We are off to a running start with much to be excited about. I have just returned from New York where Roberto Caporuscio and Antonio Starita are now opening Pizzeria Don Antonio on West 50th Street in Manhattan.
In March master pizzaiuolo Franco Pepe of Caiazzo, Italy arrives to work with us at Spacca Napoli. We will then travel on to Las Vegas for the International Pizza Expo. Franco will do a presentation on dough making by hand, I will be a judge for the second time in the international pizza competition.
(Click here to read more about Franco Pepe)
BaconFest, Dining Out for Life and a fund raiser at Spacca introducing and promoting Ground UP, a new organization supporting local farmers, are also on the books. The ever popular BaconFest supports the Chicago Food Depository, one of the nation’s greatest anti-hunger organizations (www.baconfestchicago.com). The 19th Annual Dining Out for Life event on Thursday, April 26th, 2012, is North America’s largest HIV/AIDS fundraiser (www.edgealliance.org). Though I took some time off in January, I was never far away in spirit from my beloved pizza. With a coffee roaster as an oven, we made pizza on the Lime Tree Farm coffee plantation high up in the Blue Mountains in Jamaica (www.limetreefarm.com). I trust we were one of the first to introduce Neapolitan Pizza in the area.
As we approach our sixth anniversary on Valentine’s Day, I am so thankful that we continue to be supported by all of you. My commitment to quality and community remains strong, and I look forward to all that we will do in the coming year to bring joy to all of us.