Show 205, January 7, 2017: Chef Peppe Miele, President & Director of Operations, VPN Americas

Peppe MieleWhat’s authentic Neapolitan pizza? We’ll find out from Chef Peppe Miele, President and Director of Operations for VPN Americas, the American delegation of Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana.

The Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana is an international organization officially established in June 1984 by a group of Neapolitan people representing some of the oldest families of pizza makers and the most famous Neapolitan pizzerias, seeking to cultivate the culinary art of making Neapolitan pizza.

Later on, the association was officially established by the Italian government as a denomination of control (DOC), a designation that made AVPN a legal entity able to give special designation to pizzerias who meet strict requirements that respect the tradition of the art of Neapolitan pizza making.

The mission of AVPN is to promote and protect, in Italy and worldwide, the “true Neapolitan pizza”, as typical product made in accordance with the rules and guidelines described in the International Regulations Book in force since 1984, edited and registered by AVPN.

The Association is also involved in the promotion of equipment and ingredients approved for the production of the “true Neapolitan pizza” and the professionalization of the Neapolitan style pizza makers

We’re mixing the pizza dough in small batches with Chef Peppe. Chef Peppe (with the now departed Antica Pizzeria in Los Angeles) was the first restaurant in the United States to be certified by Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana.