Franco Pepe is not only the best pizza chef in the world (The Best Pizza Awards 2023) but he is also one of those masters of the white art who, when talking about the product, starts from afar, but only belongs to me. Franco Pepe creates pizzas capable of “giving emotions to the palate, through a before and after”, he explains. To succeed, Pepe started from his house in Caiazzo, in the Upper Caserta area, where – in just ten years or so – he revolutionized the entire area with his Pepe in Grani pizzeria. To then arrive – today – in Sardinia, where Spazio by Franco Pepe has just opened inside the 7Pines Resort in Baja Sardinia, the first Hyatt affiliate on the island (in the Destination by Hyatt branch there are only two addresses in Europe, here and in Ibiza).

The fundamentals of Franco Pepe’s pizza

«There is a before and after of the pizza, which starts from the customer’s arrival until he returns home, with a clear photograph not of the pizza but of the flavors, explains maestro Pepe. «The next thing is the nutritional contribution and the raw materials (two things that need to be told, otherwise they cannot be understood), then the chewiness of the dough, its meltability and, last but not least, the digestibility of the product, linked to all previous things.” All essential principles for the success of a great pizza. And the menu proposed by Spazio by Franco Pepe at the 7Pines Resort in Baja Sardinia proves it. Its signature pizza is unmissable, Margherita Sbagliatawith Bufala Campana DOP mozzarella, curly tomato puree, basil reduction, extra virgin olive oil. But it is with Shoe that the eyes fill with tears from the emotion, the same one that maestro Pepe spoke to us about. Here the Mozzarella di Bufala Campana DOP always triumphs, but with a fondue of 12-month-old Grana Padano DOP, a raw tomato compote, freeze-dried basil pesto and flakes of 24-month Grana Padano DOP. A dialogue between sweet and savory, raw and cooked which clearly explains the work of maestro Pepe. «It is very important that the dough binds well with the ingredients and that these are added at the right time: if you choose foie gras it doesn’t mean that it is a great pizza in itself, but if you add it at the right time then it can become ” wow'”.

The collaboration with chef D’Ambrosio

The collaboration is also enriched by the relationship established with Pasquale D’AmbrosioExecutive Chef of the Capogiro restaurant of the 7Pines Resort in Baja Sardinia. The ingredients chosen for him are his Senti-Minds of Galluraa pizza with smoked Fior di latte, Sardinian spiny artichoke, red ox carpaccio, Scabecciu olives, sea fennel oil, DOP Sardinian pecorino cheese. «With chef D’Ambrosio we came up with many ideas, he already knew my work done in Caiazzo: I asked him to do it here too: Senti-Minds of Gallura it is the result of his creativity with my dough.” Today the world of pizza has changed, if previously greater importance was given to the more technical and scientific aspect of the dough to those who went “to the shop”, today instead there is something more, that is, a greater knowledge of the topping, of the material first, that you need to know how to transform and consciously put it back on the pizza. «Today on my pizza there is hot-cold, raw-cooked, because you have to hope if that ingredient can withstand 400°C or not, so that in addition to tasting good you can also eat healthy.

The perfect match

Open every day for dinner also to external guests, Spazio by Franco Pepe promises to become the destination of northern Sardinia, far from the chaos of the Costa Smeralda, in an informal and relaxed environment, in the typical style of 7Pines. For Spazio by Franco Pepe the ideal combination was thought of by Maison Ruinart, in particular with the Ruinart Rosé, the Maison’s greedy and bold Cuvée. «Intriguing, exotic, bold and unexpected: this is what characterizes the Ruinart Rosé Champagne designed in combination with gourmet pizza, explained Silvia Rossetto, Ruinart Senior Brand Manager. The gastronomic offer of 7Pines is completed by the Capogiro restaurant, a large window overlooking the sunset where you can enjoy elegant cuisine that enhances local raw materials, and the Cone Club, the pieds in the water and the resort’s beach club.