The history of the Italian pizza chef in Russia
Many people like him, from all corners of the world, are now in trouble because of the war, in Kyiv as well as in Moscow
Since Putin’s Russia started the war in Ukraine, stories have emerged of many people from all corners of the world who now find themselves in trouble in one of the two countries involved. Among them, there is also the Italian pizza chef Elio Cappiello, as reported by the Italian press agency Agi.
Born in Avellino, he left Turin and arrived in Moscow penniless, today he has four pizzerias and 80 employees, even if the international sanctions inflicted on the Kremlin after the attack and the stop on exports oblige him to cook without olive oil or mozzarella, opting for local raw materials, such as the Russian ‘tomaten’ on pizza instead of the classic Italian tomato.
Despite the difficulties of the moment, the 60-year-old has no intention of returning to Italy: he lives with his Russian wife and children in Ufa, in the Republic of Bashkiria.
Just this week, Monday 7 March 2022, while Putin’s war in Ukraine has been going on for 15 days, Elio Cappiello has opened a new pizzeria: for him, Russia represents the country where he was able to realize his dreams and make his fortune.
The consequences of the conflict, however, are also reflected in his business:
“The price of basil has more than doubled in just 10 days, even extra virgin olive oil costs much more. I’ll have to invent a pizza with local products. I’m thinking of opening two workshops to produce tomato sauce or mozzarella or burrata because the milk here is good “.
There are many people, workers, and entrepreneurs who have built the foundations of their lives in Ukraine and Russia and who now see the foundations of their present shake. This too is war.
