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tomatoes

Michele D'Amelio
Tu vuò fa l’americano: the story of Michele D’Amelio, Ambassador for Ciao in the USA 845 445 cmdo

Tu vuò fa l’americano: the story of Michele D’Amelio, Ambassador for Ciao in the USA

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!

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!

Pizzeria Pummarò
Ciao and the specialties of Pummarò at Napoli Pizza Village 2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao and the specialties of Pummarò at Napoli Pizza Village 2017

Attilio Albachiara is a pizza enfant prodige, like so many young Neapolitans who are hungry for life and find alternating themselves between homework and dough lessons. Following the family tradition, Attilio started to work with his father in his pizzeria when he was only 12 years old.
His motto today is: “Quality is our strength; making pizzas is our vocation”, and with the same wisdom he tells us about the next Napoli Pizza Village.

– What specialties are you going to show on the Lungomare Caracciolo waterfront?
My special pizza is a red one and it is the ‘Parmigiana’, which is a Margherita pizza dressed with eggplant parmesan.
 
– Which tomato you will use for your pizza?
For the Parmigiana I use the tomato puree.

– Why did you choose this pizza to represent you at NPV?
The eggplants are one of the jewels of my menu. Pummarò’s customers go crazy for them in every possible way and they can eat up to 15-20 kg of eggplants per week.
 
– What do you expect from the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017?
This is the third time that I take part to the event and I hope that the friends who come to visit us will notice the quality and passion of our workmanship, because there is nothing that makes me happier than seeing the satisfaction of those sitting at my table.

Pizzeria 'O Sarracino
Ciao and the specialties of Pizzeria ‘O Saracino at Napoli Pizza Village 2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao and the specialties of Pizzeria ‘O Saracino at Napoli Pizza Village 2017

Maybe not everyone knows that just over 10 years ago the Neapolitan pizza tradition was almost unknown in the Agro Nocerino Sarnese area, in the Province of Salerno. The only news that you could heard about came directly from Naples. This situation ended with the birth of Pizzeria ‘O Sarracino, which brought to Nocera Inferiore the first example of pizza patterned after the lessons of the Neapolitan school. The credit of “spreading the good word” goes all to the Tramontano brothers, owners of the pizzeria, and that will be at the Napoli Pizza Village 2017.

Pizzeria ‘O Sarracino is very young, but encompasses centuries of tradition. What is its secret?

‘O Sarracino was born in 2007, from an idea of ​​me, Angelo Tramontano, and of my brother Giuseppe. At that time, the true Neapolitan pizza was not known in the Agro Nocerino Sarnese area as it is today. ‘O Sarracino had the instinct of studying it and bringing it to Nocera, bearing in mind what I think is the perfect model, that of Michele ai Tribunali.

What parameters did you follow?

We specialized ourselves in the classic pizzas. Bearing in mind Michele’s model, we tried to reproduce the Magherita and the Marinara pizzas – the two great classics which are the pizzas par excellence – according to the rules prescribed by the TGS specifications. Until then, pizzas in Nocera were made with a long cooking – longer than a minute and a half – and had a diameter of 35 cm, while our Margherita and Marinara pizzas follow the lesson of the great masters, with a leavening of at least 8 hours, and a 60-second baking in oven. Following this method we brought the true Neapolitan pizza to our area.

You teach us that making pizzas is a pure science, but what is the secret to make this science an artwork? How will you dress your doughs?

You are absolutely right! The pizza maker can never let his guard down and must keep himself constantly up to date. For my pizzas I always choose a classic: the peeled tomatoes from Ciao Pomodori. For ten years I’ve been using this brand, a choice that I confirm for the Pizza Village, too.

And about the Pizza Village, what vibrations do you have for this edition?

