FRANCO PEPE IS RECOGNIZED IN ITALY AS ONE OF THE EIGHT “MASTERS OF THE ART OF ITALIAN CUISINE”
The pizzaiolo creator of Pepe in Grani, in Caiazzo, received this award for being “Master of the art of Italian pizza”.
Rome, April 3rd. – Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Minister of Agriculture Francesco Lollobrigida yesterday awarded a medal in recognition of being “Masters of cooking, of life, of art, of Italy” to the master pizzaiolo creator of Pepe in Grani and seven other Italian gastronomy and wine figures, at Palazzo Chigi.
Franco Pepe received this award for being “Master of the art of Italian pizza”. Among those recognized were pastry chef Iginio Massari, Carlotta Fabbri (director of the Emilia-Romagna company of the same name, Fabbri 1905), Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini, Maria Francesca Di Martino (Master of the art of Italian olive growing), winemaker Riccardo Cotarella and Osteria Francescana chef Massimo Bottura.
Franco Pepe, visibly moved, expressed his gratitude for this recognition, saying: “Receiving this award from the Italian State is a great emotion. It is the recognition of a career rooted in my homeland and nourished by the desire to innovate without ever forgetting tradition. Today we celebrate not only my work, but that of all the artisans and pizza makers who with passion and sacrifice carry forward a fundamental piece of Italian culture.”
About Franco Pepe
Franco Pepe is considered the most famous Italian pizzaiolo in the world. Dough is in his DNA. His grandfather was a baker, his father was a pizzaiolo, and he and his brothers continued in the family business. Famous for his unique dough and his dedication to elevating the art of pizza making, his popularity began with an article by Jonathan Gold, a Pulitzer Prize-winning gastronome who wrote in the US edition of Food & Wine magazine: ‘I’ve probably had the best pizza in the world from Franco Pepe’.
He later became the most voted pizzaiolo in Phaidon’s ‘Where to Eat Pizza’ guide, in which chefs name their favourite pizzerias around the world. Franco Pepe stars in an episode of the Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza and has been named Ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet Worldwide, Ambassador of Caiazzo Worldwide, Ambassador of Flavour and Ambassador of Territory. He has also been named Pizzaiolo of the Year by Food and Travel, Pizza Awards Italia, World’s Best Pizza Chef by The Best Awards 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and Master of the Art and Craft of Pizza by the Scuola Internazionale di Cucina italiana ALMA.
About Pepe in Grani
Pepe in Grani, a pizzeria located in Caiazzo, a small town of 5,000 inhabitants a few kilometres from the province of Caserta, is the place where Franco Pepe welcomes 400 customers and prepares 800 pizzas a day. Pepe’s project at Grani is based on research and selection of raw materials and the human factor, where he experiments and integrates among other themes and methods: the frying technique, the electric oven, the structure of the equipment and the scientific contribution. His pizza is based on innovation, but starts from tradition. He improves the dough with a special blend of flours produced especially for him, a key part of his production. He is meticulous in the selection of local ingredients. His aim is to share with the world, through his pizza, the flavours and stories of his territory.
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