Summary
Dan Saladino charts the rise, fall and rise of traditional Neapolitan pizza. He's joined by Daniel Young whose "Where to Eat Pizza" lists 1700 great pizzerias around the world.
A common theme in the book, Daniel argues, is that after decades of competition from less authentic rivals, the Neapolitan style pizza is making an impact on restaurant scenes across Europe, Asia and north America.
Professor John Dickie, the author of Delizia: The epic history of the Italians and their food, explains the birth of the Neapolitan pizza in the 18th and 19th centuries on the streets of Naples, then one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
What emerged was a pizza that was quickly cooked at high tempertaures and was soft and moist enough to be folded and eaten on the streets.
The current renaiisance of the pizza can also be seen in the UK. Dan meets some of the pizzaioli (pizza chefs) who have taken a centuries old food and taken it to new heights.
Presented by Dan Saladino.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello you've downloaded a podcast of BBC Radio 4's The Food Program. |
| 0:05.0 | Welcome to our world, from cooking to culture, politics to pleasure. |
| 0:10.0 | We hope you enjoy it. In this program, we're going in search of the world's best pizzas, a food that's been a big part of my life and I mean a really big part in fact it's in my |
| 0:26.3 | blood. |
| 0:27.3 | I've written another Bristol I saw not to the picture. |
| 0:31.3 | I'll be able to report it all the picture. Meet my dad, |
| 0:35.0 | dad, Liboria, known to his friends as Bobo. |
| 0:37.0 | Of the seft, the Gieche. |
| 0:39.0 | Tell me about me. |
| 0:42.0 | Belize, me time. It's a unique a pizzeria. He's talking to an old friend Tony Piskapo. |
| 0:45.0 | He's talking to an old friend, Tony Piskapo. |
| 0:48.0 | They're remembering the old days when they and the pizza in the UK at least were young. |
| 0:54.0 | Both Tony and my dad migrated from Italy to the UK in the 1960s. |
| 1:02.0 | Both have spent most of their working lives in restaurants. |
| 1:05.0 | And so when I was really young, |
| 1:07.0 | I'd spend school holidays sitting in the back of restaurants |
| 1:10.0 | watching my dad and others at work. |
| 1:13.2 | Back then in the 1970s, the pizza was still exotic. |
| 1:17.7 | The busy restaurant was alluring. |
| 1:19.7 | I was spellbound. |
| 1:21.7 | And the people used to come in, he was to kill up, they never stop. |
| 1:24.4 | Physically, is it hard work? |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.