This is the fifth time that I take part to the Pizza Village. I remember when we were only 20 pizzerias at the Mostra d’Oltremare exhibition center. Now this number has more than doubled and we are about 50, creating a rich contest that offers a great opportunity to compete. And numbers over the years are an indication of how these events have become of exponential importance. Each edition has been difficult for us, because we “foreigners” had to prove to be up to the level of the great Neapolitan masters. And each year, it has always been an unexpected success, and I really hope to succeed again this year, too.

Which great novelties ‘O Sarracino’ has set aside for NPV?

This year we propose a new pizza: we looked for to capture the summer flavor. I called it ‘Sorrento in your mouth’. Its characteristic is that it is seasoned with tomatoes of Sorrento that I personally make in pulp, to which we add buffalo ricotta and the very special mozzarella cheese ‘zizzona di Battipaglia’.

Michele Leo
The recipe for pizza from a World Champion by Michele Leo 845 445 cmdo

The recipe for pizza from a World Champion by Michele Leo

The Caputo Trophy has a brand-new Pizza Champion: Michele Leo from Pizzeria Il Brigante in Venosa. 1st classified for the TSG pizza category – thanks also to Ciao’s tomatoes – he is the best pizza maker to which ask the secrets of a podium pizza.

52 years old, with an entire life spent for its trade, working his way up the ladder as a pizza maker after emigrating in Germany, and so much passion for pushing out ever further. This is Michele Leo. Pizza maker with 33 years of experience in searching for excellence. Attempt after attempt, his search has led him to the White Art’s highest peak.

But what are the tricks to make the best pizza in the world? Here’s Michele Leo’s recipe.

“The first ingredient to put into the dough is the heart, the passion that drives you to seek the utmost both from yourself and from the raw materials you choose” – we are told by the ‘Brigante’ (Brigand) of Venosa.

Leo knows that very well, as he has opened his pizzeria only 9 years ago, after going far and wide through Italy, hunting for work experiences to put himself to test.

“The second step in this ideal recipe is the search for quality, especially in the choice of ingredients, but also in the whole production process” – continues the new Caputo Trophy’s champion – “I always look for excellence products”.

Besides, our Michele is a practical man, of the old school, who demanded from his son, Rocco, to learn the pizza maker’s trade, but at the same time to continue also to study, so to evolve personally and find his way.

“The third and final step is commitment. No award has to be enough to extinguish the urge to push beyond the achieved results.”

As a proof of his stubbornness, to those who asks him how his life will no change, Michele Leo only answers with a laconic: “We will see”.

Pizzeria Lucignolo
Ciao and the specialties of Lucignolo at Napoli Pizza Village 2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao and the specialties of Lucignolo at Napoli Pizza Village 2017

Pino Celio of Pizzeria Lucignolo comes from a family of pizza makers. In Celio’s home, you breathe the scent of fried pizza emerging from hot oil from the time of his grandmother, which herself was a pizza maker for passion, too.
This young artisan has already gone a long way and he can already boast a remarkable award at the Caputo Trophy, having won the first place for the ‘Pizza in Pala’ category during the 2016 edition of the Napoli Pizza Village.
And just like Lucignolo, Pinocchio’s friend who enjoys life in Toyland, Pino Celio summarizes his successes made of tradition and innovation with a motto that says it all: “Amaze, and always amaze”.
After the black pizza that made a splash during the NPV 2015 and the oven-fried pizza with Neapolitan meatballs of the 2016 edition, here is how Lucignolo tells us about his NPV 2017.
– What specialties are you going to show on the Lungomare Caracciolo waterfront?
My red proposal is a pizza marinara with Cetara anchovies and anchovy sauce.
 
– Which tomato you will use for your pizza marinara?
The classic peeled tomato with tomatoes from Mount Vesuvius, as prescribed by the TSG (Traditional Specialty Guaranteed) pizza specifications.

– Why did you choose this pizza to represent you at NPV?
The pizza marinara with Cetara anchovies brings together Naples and the Amalfi Coast, the places I have chosen for my two pizzerias, as I have a second pizzeria in the province of Salerno. Additionally, combining a classic recipe with anchovy sauce is part of the mix of tradition and innovation that has always been my work philosophy.
 
