Going Pizza Pazza At Mi Piace

Not everyone knows that by changing a single vowel, pizza becomes crazy! That is, ‘pizza’ becomes pazza," explains chef Michele Mingozzi, resident Italian chef of The Peninsula Manila’s Mi Piace restaurant.

There are a lot of ways to go pazzi, and Italian men being possessed of a lively temperament, can easily go pazzi over pizza which is what chef Mingozzi has set out to do with seven wildly inventive pizzas he’s whipped up for the two-week Pizza Pazza promotion at Mi Piace, which runs until April 6.

But these are days, he says, when pizza gets such a bad rap it clearly does not deserve. "Mention the word pizza, and take-out and frozen immediately come to mind," he says. Most people think they are acceptable quickie dinners when you are up against the clock. A pity, really, when a pizza – so simple, so nourishing, so delicious – is relegated to a desperation meal.

Luckily, everybody adores the pizzas that come out of Mi Piace’s wood-fired oven. One may have to wait for a table at prime hours and, on weekend nights, for a classic pizza margherita but once you are ensconced in one of the tables, it’s worth it. But for his Pizza Pazza menu, chef Michele has let his imagination run wild with toppings like lentils, lamb and broccoli. And pizza Americana with chili, kidney beans and mozzarella?

We decided to go straight to the source and ask chef Michele a few questions about his pizzas. After all, he has been involved with pizzas since the age of 12, became a real chef in his early 20s, and now at 32 is about to let us have a preview of his new pizza line at Mi Piace.

Philippine STAR: So where’s the best pizza in the whole wide world?

Michele Mingozzi: Ciro di Margilina’s in the center of the Margilina district in Naples. It’s just great – the best of its kind.

Locally?

Other than mine? I’m not about to tell (he chuckles).

Can you spin a pizza? (blank look from chef Michele) Like a basketball, up in the air like in the NBA?

Yes. That’s done to remove the extra flour from the dough – it causes the flour to burn. I use the middle and index fingers. A good pizza chef doesn’t flour his peel (the paddle used to take pizzas to and from the ovens). He doesn’t need to because the dough has been properly stressed.

Stressed?

Stressed means the process of adding flour when kneading the dough.

What’s your secret to making pizza?

Fresh ingredients and a thin crust. Age the dough because doing so intensifies the flavors.

Do you have a current favorite topping?

It’s hard to decide which among my seven pizzas I like best. I’ll let my Mi Piace customers decide for themselves but I’ll be having things like "Out of Africa" with mozzarella, couscous, smoked tuna, fresh tomatoes and tarragon herbs. There’s also an Asian fusion pizza with tomato, vegetables, coriander, ginger, vinaigrette dressing, soya sauce, wasabi and duck breast. These may all sound a little wild, but you really have got to try them.

Name a pizza you’ve created.

All seven that you’ll see on our special pizza menu were created by me.

What does your pizza "Ang Sosing Pinoy" taste like?

Something like you’ve never had before and yet there’s something so familiar and comforting about it.

What should you drink with your pizza?

If you must have beer, try a lite beer. But a Chianti or a Valpolicello would be good too.

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For inquiries and restaurant reservations, contact Mi Piace at The Peninsula Manila at (632) 887-2888, locals 2947 and 2952.Experience The Peninsula on-line at: www.peninsula.com.