It was the first time I met John Lanzafame, pizza god to the world, celebrity chef and winner of many titles in pizza and pasta, globally.
He has been an ambassador in Australia when it comes to pizza and southern Italian food – so much so that they call him The Pizza Prince.
“Buon giorno ragazza,” he said.
Those words took me back to the land of pizza. I automatically said, “Margarita please”.
Lanzafame is the essence of Sicily: he eats, drinks and thinks Sicilian with passion pumping through his veins. He immediately revived the love affair I had in Italy with ‘La Pizza.’
When you’re craving something savoury and sexy with a taste of cheese and maybe your favourite topping – whether it’s ham and pineapple, mushroom or oregano – your mind kicks into overdrive and takes you straight to your favourite pizza hangout.
For me it all started in Naples, Italy where I fell in love after a month on the Neapolitan and Amalfi Coast. On my daily culinary journey I explored every possibility from the hilltops to the Mediterranean in search of the most sexual foodie experience. Then it happened. In this tiny cobbled stone village I first sampled the sensational flavour of what Italians call ‘La Pizza’. In Italy, “That’s Amore”.
In the rest of the world, Pizza has three to five toppings and comes in various formats, gourmet or not so gourmet. But in Naples, there is only the Margarita – a thick, simple, tomato-based version with fresh basil and minimal mozzarella cheese. Now we’re talking!
The luscious fresh taste of tomato and basil is a marriage made in heaven. After leaving the Amalfi Coast I embarked on a tour of Italy in search of the ultimate pizza. I travelled from Amalfi to Sicily, and from Rome to Trieste in search of the Holy Grail and boy did I find it. Everywhere I went, I discovered a new flavour and experienced the taste and passion of Italy.
When I came home to Australia, I began to search for those memorable flavours. Just as I was coming to a sad acceptance that it was never going to happen I hit the jackpot: a small southern Italian pizzeria in Woolloomooloo, Sydney, called Lanzafame. What first enticed me inside was the smell of fresh Italian coffee beans being ground. Suddenly I was back in Sorrento.
And so I met John Lanzafame , a Sicilian born and bred, whose passion for food propelled him to represent Australia in the Culinary Olympics. In his little pizzeria you can sample some of the most sensational food on this planet.
Lanzafame started in the hotel industry but worked his way up in the restaurant business to take his place beside such master chefs as Tony Bilson, who for three decades has been a phenomenon in the kitchen and has owned some of Sydney’s most iconic restaurants.
Lanzafame’s bestselling cookbooks, Modo Mio and Family Italian, were inspired by his ninth place achievement at the Culinary Olympics where he came away with a world title as the ‘World’s Best Pizza Champion’.
“Waking up every morning and knowing that people had a taste and liking for my books with over 300,000 copies sold worldwide was a euphoric experience,” he said.
He now has a string of awards: ‘World’s Best Pizza’; ‘Best Pizza Australia’ three consecutive years; winner of ‘Global Pizza & Pasta Challenge’; winner of ‘One World Culinary Iceland’; ‘Best Italian Restaurant’; ‘Top Ten World’ for the Australian Olympic Team; and a host of Gold Medals from various other world events. With all these awards comes fame. Cooking for royalty and celebrities around the globe has become a part of his every day life.
John has worked his culinary magic for Princess Mary, former prime minster Kevin Rudd, Kitchen Nightmare Gordon Ramsay, Virgin Tycoon Richard Branson, music legends the Rolling Stones, Bono from U2, comedian Billy Crystal and tennis champions Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt.
He has also become a darling of the media with regular appearances on MasterChef Australia, SBS Pizza, Lifestyle channel’s Ready Steady Cook, The Morning Show and Chefs’ Christmas on Nine and Sunrise on Seven.
With a year of exciting projects coming up in 2014, Lanzafame will spearhead various culinary projects globally so be ready to be charmed by the Pizza Prince.
