The world’s best pizza maker is coming to New Jersey

Jun 25, 2023

A man touted as the world's best pizza maker is coming to New Jersey to make pizzas for one night only.

Franco Pepe will be coming to Razza, the Jersey City pizzeria lauded by the New York Times as being “New York’s best.”

Pepe’s restaurant in Italy says:

Franco Pepe represents the third generation of a family of bakers. The first business was started by his grandfather in 1938, with an operating license granted by the Potestà.

His restaurant Pepe In Grani is described by Food & Wine thusly:

this Caiazzo pizzeria already draws much of its weekend clientele from as far away as Rome. "My pizza is wireless," Pepe is fond of saying. His dough is worked by hand in wooden boxes, left to ripen for hours and never refrigerated. The pork for his sausages, the olive oil and the bufala mozzarella come from just down the road.

If you’re unfamiliar with Razza, their mission is:

Our ultimate goal is to serve the best pizza possible. We are challenging the common practices of pizza-making in the hope of influencing the industry and elevating the overall quality of pizza in America. It’s a lofty goal that means constantly searching for better ingredients while continuously honing our techniques with each and every pizza we make. We have defined what great pizza is to us, and painstakingly worked backwards to create it

The chef/owner of Razza, Dan Richer, has even written a book, called “The Joy of Pizza.”

The special event with pizzaiolo Franco Pepe will be held on Sep. 12 at Raza Pizza Artiganale in Jersey City.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle only.

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