The World’s best pizza arrived in London this month offering Fatto a Mano punters the opportunity to sample greatness.
Franco Pepe earned the title of “World’s Best Pizza Chef” for three consecutive years at the Best Chef Awards in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The Naples-based chef, who also starred in Netlfix’s popular Chef’s Table: Pizza series, shared the recipe for his internationally revered pizza to be recreated at five Fatto a Mano restaurants in London (Covent Garden, Kings Cross), Brighton and Hove across April and May.
Translated as ‘Mistaken Margherita’, it is billed as a dedication to Neapolitan provenance and culture, using ingredients sourced from the Alto Casertano area, which is home to many of the small-scale producers who supply Fatto a Mano.
Made with Italian 00 flour, and proven for 24 hours for a light and pillowy texture, the Margherita Sbagliata (or “Margherita Done Wrong”) sees the dough layered with buffalo and fior di latte mozzarella from long-time Fatto a Mano’s suppliers Lattai Ponticorvo – a dairy located just a few miles from Franco Pepe’s revered restaurant Pepe in Grani – along with Lorenzo extra virgin olive oil from the centuries-old Sicilian family dynasty, Barbera, in Sicily.
The pizza is then baked for no longer than 90 seconds before Franco Pepe’s riccio (‘curly’) tomato passata is added. Made from an ancient variety grown exclusively for Pepe in his home city of Caiazzo, the passata is added uncooked to preserve its natural flavour and piped in geometric lines alongside dots of basil oil.
It was difficult to know what to expect from the World’s Best Pizza.
I’d wondered whether it would be one of those outrageously gourmet pizzas you find layered with unconventional toppings like ox cheek or curried lamb à la Homeslice, or whether it would be some clever-clogs, deconstructed pizza suspended above molten rock à la Noma.
In the end, it was actually pretty basic.
The buffalo and fior di latte mozzarella created a delightful cheese base that is delicately cut into by the passata that enjoys elevated importance as a topping, rather than a base.
Subtle notes of basil and salt are there but don’t overpower.
The balance of flavours on display reminded me of a common beer anecdote I’ve heard on numerous occasions in pubs and breweries up and down the country.
For brewers, it’s one thing creating a beer that has big, punchy flavours. A Black Forest gateau stout, say, or a triple fruited mango sour. But it’s quite another creating a session beer where all the flavours work in perfect harmony and balance.
Ask any publican, and they’ll tell you that a good session beer is worth its weight in gold.
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