words and photos by Shab Ferdowsi
Location: Paris, France. Guillaume Grasso Pizzeria
You can find a pizzeria on almost every block in Paris. Most of them are Italian-owned and half of them boasts a wood-fired oven and Neapolitan-style pizzas. I’m on a mission to eat as much pizza and meet as many of the chefs while I’m here and will walk twenty thousand steps a day to justify it.
I walked into Guillaume Grasso’s pizzeria in the 15th district on a Friday afternoon. The room is small but vibrant, reminiscent of the bustling streets of the Italian south. The walls are lined with old photographs of past Grasso pizzerias. I felt eel the warmth of the region as the hosts greeted me and weaved their way around the tight corners of the restaurant. Chef Grasso was behind the counter alone stretching the dough and launching pizzas into the oven. I waved q quick “ciao,” ordered a Speck e Rucola pizza, and grabbed a seat by the window.
Today, Guillaume Grasso’s pizza restaurant is the only pizzeria in Paris to hold an official certificate from the Associazione Verace de la Pizza Napoletana. The AVPN’s guidelines, though strict, aren’t hard to follow– a wood-fired oven, ingredients mainly hailing from Italy’s Campania region, and a specific dough process outline what the association has deemed a true Neapolitan pizza. Though the guidelines sound simple, in a modern-day, fast-paced pizzeria it takes commitment to tradition and the artisanal craft to pull off the process night after night.
Halfway through my solo pizza date, Chef Grasso joined me at my table to chat about our mutual enthusiasm for the craft and his journey that led him here. His family has been in the pizza business for over a hundred years, with traces of a Grasso slinging pizzas in the streets of Naples dating back to 1850. In the early 20th century his grandparents relocated to France. In 2013, a trip to his home country inspired Chef Grasso, then a server, to bring authentic Neapolitan tradition to Paris.
A stint at the Associazione taught him technique and theory, and another at his family’s pizzeria, Gorizia, in Naples taught him the rest he needed to be able to continue their traditional recipes in Paris.
Guillaume Grasso is currently planning on opening a wine bar later this spring two doors down from the pizzeria, which is sure to bring another dose of Italian conviviality to the city of lights.
CHEF’s CHOICE: Chef Grasso’s Favorite Pizzerias
Pizzeria Gorizia 1916 - the historic Grasso pizzeria in Naples
Olio e pomodoro - also Grasso-owned