– What do you expect from the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017?
This is the most important pizza festival in the world, and I hope that it will help us to make known the research and the passion behind our work as pizza makers. I hope also to win more awards, as I will compete for the Caputo Trophy.

Pizzeria Napoli 1820
Ciao is the tomato of the special pizza of Napoli 1820 at NPV2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao is the tomato of the special pizza of Napoli 1820 at NPV2017

Antonio Caiazza opened his ‘Napoli 1820’ after taking over a preexisting restaurant, but without breaking its continuity. His restaurant is ideally dedicated to Ferdinand I of Bourbon, a lover of taverns and simple cuisine and turns out pizzas completely focused on the search for the perfect ingredient, but also sea dishes.
Maneuvering skillfully between different gastronomic styles, here is what our artisan of Via Gramsci in Naples tells us of his Napoli Pizza Village 2017.
– What specialties are you going to show on the Lungomare Caracciolo waterfront?
My special pizza is exactly the Napoli 1820 – with buffalo ricotta, shavings of parmesans, provola cheese from Agerola and tomato – which fully represents the philosophy of my restaurant.

– Which tomato you will use for your pizza Napoli 1820?
Yellow datterini tomatoes and San Marzano tomatoes.

– Why did you choose this pizza to represent you at NPV?
I chose Napoli 1820 because it is one of the most popular specialties of my menu and I hope to make it known to the many pizza lovers who appreciate the choice of ingredients of excellence that has always been the founding basis of the philosophy of my restaurant.
 
– What do you expect from the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017?
The Napoli Pizza Village is most important pizza showcase in the world. This is the fourth time that I take part in it and I hope that this edition will be the richest of friends ever!

Pizzeria Dal Guappo
Ciao and the specialties of Dal Guappo at Napoli Pizza Village 2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao and the specialties of Dal Guappo at Napoli Pizza Village 2017

Pizza is a superlative pleasure. It is more and more an essential necessity for the tradition-hungry palates. It is so much essential that a simple gluten intolerance must not prevent from enjoying it. Marco Amoriello, three times World Champion for gluten-free Neapolitan pizza, knows all this very well. From Saturday, June 17th, he will be with his trademark “Dal Guappo” on the waterfront of Lungomare Caracciolo for the Napoli Pizza Village.

When Pizzeria Dal Guappo was born and what are its specialties?

Dal Guappo is a gastronomic reality that exists since 1988. The pizzeria, which at the Napoli Pizza Village will represent the area of ​​Benevento, is located in the municipality of Moiano. This is a project strongly wanted by me, Marco Moriello, and to which I have devoted myself with passion for the last 29 years.
Banner of our brand is the gluten free pizza. Gluten-free dough has become our ideal trademark and pride since the nineties and Dal Guappo has been three times crowned as World Champion in this category.

What is the origin of this particular specialization?

In our family, and in our team, we have some cases of celiac disease. However, love for taste and pizza has managed to overcome any obstacle. And so we have tried, and found, the right formula to let even gluten-intolerants to have the opportunity to eat a pizza of excellence. This introduction lets us imagine that your legendary gluten free pizza will be certainly among the specialties you will bring to the Lungomare Caracciolo. Yes, exactly. We will show our “thoroughbred” at the Napoli Pizza Village. Between the 50 ovens on the waterfront, one is there specifically to bake gluten-free pizza: that will be mine.

Which products did you choose to dress your pizza?

We mostly want to exalt the tradition, so we chose the Margherita pizza as queen of the event. The stock of seasoning is ready and, as prescribed by the TGS pizza specifications, I will use the San Marzano classic tomato from Ciao Pomodori.

Considering those premises, how do you imagine the Napoli Pizza Village that is already around the corner?

