Ordinary pizza makers were just jealous of his international success, he said, calling himself a “genius”. The luxury pizzas offered in his restaurants represented an “upgrade” of the original concept, which had sustained Italians for generations. Described as “a stylish and playful new dining concept”, customers also have the chance to see how the pizza dough is made as the chef walks around the restaurant and twirls it over the heads of patrons, often to applause and cheers. A restaurant in Jesolo near Venice, Da Robert, has gone one step further, offering a gourmet composition of ingredients called Mimi La Regina d’Oro 24K, which includes gold leaf and retails for €99. “Gold is the only metal that can be eaten and has always been a symbol of power. Drinking it makes you feel strong, powerful. Customers experience a moment of glory,” said Robert Nedea, the restaurant’s owner. “When we serve it we play the song ‘We Are the Champions.’ If the customers give their permission, we let the whole restaurant know that they ordered it.” Gino Sorbillo, one of Italy’s best-known pizza makers who runs a historic pizzeria in the heart of Naples, has little time for such extravagance. He went head-to-head with Mr Briatore in a debate on an Italian TV show, Porta a Porta, earlier this summer.
