Celebrity Chef Gets Burned by Italians for Serving ‘Healthy’ Pizza

Carlo Cracco made a mistake. The chef in Milan, Italy, should know locals don’t take kindly to innovation when it comes to traditional recipes, but he just couldn’t help himself. He’s bucked tradition and introduced a “healthy” version of the iconic margherita pizza. The reaction has been quite negative, reports the Telegraph.

“We are certain that nobody will go on purpose to Carlo Cracco to eat his revisited pizza margherita, except perhaps some foreign punter willing to try the experience of his new restaurant,” said one local critic. Cracco’s eponymous Milanese restaurant was demoted from two stars to one in the 2018 Michelin guidebook. Some people believe the reason for the downgrade is due to the chef’s pizza antics.

Not only are diners upset with Cracco for making his own spin on the margherita, they are balking at the price. He’s charging 16 euros (about $19.75). “They advised the chef to come down from the stars and come down to the level of alleyways of Naples, not as a celebrity pizza maker, but like the bakers who make pizzas that cost just 2 euros,” wrote one local paper. “For 16 euros here in Naples you can also have zeppole and panzarotti as well as a large beer and still have change,” said one resident of Naples, the city where the iconic pie was born.

Cracco must not be aware of that “Italians Mad at Food” Twitter account. It’s the one that posts vitriolic social media comments aimed at cooks who have the nerve to tinker with Italian recipes. Most of the anger reads as far too extreme to be real, but, as Cracco himself is learning, it most definitely is.

• Italians Turn on Michelin-Starred Chef Over Sacrilegious Pizza Recipe [Telegraph]
• Italy’s Michelin Stars Announced for 2018 [Italy Magazine]
• Michelin Announces 2018 Stars for Italy [E]
• @ItalianComments [Twitter]