Beau Bridges character, Frank Baker is the steadier of the two brothers and like Frank, our next baker protagonist, Emanuele Di Vittoris, appears, at a glance at least, to be the same. Again, with parallels to Frank; a young family man with his own pizzeria in one of the local towns, however I get the impression that he is not struggling to forge his career like the former. By day he consults for one of the more reputable flour mills in Lazio, Molino Iaquone, where he is brought in to teach on the use of their flour and ovens.
Emanuele cut his teeth at the same time and places as the Roman Pizza superstar, Bonci. Emanuele, is of that ilk!
Frank Baker had the ability to punch out some classic pieces in a masterful way, like Emanuele who delivered a masterful performance of the pinsa. Like a performance that is unfamiliar to simplistic musical knowledge, the pinsa was a revelation.
In between the musical lines, bending the genres, it is neither pizza nor focaccia. Let’s begin with this musician’s key ingredient, flour. Molino Iaquone possess an array of flours that provides an orchestra with a diverse range of instruments to express their music to its fullest potential. Our range here is so limited, however in Italy it is vast.
Emanuele’s ability to use this flour with all its complexities, delivered to us a dough that would rival the weight of a sheet of musical paper on an old set of balance scales, so light it was.
Then came Emanuele’s armoury of musicians; his topping ingredients. Upside down artichoke pinsa, the best sausages you ever tasted pinsa, mortadella and white truffle, pork rib ragu pinsa, his ‘bowl of joy’ salsa and a Roman classic of Carbonara pinsa!
In a well frequented basement that has a tradition of jazz musicians, like Frank Bakers’ Fabulous Baker Boys - smoke stains on the walls, cigarette smoke lingering through the air, the scent of gin wafting from the bar and patrons dressed as though from a scene in Peaky Blinders, Emanuele delivered a performance showing how much joy a Fabulous Baker Boy can swing.
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