Sleepy Caiazzo, a creature of habit, folded in on itself like bakers of times gone by, is rudely awoken on 14 October 2012. Pepe in Grani is out of this world, it is an earthquake that shakes the world of pizza and its epicentre is in Vicolo San Giovanni Battista. The unthinkable happens and Caiazzo soon becomes the world’s pizza capital. On 2 June 2019, Franco Pepe is awarded a Cavaliere al merito della Repubblica italiana (Order of Merit on behalf of the Republic of Italy) by President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella. Journalists, actors, politicians, poets and porn stars, pizza makers and chefs, writers, singers and football players line up down the alley to try his pizza. Franco’s revolution is a constantly evolving adventure that has already seen multiple milestones, fruit of his visionary mind. Welcome to the very first pizzeria and kitchen that solely works with pizza ingredients. Flavour artisan and artist, Franco worked with Michelina Petrazzuoli, a biologist and nutritionist from Caiazzo, on the Functional Menu, transforming pizza into the perfect balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. And last but not least, Franco must also be recognised for having built a talented team: the pizza maker has become a conductor at the head of an orchestra known as Pepe in Grani. What gives this brilliant pioneer the greatest satisfaction is having redeemed the dignity of the pizza maker, who was traditionally condemned to a life of great fatigue: “My staff can go out after work and have fun, fall in love. When I was a kid, I would collapse after the last pizza and the fatigue would numb even my dreams.” He continues: “I don’t have any secrets, I don’t keep my knowledge close to my chest. Instead, it should be shared to guarantee continuity and I am happy and proud to spread the word about my pizza and my land to the other side of the world.”
