Our Story

WHERE FLOUR BECOMES ART 

LA PASSIONE

As of November 2013, Master Pizzaiolo Fabrizio Cercatore opened the doors to what is his newest and most personal project to date, Passione Pizza. Passione Pizza is based in Berkeley, California, and combines the highest quality United States grown artisan flours and grains with the culinary traditions of Italy.

Our brand specializes in hand crafted pizzas that rely on Fabrizio’s 20 years of pizza making experience and the finest grown USDA-Organic grains to make excellent flours, doughs, and pizza pies. Passione Pizza’s original organic flour is composed of one type of wheat, premium hard red wheat. It is harvested in the United States in the high altitudes of Utah, Idaho, and Washington. In addition to our certified organic pizzas, we also offer a Gluten Free option composed of California’s home-grown sweet rice, white rice, and brown rice flours.

LA STORIA

Passione Pizza’s Pizzaiolo Fabrizio Cercatore was born in Northern Italy, where he owned and operated the tourist and local favorite “La Tavernetta” for 17 years on the Italian Riviera. Just minutes south of Cinque Terre, he often made over 200 pizzas in 90 minutes at his busy, 220-seat restaurant. Trained at the prominent Italian professional culinary school, IPAS, Fabrizio was one of only five chefs to earn the highest mark of 1,000 points in a regional Italian pizza competition.

Fabrizio relocated to Sacramento in 2008 to serve as the Pizzaiolo and Co-Founder for Hot Italian, which opened in February of 2009. The mission was to build a place where pizza brings people together to celebrate Italy’s new generation of art, music, design, sport, food and wine. After three successful years in Midtown, Fabrizio expanded the business to reach the Bay Area, opening his second Hot Italian in Emeryville during 2012.

Finding that the quality of flour coming from Italian Mills left something to be desired, Fabrizio paired up with America’s Central Milling to develop the very first recipe for Passione Pizza. This mix is still used today in our Classic Organic Pizza Products and has become a household favorite for flavor and quality that remains unmatched. From the classic flour we have moved on to more complex ventures of gluten free grains and 100% whole wheat flours, food trucks and delivery to your door. Keep your eye our for more surprises in 2016!

 

There are no products listed under this category.