by Laura Guerra

Giorgia Caporuscio has demonstrated exactly who she is and how she manages her career by taking the stage alone this year at 50 Top Pizza USA to receive the Pizza Maker of the Year 2024 – Ferrarelle Award.

“It was an indescribable moment,” she explains, “because it was truly unexpected. This award means so much to me; it is a recognition of my five years as a businesswoman, of the challenge of the Covid 19 pandemic, but above all of my concept of what pizza is. I consider it to be a starting point.”

Her beginnings were the breeding ground for her high level of personal maturity and position with the establishment Don Antonio, which ranks in seventh position in the US classification.  Furthermore, the fact that she is at the helm of a team of 42 individuals, which includes 5 women, her included, demonstrates a superior know-how.

This disproportion of the female presence in pizzerias leads us to reflect on prejudice, both old and new, in the sector. Management of responsibility in working groups that are prevalently male, female leadership, the politics of a mismatch in the work-life balance (as much in Italy as in New York) need to be reconsidered.  Let’s begin with the prejudice.

“Making pizza has never been culturally considered as a female profession. The fact that it has always been that way does not mean that it is right or that it should always be as it is. Change does not come about on its own.  There needs to be a catalyst and those who believe in it with courage.  I opened “Don Antonio” just a few steps from Times Square in January 2020, a month later the pandemic was upon us.”

• How did you have the tools to get through the pandemic without even having the opportunity to properly open your business?

“If we are still around today, it is because I would not let myself be discouraged by fear. I continued to believe in my project, an idea that I had been working on for a few years and that embodies my idea of what pizza should be:  Neapolitan, leavened for 24 hours, double-zero flour, quality well-loved Italian products, and wood-fired baking.”

• You acquired your reputation in the field for the excellence of the pizza, with an establishment that was immediately well loved by New Yorkers and always full. How do you establish your authority over your team?

“There is no recipe for that, I can only share my own experience. For me every day is a mix of confrontation, dialogue, organization and rules to follow which I always like to explain. It is important to feel that you are part of a team, but it is also very important to define and respect everyone’s different roles and jobs. At the beginning it was difficult for some to accept that the boss was a woman. This obstacle is not as large as it used to be in the sector but there is still a lot of resistance. For me it is fundamental to give a good example. Words are not enough.”

• How does one help the female empowerment movement?

“In 2019 under the coordination of Alessandra Mortati we created “Women in Pizza.” It was a small group of female pizza makers who shared thoughts on doughs and restaurant management, for the most part. Then in time, other female colleagues joined in from many American cities who make pizzas in many different styles. We are a small movement that has the objective of raising awareness about our work, a dedication to sharing good practice but also the difficulties, and to inspire women who want to do this craft even with tailored advice for their business ideas.  Our guidelines to encourage and accompany a female leadership are Celebrate, Engage, Inspire. We do not meet as often as we would like to, but every year we see one another at the Las Vegas Pizza Expo.”

• How do you balance your work and personal life?

“It is not simple. My husband Matteo Bassani, who works with me, takes care of the management of the wine cellar, the cocktails and the liquors. We have an 11-month-old baby and we are expecting another who will be born in December.  I did not want to give up my family life, however there is no doubt that we are missing childhood services that are accessible to all; it is a problem here in New York. The daycare services are very expensive and this forces women to make the eternal and unjust choice between having a career or having a family. We need public politics that truly make it possible to reconcile talent, family and career. I would like to underscore this last point because if it is true that there is no doubt that women work, our professional growth is greatly hindered by the insufficiency of social programs that help us with our care work.”

Know-how, determination, and clear ideas of a woman with willpower who we spoke about exactly six months ago (https://www.lucianopignataro.it/a/la-rivelazione-di-lsdm-new-york-il-talento-volitivo-di-giorgia-caporuscio-la-pizzaiola-di-keste-fulton/150525/), as a young talent of the Kesté pizzeria where she worked with her father Roberto. She had told us about her aspirations: to raise awareness and defend feminine talent, to valorize the qualities of a good pizza, to have her own pizzeria. Goals that have been achieved but which she considers to be “just the beginning because whether it is at the counter, in the dining room, or in the office,” she concludes, “you put yourself to the test every day.”

Roberto Caporuscio and Giorgia Caporuscio during the 50 Top Pizza USA 2024 awards ceremony.

* In the cover photo: Gaspare Fracaro, Ferrarelle’s Export Sales Manager, at the awarding of the Pizza Maker of the Year 2024 – Ferrarelle Award to Giorgia Caporuscio, during the 50 Top Pizza USA 2024 awards ceremony.