Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is thrilled to be named amongst the Best Pizza in the World in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2016 Readers’ Choice Awards. The neighbourhood chain was founded in 2007 in Edmonton, which beat out Italian cities Florence, Palermo and Milan for #8 on the list of 14 Top Cities for Pizza.
Famoso operates 28 franchise restaurants throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, including 10 in Edmonton.
“Condé Nast magazine naming Edmonton as the 8th best pizza city in the world is an amazing nod to the city’s restaurateurs for doing Italy proud. Pizza is the most international food in the world, but there’s so many different versions of it out there: thick to thin crust, wood-fired ovens to conveyor belts, and loads of toppings to more simple pies,” said founding partner and chief executive officer of Famoso, Justin Lussier. “But at the end of the day, pizza originated in Italy and more specifically, in Naples. The cities that have honoured the traditions of Italy the most are the cities that have an elevated pizza culture.”
Lussier trained to receive the Verace Pizza Napoletana (VPN) culinary designation in order to make Neapolitan pizza the same way they’ve been making it in Naples for over 200 years. To this day, Famoso imports the highest quality of ingredients from Italy (including flour and tomatoes), and makes its pizza dough and famous hand-milled tomato sauce in-house.
“In Naples, being a pizzaiolo is an honourable job, and they have so much passion for making pizza with the best ingredients you can find. Even a cab driver in Naples will tell you where to find the best fresh mozzarella for your pizza,” added Lussier. “So whether your pizza is thick or thin, the most important thing is to have passion for your dough and your ingredients. At Famoso, we’ve always believed in following the traditions of Naples as closely as we can. It’s pretty neat to get international recognition for our craft!”
