If I told you to close your eyes and think of your favourite food, you would understand the assignment immediately. With your eyes closed, you would debate quietly for a few moments on the right answer – at least for that day. Then you would lock in on your favourite food; your mouth would start salivating and your mind would be flooded with the many ways you wished to eat that particular food.
For me, that food is always Pizza. I love pizza unconditionally – I have for a long time. My wife knows it, my friends know it, and now the whole town will know it.
Every morning, I walk downstairs to the restaurant, excited for the task at hand. I make myself a coffee, put on some sweet beats and start weighing all the ingredients. Everything is in its place so I can focus solely on the process. And every day the process starts again.
I love pulling the dough out of the mixer in one steady movement. I love the smell of raw dough slowly fermenting in the fridge. I love shaping the dough into balls, playing with their outer tension to form them, and I love their giggle when they’re ready for the oven. Lately, I have fallen in love with the sound it makes when you first sink your teeth into a slice. My goodness, I am blushing – yes, it is a bit of a love affair, but it is one I can’t hold back from, as it pours out of me. I love Pizza.
Growing up in Italy meant that pizza has had a significant and steady presence in my life. If I had some change in my pocket, I would often grab a slice of pan pizza on my way home from school. As a family, we would also visit our favourite Pizzeria weekly, where Achille – the pizzaiolo- would greet us with a white Pizza with Rosemary and Sea Salt. What an idol. My mother would also make pizza from time to time; she is renown amongst many other dishes for her red pizza with anchovies, an ode to simplicity whose purity will bring you closer to God (we were especially fond of those occasions because my brother Fabio and I were allowed to share a can of Coke.)
Even during my time in the Okanagan, Pizza found its way to me: we celebrated Sunday Pizza with rigour, by inviting friends weekly for a sheet pan pizza and some music. I loved Pizza Sundays. They taught me what it meant to feed my community efficiently.
Fast forward to the present moment, and I am now an Italian immigrant on Haida Gwaii making pizza Рwhat a beautiful clich̩. The goal is still the same ( to feed my community) but the love for pizza has only grown, and over the years we have really had a chance to get to know each other.
But I love Pizza not just because I grew up in a country that adores it and claims its invention. I love Pizza because Pizza is a democratic food – those are the foods that have an innate ability to feed a crowd and to bring community together. And those are the foods we need the most.
So Eat Pizza Every day.
PS – I suspect you also have a story about the iconic foods of your life. I would be delighted if you felt compelled to share yours with us by writing a letter to the editor. [email protected]
PS 2 – My favourite type of Pizza is called Roman Sheet Pan Pizza. If you are curious, you can find the link to the recipe that started my love affair with this type of pizza on Gather ’s Facebook page! Ch-Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/gatherfoodhaidagwaii