Nearly a million TikTok followers, a favourite on Italian television, a native of Naples and a fourth-generation pizzaiolo, Vincenzo Capuano is a well-known name in the world of contemporary pizza.
“Half of Italy loves it, half of Italy hates it,” he quipped to us about his style of contemporary pizza involving a very delicate, highly hydrated dough that follows a more complicated preparation process involving pre-fermentation the day before. The flour used is a unique blend developed by Capuano himself. And, in another break with tradition, the pizza is fired for 130 to 140 seconds, longer than usual.
“If you are normal, people will forget. If you move people with emotion, they remember you,” he said, with the endearing brashness that has made him a TikTok star.
There are two things Capuano lives by: Footballer Diego Maradona, whose pictures adorn the walls, and a fierce pride in Naples and its produce. “It’s very important that the ingredients are from Naples,” he said. Tomato sauce, for instance, is made by crushing Italian tomatoes by hand.
“If you want sushi, you go to Japan. If you want pizza, you come to Naples,” he asserted.
