Riccardo Birghillotti
Pizza making has always been a big part of Riccardo Birghillotti’s life, having grown up in Florence, Italy where his father and uncle ran a restaurant in the heart of the city. It was there and then that Riccardo laid the foundation for his career with an extra helping of his love for pizza. Riccardo has now amassed more than 30 years of experience in the pizza business and has been running his own pizzeria in Alingsås, Sweden since 2016.
In recent years, Riccardo began taking an interest in competing with his pizzas, and in 2017 he took the step and competed in the Pizza Champion Cup for the first time. It went really well! He took second place in the Pizza Gourmet genre.
The following year, he did even better, winning the title of Pizza Chef of the Year in 2018 and advancing to the World Championships in Parma, Italy to show his skills. He placed 17th in a field of 400 competing pizza makers from around the world and was named Sweden's best pizza maker among the Swedish competitors in the World Championships.
After his success in Parma, he was off to London and the European Pizza and Pasta Show. Once again, Riccardo took honors as the top Swedish participant in the competition and finished 11th overall. In 2023, Riccardo took part in an international pizza competition organized by Mr. Pizzaiolo, Luciano Sorbillo, MSC Cruise Ambassador in collaboration with MSC Cruise, placing 4th and taking home an honorable sponsorship award.
Since 2020, Riccardo has been a jury member in the Nordic championship, the Pizza Champion Cup. He is also one of the few Swedes who can call himself a true Neapolitan pizza maker, as he is one of five Swedish pizza makers to have received a Pizzaiolo Verace certificate. The certificate can only be obtained by undergoing training at the traditional pizza school, Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, which teaches the art of baking authentic Neapolitan pizzas. The school publishes the names of all pizza makers who have received certification and Riccardo of course is on the list: https://www.pizzanapoletana.org/en/albo_pizzaioli/2665-birghillotti_riccardo
If you want to meet Riccardo and see him make his pizzas and even have a taste, there will be a golden opportunity at the GastroNord fair in Stockholm on April 9, 2024. Riccardo will be making traditional Neapolitan Margherita and Marinara pizzas in our stand. He'll also be making two kinds of classic pizza, one with mozzarella, basil, Parma ham, shaved parmesan, semi-dry tomatoes and green pesto. The other topped with tomato, mozzarella, basil, spicy salami, olive oil and grated pecorino cheese. We're looking forward to seeing you!
