While any pizza lover worth their sauce will have chewed over the pros and cons of Neapolitan pies, visitors contemplating the hallowed yet hectic port city should skip Naples and head directly to the mediaeval town of Caiazzo for a slice of the action.
Thirty miles northeast of Naples, Caiazzo’s name might ring a bell thanks to Franco Pepe, who’s been topping restaurant and chef rankings of late. A third-generation maestro pizzaiolo born and raised, Franco’s illustrious pizzeria Pepe in Grani, tucked away in Campania’s rolling hills, features in episode four of the recently released Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza.
The baker and pizza purveyor has picked up a slew of prizes for his Mediterranean pies, including Best Pizza Chef by The Best Chef Awards 2022, single-handedly turning the enchanting 2,000-year-old Caiazzo into a dining destination. Ingredients are all sourced locally and, like it or not, he has elevated Neapolitan style – which was awarded Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage Status in 2017 – to a new level.
Pepe in Grani’s pizzas feature in Netflix show Chef’s Table
(Pepe in Grani )
First, he creates the ideal balance of fats, proteins and carbs so they align with the Mediterranean diet, while his hand-kneaded dough and creative toppings both celebrate and reinvent classic Italian recipes, and can be oven baked, fried, sweet and savoury.
Housed in a beautifully maintained 18th-century palazzo, Pepe in Grani offers diners the chance to savour Franco’s flavours in a variety of ways. Groups can reserve the three circular tasting room tables – for a bird’s eye view of pies in process, book the one with a see-through table top that overlooks the oven – while those after a more intimate experience should book Authentica, a private table for eight complete with wood-fired oven. On a summer evening, the breeze rolling over the terrace, the third of seven spaces, is particularly refreshing. While you can order a whole pizza – Napoli-style strictly adheres to a 11.5- to 12-inch diameter – it’s more fun to sample the 12-course tasting menu.
Ingredients are all sourced locally and, like it or not, he has elevated Neapolitan style to a new level
A welcome addition to the Pepe in Grani palazzo for food lovers who literally want to roll upstairs to pass out is the recently opened B&B. Both contemporary rooms are spacious, sporting views of the Campania countryside. While it’s a new hospitality venture for Franco, who was…
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