Grosso Napoletano's pizza, among the 10 best in Europe

• CURIOSITY.What the edge of the pizza says about you

• 'DELIVERY' The best options to order food at home

"Being in the

is very good news, especially after everything we have suffered. We have competed with Italian chains and this recognition represents a commitment to value and support for those who are behind the counter every day with their oven putting love to the most popular dish "explains

(Madrid, May 24, 1984), an entrepreneur behind Grosso Napoletano with his partner Jorge Blas.

After a few very hard months due to the coronavirus crisis, in which they

, sending their employees to the ERTE "charging two dollars" and delaying the inauguration of the eighth place in Valencia -the first outside the capital-, the Inclusion in this prestigious international ranking tastes as good as a bite of one of its award-winning pizzas.

Not surprisingly,

(except for the Italians, who competed in their own category, as the cradle of delicacy).

Now they have climbed and are

the continent, along with powerful references such as the French Big Mamma (a group that lands in Madrid with a macro-restaurant in a few days).

This has been assessed by the 50 Top Pizza contest, which was held on the afternoon of September 8 in an event broadcast

via

through its website and social networks.

The novelty lies in this unprecedented category of the

date

, where the nature of the ingredients and the care in the preparation are rewarded, and which points to a future where

detriment of industrial pizzas .

"These awards began as a sector recognition but now they represent a global accolade," says Rodríguez de Prada, who feels the merit of not having lost identity throughout his three years of growth on insurance, "step by step".

This is how venues are chosen

Every year, since 2017, this

free

guide

chooses the best transalpine restaurants and pizzerias in La Botte, Europe and the world, thanks to

and scoring a solid bastion and dynamic

.

"After publication, the winners are considered

in our country", describe Barbara Guerra, Luciano Pignataro and Albert Sapere, responsible for 50 Top Pizza, who observe how the expectation grows with each gala.

"From now on, pizzerias integrated into large chains will no longer appear in the general ranking, but will have their own classification, given their specific character."

Hence, the appearance of Grosso Napoletano as the only Spanish chain has more merit if possible.

"The key is that we have always wanted to

, but because of the rigor of the processes and the quality of the ingredients. From the beginning we believed ourselves to be an alternative chain, we wanted to be the leaders of what we call

, knowing the traceability of the product and selecting a disruptive and optimistic staff ", slides the Spanish businessman, who shows his conviction about the importance of equipment.

"You have to invest in people who defend your brand well, because they identify with it and represent it as well as possible," he adds.

Its latest addition is

.

"As we do not freeze anything and each ingredient arrives fresh, for example, the burrata comes to us from Italy twice a week and is distributed to restaurants from our Prosperity workshop, this surveillance figure is essential to ensure that

. We sacrifice costs to bring Naples to the Spanish table ", adventure.

A Steve Jobs of pizzas

Saving the many distances between the company on the block and Grosso Napoletano, when Hugo Rodríguez de Prada looks back three years and remembers how they learned through trial and error, his beginnings are reminiscent of Steve Jobs in his garage.

"

, where we created the doughs daily and let them ferment for 48 hours to achieve their characteristic lightness. That same summer we had to close because this process, which uses sourdough, water, flour and Salt has to have a certain humidity and a controlled temperature and, due to the heat, while it was fermenting they all spoiled ".

That momentary drama served them to be better and today the pizzas are like a

with fluffy edges that "is not heavy due to its

[the speed with which a food can raise blood sugar] and lightness, then feel better ".

The new opening

The first opening outside Madrid, at number 4 of the central Martínez Cubells street, in Valencia, was planned for April, but the coronavirus arrived with the work unfinished and delayed the plans.

But the tandem of businessmen did not sit idly by.

You had to continue paying for the premises and they had their employees at home.

"It occurred to us to do a two-for-one pre-sale promotion through the first 200 reservations, so that, as of July 15 when we opened, we already had the premises full. That is a

".

They confess happy, determined to continue pedaling this slope that the pandemic has brought them because, otherwise, "it would be the bomb."

Not in vain, they demand the opening in cities like Seville and Barcelona.

In addition, they had the

service

, which is traditionally associated with pizza, as it is an easy dish to share, and a pizza designed solely for this new space, the Valencia Dreaming.

"About a third of our turnover comes from orders.

. We democratize good pizza, without additives and accessible close to home."

However, although appearing in guides always gives prestige, Hugo and Jorge confess that the greatest value is always word of mouth.

"During the confinement we

the

initiative

to thousands of toilets who now return to our premises as customers and tell us: 'Thanks for the help, I owed you a visit.' we can continue to operate responsibly. "

THE EUROPEAN TOP 10 HANDMADE PIZZA CHAINS

This is the result of the deliberation in the 50 Top Pizza, where

appears

, sharing a ranking with Big Mamma, the French company that soon lands in our country by opening a huge store in Madrid.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

• Madrid

• Italy

GastroDabiz Muñoz announces the reopening of DiverXO two weeks after the restaurant fire

Health has registered 73 new deaths from coronavirus since Friday, with a notable increase in Aragon

THE EMERITANS OF PAPALThe two children of Merida who keep God's accounts in the Vatican

See links of interest

• News

• Programming

• Translator

• Calendar

• Horoscope

• Classification

• League calendar

• Films

• Cut notes

• Topics

• The 10th stage of the Tour de France, live: Ile d'Oléron - Ile de Ré