Vincenzo Nese
Despite his young age, he’s brilliant, wise and pragmatic at the same time. We are talking about Vincenzo Nese, 1995, an explosive mix born in Stradella in a family of pizza makers from Campania.
He does not like to define himself – he is always on the move and “those who think they are unique are wrong” – , his friends describe him as “brilliant.” He should have become a dental technician but he set off very early toward the business world when he took hold of his passion and decided to turn it into his future.
He takes his first steps, or rather his first accelerations, with an Apecar, transformed into a real oven on wheels, with which he carries (and bakes) pizzas. It was a small leap from here to take over the family business, transforming it into Scugnizzo Gourmet, arriving straight at Vasame. The path is now clear: pizza is the protagonist, giving life each time to a new and intense memory, just like a kiss (in Neapolitan “Vasame” means “Baciami” in Italian, ”kiss me”).
His favorite places tell a lot about him. They are made up of fragrances – “lemons, lemons, I would use lemons everywhere” – they tell of Ravello, with its Infinito terrace that gives him the right energy, of Pavia territory, which gives life to fine, little-known raw materials; and of Stradella, which has taught him so much, thanks also to the limitations of a small provincial town, where success in the restaurant business is not taken for granted. “There’s no tourist pool to draw from,” he says, or famous shopping streets: customers move to go out to have dinner and losing them is a snap, even if they ate good food.
But Vincenzo has a great antidote. “Smile is my thing”, he says, and the kind of welcome is what makes the restaurant unique. Unique right like Parmacotto Selection Lardo da Maiale Nero: his clients expect a certain taste experience and he must keep the level with selected, special and top-quality raw materials.
An entrepreneur who is always true to himself, tied to the values that his family passed on to him, a man who pays tribute to his origins and does not forget who’s not as lucky as him. “Pizza is sharing,” he says, and it is right to share this wealth. He does this with the Scugnizzo Therapy project, kneading in schools, senior centers and working with disabled kids.
If he had to take just one item to a desert island, he would choose a plane, so he could come and go whenever he wanted. The world is constantly changing and there is no time to rest. To him, true relaxation means to have everything work properly, because a gear works well only by “being oiled every day”.
Smiling, pragmatic, with an uncommon verve and energy, we try to ask him in which city he dreams about opening his next pizzeria.
“Dreams are not to be told, otherwise they don’t come true,” he says.
But according to us, he is already working on it.
