Everyone living in the surroundings of Gambettola, near Cesena, has learnt to love the straightforward alchemy of this brave "pizzettaro" who many years ago challenged local habits and palates by rolling out metres and metres of pizza in a baking tin, Roman-style. And locals they didn't want to do without him even during the lockdown, forcing him to improvise a new delivery service and then – respecting all social distances – they ran to his steaming counter as soon as he opened again.

In the balance between the Petra 1 and Petra 9 mixes, with 80% of hydration, a very long maturation and an invisible "secret" ingredient – sea salt from Cervia - Farabegoli did not only find the texture for his dough, but most of all the texture for his tale

«If I got here – this is one of the things he loves to repeat most often – it's because I wanted wheat, I wanted flour, to be the main ingredient in my pizza. It's not the most banal, but it's the most important: you need to know its history, origins, characteristics, so it can become the main topic when talking to clients».

And he has every right to speak of the crucial role of ingredients as he's at work researching the best ingredients for his toppings, as proven by his most emblematic pizza, a tribute to Romagna: pizza with Fried mixed vegetables, pancetta arrotolata and formaggio di fossa di Sogliano al Rubicone.

«Feeling sure of the quality of my work gave me serenity during this crisis», Farabegoli confirms. He didn't let the long closure distract him or unsettle him. Instead, he thought about its consequences at length and discussed about it with many colleagues from all of Italy who share the same collaboration with Molino Quaglia:

«We called each other often during these months – he confirms -, organising video-conferences to discuss and support each other. For everyone, more or less, the curve of worries has moved towards greater serenity now we see our clients are coming back with enthusiasm. 

I believe this depends first of all on a "trust factor". People once again are spending their time when they feel free to do so, where they feel sure that those in contact with them are paying every attention to safety. It is also for this reason that I didn't want to continue with deliveries, which was only an experiment to make the many people who were calling me during the lockdown happy: I know that Da Neo (via del Lavoro 1B, Gambettola. Tel. +39 0547 653833) is a place where people love to go, even only for a quick lunch or while they are walking, and this is where I want to focus my energy».


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Concetta Bonini
source: https://www.identitagolose.it/ermes/newsletter/?id=339

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