What is it about pizza that makes it such a global obsession? Is it the irresistible pull of melted mozzarella, the crispness of a perfectly baked crust, the comforting umami hit from the tomato base, or the limitless appeal of its toppings? Contrary to popular belief, pizza is not just a dish, but a family of styles with endless variations. Even in Italy, a Neapolitan pizza bears little resemblance to a Roman one—and of course, the globally acclaimed sliced-in-a-box one has its roots in America. Then there’s the ’80s Los Angeles upmarket variation, experimented into existence by chefs like Nancy Silverton and Wolfgang Puck, who threw on ingredients like smoked salmon, foie gras, and truffles.
Today, pizza is no longer a simple street food—it is a canvas for culinary art. Even in Naples, where strict rules define the Neapolitan pizza, chefs have dared to defy tradition. Among them stands one of the best pizzaiolos in the world: Franco Pepe.
At 60, Pepe is a living legend, named the World’s Best Pizza Chef for four consecutive years by the Best Chef Awards. His story gained global attention after his appearance on Netflix’s Chef’s Table in 2023, and his pizzeria, Pepe in Grani, has single-handedly transformed the sleepy town of Caiazzo into a destination for pizza lovers worldwide.
In my quest to taste the best pizza on the planet, I fly more than 4,200 miles to Rome and then take a two-hour train to Caiazzo, a town of just 5,000 residents near Naples. Perched on a hilltop, Pepe in Grani isn’t your average pizzeria—it’s a temple to pizza. Spanning four levels, it features distinct dining areas and even two bedrooms that can be booked for a post-pizza siesta.
Moments after we settle into our seats, Chef Pepe makes an appearance. He is not your stereotypical flamboyant Italian chef. Slim and elegantly dressed in immaculate whites, with his signature thin-framed spectacles perched on his nose, he has more the air of a sombre scientist than a showman. Charisma may not be his calling card, but craftsmanship certainly is, we discover, as he invites us on a tour of his kitchen.
The centrepiece of his operation is a large wood-fired oven, designed to reach searing temperatures of 450-500°C. It can cook a pizza in just 60 to 90 seconds—a necessity to serve the 500 guests this pizzeria feeds each day. For Pepe, the oven is not just a tool; it’s a partner in his craft.
Pepe’s journey began at Pizzeria Pepe, his family’s pizzeria, where he spent his youth watching his father and brothers knead dough by hand, a process he believes no machine can replicate. He believes that the soul of his pizza is the dough—the one thing that elevates his creations above the rest. “It’s not just technique,” he says, “It’s about building a relationship with the dough.”
Sometime around 2012, Pepe’s ambitions had outgrown tradition. After years of working with his family, he set out to open his own pizzeria, which gave him the freedom to “push the boundaries of what pizza could become”. It’s exactly what we get back at our table, when the first pizza of our 10-course tasting menu arrives: the Margherita Sbagliata, or ‘Mistaken Margherita’. This unconventional take on the classic stirred controversy among purists when it debuted in 2011. With it, he flips the formula: mozzarella goes on the dough first, before baking, followed by fresh, uncooked tomato sauce and splashes of basil emulsion. Despite initial scepticism, the pizza was crowned the ‘Best Pizza in the World’ from 2016 to 2018, turning even his early critics into loyal fans.
