How One Family's Pizza Passion Transformed a Quiet Italian Town

Every month, several thousand visitors descend on the town of Caiazzo (population c5,000), an hour north-east of Naples. They make their way down the cobbled side street that leads to Pepe In Grani pizzeria to try what is widely regarded as the greatest pizza in the world.

The most famous pizza on the menu is the Margherita Sbagliata ("Margherita Gone Wrong"), which resembles a Mondrian painting. It requires baking the dough with mozzarella only and piping on tomato purée and basil reduction in strips and dots once cooked. Among other novelties are tasting menus filled with deep-fried cone pizzas, sweet pizzas and "healthy" pizzas served with raw vegetables and dressing designed to provide a balance of macronutrients and endorsed by the Italian AIRC Foundation for Cancer Research.

The whole town shuts down on Monday because we shut on Monday

The man behind Pepe In Grani is Franco Pepe, a third-generation pizzaiolo whose innovations have earned him the respect of the world's leading chefs. Alain Ducasse and Ana Roš are among those who have sat in awe at his chef's table. Spread over several floors of a restored townhouse, the pizzeria is home to two traditional Neapolitan domed pizza ovens. During service, Pepe is found greeting guests and having his picture taken before he retreats to his living quarters, located in the same building.

I've come here not so much to extract the secrets of his dough or toppings, which he's already disclosed in a new book Franco Pepe: Pizza Chef (Phaidon), but to ask about the seismic economic and social impact he's had on the people and region of Caiazzo since the pizzeria opened in 2012, a contribution that's seen him honoured by the state.

In the 1930s Pepe's grandfather Francesco opened a bakery and family shop in Caiazzo, where they sold pizza by the slice. In 1961 his father Stefano opened a pizzeria in the town centre. Here, Franco learned the trade. But Stefano didn't want his children to become pizza makers so Pepe became a physical-education teacher instead. His brothers Nino and Massimiliano trained as an accountant and architect. It was only when Stefano died in 1996 that the brothers resolved to take over the family business.

They disagreed over how to run it. Inspired by haute cuisine and the Slow Food Movement, Franco wanted to create pizzas that elevated the status of pizza and showcased regional produce. So in 2011 he left the family business to start his own pizzeria nearby. People thought he was crazy. Caiazzo wasn't, after all, a destination like Naples. "No one stayed or even passed through," he recalls. "It helped when chefs from outside Caiazzo told me I was on the right course," he says. "And gradually more people got involved."

He started out partnering with six local producers - using ingredients like Caiazzane black olives and Campanian buffalo on his pizzas. Now he works with more than 40. His revolutionary take on the Margherita came about because he wanted to celebrate the local riccio tomato. Its flavour was detrimentally altered by heat, so he added the tomatoes after cooking. His L'Alifana, featuring pancetta, smoked scamorza cheese and onion, was designed to support the fragrant Alife onion, which was on the brink of extinction. His championing of these products was transformative as chefs and purveyors from around the world started using them too.

"Around Franco an entire city has grown: a human, economic and social network," states the book. Pepe employed an agronomist who provided assistance to the farmers he works with. His team is made up largely of young people from the area. Dozens of B&Bs and travel agencies sprung up to meet the demands from tourism, which rocketed after he was featured in Netflix's Chef's Table: Pizza in 2022. "The whole town shuts down on Monday because we shut on Monday," he says.

In 2020, Pepe was named a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his efforts during Covid, when he kept his ovens burning to provide bread for the elderly and those in need in the area. Now he's working with the Italian government to inspire future generations of pizzaioli. "I want to equip them with knowledge in everything from doughmaking to nutrition to economics," he says. It speaks to his core mission, as he puts it, "to restore dignity to the role of pizza chef and encourage pizzas that are personal, creative and outside the box".

Franco Pepe: Pizza Chef by Franco Pepe is published by Phaidon at £34.95. Ajesh Patalay travelled as a guest of Phaidon and Pepe In Grani

@ajesh34