraro Scanio on the stage in Piazza Del Gesù – has been given to the Art of Neapolitan pizza makers, not to pizza, and this is not coincidence! One of the reasons why the battle lasted so long is precisely this distinction. Neapolitan pizza is unique and has nothing in common with the industrial one!”

The same idea was shared by Gimmy Ghione, the famous journalist of the TV show ‘Striscia la Notizia’, renowned for his battle against the counterfeit products, a plague present even in the Made in Italy gastronomic field.

“Neapolitan pizza – says Ghione to the microphones of the event organized by the #pizzaunesco movement – is codified by precise rules and made with specific ingredients. All strictly Made in Italy.”

And now?

The battle goes on because, as confirmed by Luigi Petrillo, councilor of the Ministry of Agricultural Policies, the status of Intangible Heritage of Humanity is not something that you win once and for all.

“The UNESCO commission – explains Petrillo – meets every two years to decide on the fate of the titles assigned. A production that does not conform to the standards required by the specifications, or the choice of improper ingredients, could led to loosing this important recognition!”

That’s why we of Ciao feel proud of our products in line with the specifications of the true Neapolitan pizza. Allowing our artisans to express themselves at their best through the excellence of our ingredients is a responsibility that we carry out with plenty of passion!

raccolta con civitiello e fortunato
Harvest Diary 2017: A day with Davide Civitiello and Simone Fortunato 845 445 cmdo

Harvest Diary 2017: A day with Davide Civitiello and Simone Fortunato

So much work, but a lot of satisfaction too: Summer is the time of harvest and of continuous quality testing for Ciao. This year, we brought with us an exceptional team of tasters – the World Pizza Champions Simone Fortunato and Davide Civitiello – to see first-hand the quality of our tomorrow tomatoes, starting right from the first step. Here is the story of this special day.

A summer both hot and exceptional for our fields, with record temperatures that forced us to work in shorter times to keep the product intact as freshly picked, but that at the same time that also brought intense colors and flavors to our crops.

We asked to two exceptional testers – Simone Fortunato, three times world champion for the fast pizza category, and Davide Civitiello, champion for the TSG pizza, both winners of the Caputo Trophy – to touch with first-hand the raw materials of our 2017-2018 production.

«Pizza is a dish strictly tied to the ground,” – tells Davide Civitiello – “because deepening your dough technique is not enough to produce excellence, as you have to carefully select raw materials and get to know their ingredients in detail. Pizza is a dish full of history, but also of stories: those of our producers from Campania region!»

For Davide Civitiello and Simone Fortunato a tour among the most lively colors of Campania: the red of our fields of PDO San Marzano tomatoes, but also the bright green of our basil crops that we add leaf after leaf to the peeled tomato cans for the American market.

«I had never seen how the basil grows – says Simone Fortunato of Pizzeria Diaz – Finding out first-hands how the ingredients that I pick each day for my pizzas grow has been stimulating, but also very instructive. For a pizza maker who wants to make a difference, it is very important to carefully select the products of their menu and know how to handle them by mastering all their properties.»

The day has been closed by a tour through the various steps of peeled tomato production, during which our pizza makers have seen how the tomatoes move from the field to the can just in a few hours, so to lose nothing of their fragrance and flavor.

«Walking among the tins that were being filled with peeled tomatoes – concludes Davide Civitiello – has been a bit like going back to my grandmother’s time, when the summer had the scent of the earth and of the boiled tomatoes!»

The memory that Simone Fortunato has taken home is instead that of basil’s aroma, perhaps because it is linked to a great adventure that he is about to begin. On September 22, Sorrento will be the cradle of a new chain of pizzerias: Basilico Italia, who will see him as the pizza maker executive manager, in collaboration with Maurizio Mastellone’s organizational experience.

Sorrento Peninsula will be the first step, but the goal is to bring the excellence of the great products from the Campania region to all of Italy.

What does that have to do with Ciao? We will tell you very soon!