The Napoli Pizza Village is a national-level event. The square is a dish that delights, but also an artwork. There will be plenty of true lovers of pizza, and I hope that each of them will be able to satisfy their needs, having fun in the wonderful setting of the Gulf of Naples.

Pizzeria Porzio
Ciao and the specialties of Pizzeria Porzio at Napoli Pizza Village 2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao and the specialties of Pizzeria Porzio at Napoli Pizza Village 2017

A family history, that of Pizzeria Porzio of Enrico Porzio: a family soaked of pizza tradition, like that of the Pellone family to which Enrico belongs and from which he has learned the trade, mixing together school and wood oven since childhood.
Then, in 1999, Enrico Porzio opened in Soccavo his first take-away pizzeria, which by 2013 has turned into a 70-seat restaurant, a take-away oven just a few distances away, a branch in Warsaw and the planned expansion in Florence and Milan: all of this under the banner of the pizza of excellence.
With the same enthusiasm with which he opened his pizzeria in via Cornelia dei Gracchi in Naples, Enrico tells us about his Napoli Pizza Village.

– What specialties are you going to show on the Lungomare Caracciolo waterfront?
I will propose my Poker, a pizza with four tones of flavor: a slice of Margherita, one of sausage and rapini, a petal of stuffed pizza and one of fried pizza.
 
– Which tomato you will use for your pizza Poker?
The classic peeled tomato with Mount Vesuvius’ tomatoes.

– Why did you choose a so much varied pizza to represent your pizzeria at NPV?
I chose the four nuances of taste representing the most classic flavors of the Neapolitan pizza art because I like to emphasize the popular tradition of my pizzeria. But above all, Poker is a pizza that surprises for the approach to four pizza cults, joining in this way tradition and innovation, a driving philosophy that has always pushed me to search for selected ingredients.

– What do you expect from the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017?
Not of making a profit from it, this is sure. Indeed, I decided to create within the event my personal “Diversely Pizza Village” and so in the first four days of the NPV I will devolve any earnings to four associations working in sustaining young disabled persons. So I hope that my Poker will sell like bread!

Caputo Napoli Pizza Village
Ciao is official sponsor of the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017 845 445 cmdo

Ciao is official sponsor of the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017

From the 17th to the 25th of June, Caputo Napoli Pizza Village will open a big window onto the world of the Neapolitan pizza of excellence. This year too, Ciao will be the official tomato of the event and of the World Pizza Maker Championship, which will declare the best pizza artisan of 2017.

Only a few hours are left before the opening of the pizza village: 9 days of dough and condiments will kick off the summer of great Neapolitan gastronomy by highlighting the great importance that techniques and attention to the quality of the ingredients have for a dish like the Neapolitan pizza, a model followed an imitated everywhere, but with unique features.

Who will be the world champion among the APN pizza makers and what specialties the 50 participating Neapolitan pizzerias will give us on beautiful backdrop of Lungomare Caracciolo to celebrate the most famous world kermesse fully dedicated to the White Art?

We will find out very soon, as only 3 days are left before the official opening of the Caputo Napoli Pizza Village 2017: the ribbon-cutting will be on Saturday, 17th June.

A format unchanged, but with an even more rapid pace and a renewed attention to fried pizza and to the women’s participation to the cream of the crop of the Neapolitan pizza maker association (Associazione Napoletana Pizzaioli – APN)

50 the pizzerias and hundreds the artisans that will come to the pizza stadium on Lungomare Caracciolo from all over the world to participate to the 16th Caputo Trophy.

Of all the 100,000 specialties that are expected to be baked during the 9 days of the event, the official tomato will be the one of Ciao, renewing again the partnership with the world’s most important event dedicated to the pizza of excellence.

We will tell you the art, the competing specialties and the flavors, the colors and the faces of that which in the end is above all a celebration great as the heart of Naples, which welcomes anyone around its popular table made of simple excellence!

Come to party with us!