‘Crunchy’ margherita pizza leaves purists riled

A MICHELIN-starred chef in Italy has triggered a storm of protest from pizza purists loyal to the original Neapolitan dish for daring to produce a “healthy” version of the humble pizza margherita to which he has audaciously added wholemeal grains and cereals.

Carlo Cracco put his alternative “crunchy” recipe on the menu of his restaurant in the Victor Emanuel Gallery in Milan, charging as much as €16. But his modifications of the original recipe were met with disdain in the proud southern city of Naples, the birthplace of the margherita.

Angelo Forgione, the Neapolitan writer, spearheaded the criticism, quipping the new gastronomic creation was nothing more than “a cracked pizza”.

Some Neapolitan connoisseurs who tasted Cracco’s pizza acknowledged grudgingly that it was tasty.

Gino Sorbillo, a celebrity chef who recently opened a pizzeria in New York, said at the end of the day pizza is a snack, not a sacred cow.