Ambrogio15, the Milan-style pizzeria in North Pacific Beach, has hired new executive chef and “dough master” Daniele Piazza from Italy to oversee the restaurant’s dough production and future recipes. Piazza becomes Ambrogio15’s first executive chef since its opening in summer 2016 and steps into the role as the face of the creative kitchen where he will play a lead part in the restaurant’s planned expansion, both in terms of new recipes inspired by Northern Italy and future restaurant locations. Coming from the kitchens of Padova, Veneto in northeastern Italy, considered the hometown of “pizza gourmet” where the world’s top pizza chefs have developed a style that inspired Ambrogio15’s menu, Piazza is influenced by names like Renato Bosco and Simone Padoan, a candidate for the first Michelin Star ever given to a pizza restaurant. His most recent role as head pizza chef at the historic Trattoria Ballotta, founded in 1605 more than 400 years ago, aligns with Ambrogio15’s commitment to a long fermentation process and stone ground Petra flour during the creation of gourmet-style pizza. And also the sourcing from those using sustainable and organic farming techniques.
Piazza’s knowledge will be a key factor in Ambrogio15’s expansion, beginning with the restaurant’s second location opening in the Little Italy Food Hall, adjacent to the Piazza della Famiglia, this summer.
“We’re a young team and we all share the same philosophy about food – how it should be made, where it should come from – and this has created a harmony that will help us develop increasingly creative recipes within the pizza genre, a space that has been very static over the years,” said Piazza. “We plan to combine our knowledge and develop a new, innovative style of pizza.”
“We believe that Piazza, as a young and talented pizza chef and dough artist, will be a strong asset in helping us further develop the first and only truly gourmet pizza concept in the United States, where the ingredients and the pairings make the real difference between eating pizza and enjoying a unique, gourmet pizza experience,” said Giacomo Pizzigoni, co-founder of Ambrogio15. “After two years we’re very happy, but this is just a starting point. We want to change the perception many Americans have about pizza, and we are working as a team to make Ambrogio15 a leader in this new style of pizza,” Pizzigoni.
Ambrogio15 celebrated the arrival of its new chef with The Dough Master’s Dinner on June 7.
Ambrogio15, born from the minds of Milan-turned-San Diego residents Pizzigoni, Andrea Burrone and Luca Salvi, was created to share Milano culture – both dining and design – with San Diegans. The restaurant was the only one from San Diego invited to this year’s exclusive A Tutta Pizza Fest in Los Angeles. Learn more at ambrogio15.com.
