Roberta Esposito, the pizza chef who wins all the prizes

«My pizzeria – with an adjoining restaurant – was struggling to emerge because there was no continuity with the staff, especially with the pizza chefs, and on Saturday nights it was always a gamble: they either got sick or were tired. Often exhausted by having to face the lack of continuity of the collaborators who suddenly did not show up for work, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to become the pizza maker myself ». This is how the story of Roberta Esposito, and the pizzeria The Contrada of Aversa, a small town in the Caserta area, which has made its way into the rankings from three segments of Gambero Rosso until you get to be there 48th Best Pizzeria in Italy in the international guide 50 Top Pizza, and she is Roberta, the only pizza chef on the list. But how did it happen?

The secret is always very simple: willpower, passion and perseverance. “I didn’t grow up thinking of working behind an oven – explains Roberta – but it must be said that since I was a child I loved kneading and rolling out the dough loaves”. He continues: “I don’t live my job with the anxiety of stamping a ticket, the pizzeria is my greatest passion that prevails over everything, even over both physical and mental fatigue”. From here came a lot of satisfactions including a regular presence on the television program Pizza Girl and the three Gambero Rosso wedges.

“I was born as a maître d ‘dining room – explains Roberta – and this made me imagine pizza as a restaurant dish. The fact that I was a woman has never been a limit, on the contrary, it gives me a different view, more attentive to details: success in life depends on what you do and on what you prove to be, certainly not on gender “.

How do you eat at La Contrada di Aversa?

Roberta Esposito’s pizzas they are divided by themes: we find those dedicated to tomatoes – in its many variations – those of tradition, in the wheel and the gourmet. A wide choice that satisfies all palates. Each type has its own dough and the skill of the oven can be seen the next day: the awakening is not burdened. Crunchy, tasty is thereto pizza in the ruoto. Tasty and well thought out the gourmets, served with all the necessary attention. A lot of attention also in the preparation of fried foods that are dry, crunchy and greedy.

Not only pizza but also a restaurant. The kitchen department offers traditional Campania dishes and typical Italian dishes made with quality raw materials. One of the elements that often appears on the menu is the cod on which the contrada focuses a lot, since in Campania there is the largest European distribution center of the Godus Morhua (northern European cod) and here were born the greatest number of recipes that propose it as an undisputed actor of good Neapolitan cuisine.