If the chef behind the floor-to-ceiling window wearing a white chef’s hat and waving a pastry is not a foreigner with deep-set eyes and a high nose, this small pizzeria in a corner of an ordinary residential community in Xi’an is nothing special from many other pizzerias.
This pizzeria is about 60 to 70 square meters with four tables, clean white walls, two pictures of the ancient city of Rome on one wall, and a row of transparent food cabinets separating the kitchen from the dining room, which is as simple as a small noodle restaurant downstairs from your apartment.
Every day from 11 am to 7 pm, there is always a chef with two or three young staff working silently, and in a short time, the aromatic pizzas are served and quickly packed away by customers who have made reservations in advance.
The chef is an Italian who came to Xi’an leaving his profession as a software engineer to make pizza wholeheartedly. His name is Alessio Nicoli, and he believes in the saying “Food makes people happy, and good food makes people even happier.”
He enjoys the compliments from his customers and is happy to let the residents in Xi’an city taste Italian food.
What makes Alessio’s pizza unique compared to those of chain giants Pizza Hut and Papa John’s?
“It’s the difference between American-style pizza and Italian-style pizza.”
Alessio was very happy to tell the reporter about the pizza that it is fast and convenient to make American-style pizza, with the crust pressed by machine. The flour is thick and solid, so naturally it’s baked like a large pie. However, this will not happen in Italian pizza, which is handmade with fresh materials.
Every day, Alessio prepares the flour dough for the next day’s crust 24 hours in advance and puts it in the refrigerator to ferment at a low temperature.
On the next day, he pushes the flour dough with a rolling pin and then shakes it in his hands until it is thin and round, and then adds the ingredients on the top. Only then will the baked crust be fluffy and chewy.
“Are there other auxiliary ingredients in the flour dough?” The reporter asked.
“That’s for sure,” Alessio said.
“And what are they?”
“It’s a secret.” Alessio raised his eyebrows and smiled mischievously.
Alessio was taught in Italian pizzerias before he came to China. He spent a whole month adjusting the recipe and improving the products before the small pizzeria opened.
Now, the little-known pizzeria has gained a number of returning customers, and as word of mouth spreads the brand, the customer base has grown.
Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Alessio opened his second pizzeria in another community in the Xi’an Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone.
“When you see customers eating happily, you will have a sense of accomplishment.”
Alessio is devoted to the current business, but six years ago, when he first arrived in Xi’an, he was a software engineer in the Hi-Tech Zone and developed his own CRM customer management system software.
The system was slightly ahead of the current software market in Xi’an, but it seemed that Alessio’s product was not popular among the citizens at that time. Hence, he chose to change his job.
“But why don’t you stick to your professional achievements and seek development in other cities in China?” The reporter asked Alessio.
Alessio said, “I prefer Xi’an to Beijing and Shanghai, and I would like to stay here.”
Alessio deeply loves Xi’an and likes the unhurried life of Xi’an.
He likes people here who are still surprised by new things, unlike other people in big cities who lack such emotion.
This love is not concerned about the scale of the city or the development of the industry but about the wonderful sympathy from the deepest heart, which made Alessio live in Xi’an and deeply attracted by it.
“If no urgent things happen, I think I will continue to stay here,” said Alessio.
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