It is comfort food gone gourmet. It is a hot dish delivered to your door on a cold night. It is a generous feast that feeds a table of hungry friends. It is the gift of Southern Italy to the rest of the country, and to much of the world: the pizza.

The humble pizza is not what we might associate with royal cuisine. But the simple Margherita pizza, dressed with mozzarella, tomatoes, and fresh basil, honours the nineteenth-century queen of Italy. In 1889, when Naples chef Don Raffaele Esposito was asked to cook for Queen Margherita and her husband, he and his own wife pulled together the three ingredients commonly used on pizza

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By Andrea Eby, Sommelier( ISG) and Sylvia Jansen, Sommelier( ISG, CMS), CSW

in their restaurant. When Esposito placed the dish in front of the Queen, she saw the white, green and red of the Italian flag. She asked the chef for its name. Esposito thought quickly on his feet, and responded that the pizza was named for Her Majesty. The Margherita pizza was christened.( Rumour has it that the queen was delighted.)

The pizza has been around for many centuries. The Roman poet Virgil described his hero eating the plate while dining with chiefs. Ancient peoples baked a flat piece of bread between hot stones from the fire; toppings or fillings made the bread a portable meal. In the sixteenth century, tomatoes were imported from the New World, and Italians eventually began tossing them onto pizzas.

Pizzaioli � Federico Bonato

The pizza has migrated from Naples to every part of Italy. In any Italian city, town or village there is sure to be a small trattoria or pizzeria that offers up its own local specialty of the dish. The Margherita pizza, which celebrates the beauty of a few perfect ingredients, is almost invariably present. Everywhere in Italy are piazzas, streets, drives, and malls dedicated to the hero of Italian unification, Vittorio Emmanuel, and to Queen Margherita. The pizza that bears her name is easily the most well-known( and well-travelled) tribute to the Queen.

Creating the Perfect Pizza

The art of pizza is well represented in Winnipeg. Ask anyone who makes the best pizza in town, and you are sure to get a range of answers, based on peoples’ personal preferences for thick or thin crust, sauce, and ingredients.

At Pizzeria Gusto, Head Chef Eric Lee, with the help of Pizzaioli( pizza chef) Federico Bonato of Veneto, Italy, has brought the flavours and feelings of authentic Italy to Winnipeg ' s Academy Road. Bonato and Lee generously offered to share their best pizza tips with our readers.

“ Start the day before.” Both experts agree that“ the pizza is in the crust,” and all crusts begin with a simple combination of flour, water, salt, a and yeast. Bonato favours pastry flour, while Eric advises experimenting with different brands of flour to create the crust you most enjoy. Both chefs agree

Come together to prepare endless possibilities of savoury dishes and fire roasted pizzas that can intoxicate anyone’ s palate with delight. We take great pride in bringing you the finest quality & craftsmanship of pizza ovens from Italy and France. We specialize in handmade pizza ovens that can be designed and built to any specification. The Wood’ n Stone has been in business for over 35 years and are Wett certified to complete all projects with quality workmanship from start to finish. Using natural stone from K2 Stone in Nanaimo B. C. and splendid mosaics and glass tiles from Porcelanosa in Spain, there are no limits to what you can design and create.

Your new culinary adventure awaits to begin!

WOOD’ N STONE MARIO AIELLO 204.955.0586

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