Why I am no longer the Director of The Best Pizza Awards

When I was contacted at the beginning of the year by The Best Chef Awards to become director of The Best Pizza project, it didn’t take me long to decide to accept. After all, I am constantly working with my publisher NetAddiction on projects such as Di Pizza, PizzaCon and the one in Japan, demonstrates a constant desire to portray this world in a meritocratic way, doing a lot of scouting regardless of the media power of a pizzeria or the products used. The readers are always at the centre of the village.

This role would allow me to bring my knowledge to an international context, while learning new dynamics and increasing the possibilities with my colleagues to create a valid, virtuous alternative capable of turning the spotlight on the gastronomic excellence of pizza.

And so, after signing a three-year contract with favourable terms and conditions, I quietly joined the team to prepare the first changes and understand the dynamics, with a view to a long-term project. I immediately received a lot of feedback from pizza chefs and journalists on the current voting system, which is based entirely on an external panel that decides the final result, but with obvious flaws due to the imbalance in the distribution of voters and the lack of human intervention by people ‘in the field’ who know the pizzerias and the dynamics of this world so well.

Obviously, changes happen gradually, and for this first edition, the aim was more to gather feedback and study the situation. I therefore focused mainly on organising the global event on 25 June in Milan, and in fact, you will also find my influence in the main theme and in most of the guests.
After a few weeks, however, I noticed a few things that clashed with the role I had been contacted for. On several occasions, I asked for access to the votes and results that would determine the final ranking, as well as for help in understanding and creating a coherent social media strategy for an international guide. This information was repeatedly denied, strongly contradicting the role I had been asked to play, which was to supervise all phases of the project and be able to embrace it in its entirety as a professional.

On the other hand, I have publicly expressed my way of thinking – which may or may not be to everyone’s liking, let’s be clear! – in a project that I did not create myself and therefore, embodying the consistency in which I strongly believe, I have triggered a ‘crisis’ because key elements of my role have been lost: my creativity and decision-making, obviously shared with the team, together with my trust in the project.

Beyond any ulterior motives that may or may not arise in the face of such a refusal, it has become unthinkable to continue under these conditions: being at the helm of a ranking involves putting one’s credibility on the line.
Once again, I am convinced that it is essential to put yourself out there, take responsibility for your choices and go beyond the usual names that are popular because of their media recognition. In short, we need to bring experience to the table – then it will be up to the readers to judge whether it is authoritative or not – with regard to the pizza-making community, which, unlike chefs, does not shy away from creating ‘factions’ or being influenced by producers, writers and communication agencies.

To date, The Best Pizza does not emphasise the above fundamentals, focusing more on visibility and presentation.
Obviously, these are two different visions – neither is objectively better than the other, let’s be clear – so I have chosen mine on a different path.

The time is ready to get started with a project that comes from my experience. My publisher NetAddiction and magazines like Garage Pizza and Dissapore have the financial strength and numbers to create an independent path based on transparency, visibility, and responsibility for their choices, while also having the “strength” to ignore the pressure that will always be there in this industry. A wide-ranging project, open to virtuous collaborations (my DM are open!), focused on the customers and and at creating value for the pizza places, without triggering unhealthy competition.

But that will be the topic of a future editorial. After all, when you take a beating or suffer a defeat, you can come back stronger than before and create even greater things.

Long live pizza, always!