Facundo Amado
08/14/2021 12:41 AM
Clarín.com
International
Updated 08/14/2021 12:42 AM
Gonzalo Dacovich
, Argentine pizza master, several times awarded and recognized among his colleagues, did it again: he was chosen among the finalists of the
Pizza World Championship in Italy
and won the pass to compete in the
Pizza World Championship
that will be held in the city of
Parma, in April 2022.
There he will go with his great creation, to which he put six ingredients
.
The
pizzas, breads and other delicacies
that prepares local General Gonzalo Rodriguez in the west of the city of Buenos Aires, and became
a delicacy of worship for many people.
In 2019, when Dacovich
won the Argentine Pizza Championship
, organized by the Association of Owners of Pizzerias and Empanadas Houses of the Argentine Republic (APPYCE), he rose to fame.
And those who have tried their dishes come back delighted.
That same year he also participated in the World Pizza Championship in Italy.
Then it was among the top 10 in four of the 12 categories of the contest.
So now he's going for more.
Already qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Italy, Gonzalo Dacovich now faces the tough challenge of raising the funds to pay for the trip.
Son and grandson of gastronomers, he has a love for cooking in his blood. He has his business called
"Gustó"
with his wife, Valeria, who complements him perfectly by preparing some catalog desserts. A premium rotisserie / pizzeria, with a workspace in which gastronomic engineering creates an
operating room rather than a kitchen aspect.
“This year, due to the limitations of the pandemic, they
organized the virtual contest
that qualified directly for the World Cup. You had to meet a series of requirements, and to participate you had to send a video showing the entire pizza process, and also the three best photos of the final product ", says Gonzalo, a lovable 1.85 meter and 130 kilos mastodon who He does not hesitate to affirm that
he eats a whole pizza of his own without major inconveniences.
Now Gonzalo has a very clear objective: to continue growing worldwide.
“I competed in an international pre-qualification to be invited to the World Cup.
It was done in April 2021 and
only 30 participants were selected.
Of those, only two were left from the American continent: a master pizza maker from the United States and myself ”, he says, without hiding his pride at having been chosen the best pizza maker in South America.
Gonzalo Dacovich and his wife Valeria serve a premium rotisserie / pizzeria in General Rodríguez, where they also make a wide variety of dishes and cater for events.
"It is enormous what this recognition means for me and my family, which is done by no less than
the best pizza masters in the world
, who are in Europe," he says.
Shortly after, to celebrate the good news, they
ran
a raffle for 10 "champion pizzas" on their
Instagram @ Gusto.Pizzas and the account exploded
.
Everyone wanted to try it.
Two Neapolitan pizzas, ready to go.
Meanwhile, along with friends and family, he breaks his mind looking for ways to save to pay for the trip.
"We are going to make
a huge sacrifice to go
, and even more so to represent our country among other nations with a more extensive pizza tradition and greater technological development," he says.
That is why they are also looking for companies in the field that are interested in sponsoring them and helping them realize the dream.
Some notable innovations have been introduced into their business for a while, something unusual for a small-town pizzeria like General Rodríguez.
They added sourdough and organic flours
, with such good results that they have already become one of the central axes and thus developed a “signature” line.
The pandemic forced them to modify the business model they had, like so many colleagues, and the light went on: they had the idea of creating a project to manufacture
frozen organic pizzas and breads for mass distribution
.
They launched it in 2020 and today they can't keep up with the number of orders.
Gonzalo Dacovich lifts the trophy of the Argentine Championship of Pizza and Empanada.
“We are making vegan and organic pizzas, focaccia and sourdough breads.
Sourdough is an incredible and endless world for those who are passionate, as it happened to us.
In Europe they have been practicing it for thousands of years
, and it comes from a culture that prioritizes raising processes a lot.
It's really an art
, it takes a lot of time and a lot of practice, ”he says.
But not to be discouraged.
He also points out that it is
a matter of patience.
The secrets of "champion pizza"
Choosing a recipe to compete is almost as difficult as putting together a selected one.
In 2019 when he won the Argentine championship,
the tip was thrown at him by his little son Donato
, then 6 years old:
"Put cherry tomatoes on
him,
"
he told him.
And he hit it.
Flavors, aromas, combinations can influence the decision of the judges, and Gonzalo played it again in this tournament: “The pizza that we chose to participate in was our
own version of the fugazzeta
, inspired by this emblem of Argentine pizza, but with a delicate touch to achieve the differentiation that this competition demands. We wanted to highlight the use of
products purely from our land and national industry
, and we generated a simple combination, composed of a mix of onions -traditional and purple-, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, provolone cheese and ground chili ”, he explains.
And although, although he gets jealous when it comes to sharing his secret, he
finally throws the data
: olive oil and ground chili are the best he has tasted in all these years, and he buys them in the province of Mendoza.
Do not ask for more than that.
The champion pizza has six ingredients: white and purple onion, provolone, cherry tomatoes, olive and ground chili.
The recipe for the best homemade pizza
For Gonzalo, kneading pizzas is not just flour, yeast and water.
There is a science behind: "It has to be balanced in every way and it is key to respect the
fermentation
and maturation times so that the
glycemic index goes
down
," he says.
His basic recipe - "the infallible one" - is the following
: a kilo of flour 000;
600 cubic centimeters of water, 10 grams of yeast and 20 grams of salt.
With that comes five buns.
The preparation has another degree of complexity: “We integrate the ingredients, flour, water, yeast, and salt.
Simple, four ingredients without any additives or preservatives.
We knead and leave the first stage of fermentation, for about 60 minutes.
Then we divide the buns, let them ferment for 60 more minutes and after that we store them in the refrigerator for 24 hours, "says Gonzalo.
Excellent products and patience with the maturation of its doughs, the keys to Gonzalo Dacovich's pizzas.
In those 24 hours, a process called
"maturation"
is entered
,
where enzymes act by breaking down starches and proteins. The end is with a very hot oven: "We stretch, we put the best ingredients on top and we eat the best pizzas of our lives made by ourselves," he concludes.
