The pizza maker from Caiazzo has created two solidarity initiatives, on the one hand a fundraiser for the Caserta Hospital, on the other he keeps the oven of the Pepe in Grani pizzeria on to prepare pizza, bread and desserts to give to those who he needs
“We started by giving away products prepared with everything we had perishable in the kitchen and then we kept on holding an oven turned on to give to those who need it". Franco Pepe had a golden heart who knows him, even before the Coronavirus emergency, he already knew. As he says, he has it in DNA: his grandfather, a baker at the time of the Second World War, cheated for good on the quantities of bread to be distributed with the ration card. "Grandfather risked, because he even controlled the quantities of flour used, but once he gave the card 150 g of bread to those who had it, he always managed to keep some bread aside for those who needed it" .
Franco, for his part, as soon as the situation began to become more tense, inquired about the needs of the Caserta Hospital. First he got in touch with the mayor of Castel Campagnano, Giuseppe Di Sorbo, who has a factory that produces lung fans. “We bought practically at cost price from him a lung ventilator and the first 40 masks for the Caserta Hospital. I did this first operation like Franco Pepe and Pepe in Grani, but also the small producers in the area, with whom I have been collaborating for years, wanted to participate in the initiative. "
Meanwhile, Franco, to continue his charitable activity in favor of the hospital, contacted an association and launched a fundraiser on a well-known platform. The second goal of donating another 500 masks has already been achieved and Pepe is at work for this, even if there is no shortage of problems. "We are understanding if they are certified, if they are good for the hospital, it is certainly not easy for me, I am a pizza chef, but keeping busy keeps me alive. Furthermore, I want to specify that I am convinced that those who say that charity is done in silence are right, but if I have communicated my initiatives, it is to make me a promoter of a real need for health in Campania and Caserta in particular, with the awareness that this evil you only win by joining forces and teaming up ”.
Equally Franco Pepe admits to keeping busy keeping the oven on. "It is me and three of my collaborators, two Egyptian boys and one Ukrainian, we live next to each other and we are practically a small family, we have lunch together, today I made pasta and peas". The day, Franco says, is structured like this: some time is devoted to experimentation in view of a coveted reopening, the rest of the time leavened products are produced for those who need it with one of the two ovens that has remained on although the pizzeria is closed.
"The bread, the pizza, the fried pizza, the biscuits, the brioche that my grandfather made: we are making our leavened products to donate to associations like the Angel of the last of Caserta, who takes care of bringing a hot meal to the clochards of the Caserta station, which are 70-80 people in serious difficulty ". Or to the elderly centers in the area, where Franco Pepe sends his delicacies to give a day of joy to those who feel lonely right now. A commitment that earned him the social applause also of government officials, such as Minister Teresa Bellanova.
Also in this initiative, many friends of Franco Pepe are coming forward to collaborate. "For now", "we are doing it with our warehouse and we are saying no to the product offers to avoid too many shifts, but clearly everything depends on how long the emergency will be". And speaking of the warehouse, Franco admits that the forced arrest gave him the opportunity to dig in his pantry to discover all the products that had sent him to test over time. "Usually we are too busy to have time to consider these products, but now we are taking advantage of this free time to pull everything off the shelves and reflect on the raw materials."
There is also reflection on the post-emergency measures. "We are studying what other measures we can put in place to get the public back safely, when it will be possible. However, attention to hygiene is a topic that does not catch me unprepared. We had the Amuchina columns already since 2012, sanitized the marble tables at each change already with great care and already used masks and gloves to manipulate the ingredients. Now I want to intervene with additional safety devices, we will certainly decrease the tables and work on the problem of queuing in the alley, which must be eliminated to avoid gatherings ".
Franco does not hide that he is the first to be afraid of the Coronavirus. “Until a few days ago, before the lockdown, we were all in contact with 200-300 people in the evening and we started a chat with all the employees to tell us if something is not right. Personally, I too am afraid, but I get a lot of messages from all over the world telling me to hold on and this strengthens me ”.
To participate in the fundraiser click on Collection for Az. Osp. S.Anna and S. Seb. Caserta.
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