by Simona Sirianni
Many are born with a silver spoon in their mouth, he was born with pizza and raised with bread, and 10 years after opening his creation, the "pizzificio" 3Voglie, in Battipaglia in the province of Salerno, in the heart of Cilento, Valentino Tafuri renews his establishment with a new concept based on the radical transparency of pizza, fresh pasta, desserts, and large leavened products.
Tafuri, a pizzaiolo just over 30 years old but already Pizza Chef of the Year for the Guida Espresso 2020, has spent more than half his life in front of an oven and travelling around Italy, and now, or rather from the first of June, all his talent and technique will be at the service of this new experiential flour laboratory, with a focus on flavours and maximum clarity of production.
Valentino Tafuri’s pizzificio is renewed
Thus, 3Voglie goes beyond the well-established evening offer to include delivery service, takeaway with the rosticceria counter, pizza for lunch, and fresh pasta production in the mornings during the weekend. On Saturdays and Sundays, 3Voglie will also be open for breakfast, provided you are a great fan of the typical tradition of French boulangerie, Italian bakeries, and English breakfast.
All the goodness of bread
In the bakery section, there will be everything that bread can express in all its forms and grains: rye, potato, durum wheat, and multigrain. And then a range of viennoiseries, including fragrant croissants, soft brioche, swirls, Italian cornetti, and the wonderful pain au chocolat.
"After 10 years of 3Voglie, I’m putting all the dots together to chart the next 10 years," says Tafuri. "Pastry, rotisserie, pizzeria, boulangerie, pasta factory, all encapsulated in one name: pizzificio. I had almost lost the drive for a format that no longer suited me. Now my new home will have a laboratory with a street view and in the dining room, transparent and visible to everyone. The laboratory will be our daily theatre, where products are baked from breakfast to dinner, with the product always being the protagonist."
That passion for the white art and experimentation
Passion for the white art alone is not enough for the now-famous pizzaiolo who began to get close to the secrets of flour and started “kneading dough” during the school summer break at the age of 14. At the heart of this interest is study and research, which is why Tafuri has always made it a priority to experiment and continuously improve his products.
Indeed, over time, he has transformed his way of making pizza, reinterpreting the classic Neapolitan pizza with a series of small adjustments: longer baking times and a dough richer in techniques and standardisations. Thanks to his meeting with Chef Giovanna Voria, he discovered Cilento pizza, which today is also an innovative start-up called Cilentina.
Learning the best of baking
After numerous refresher courses, various experiments, and the purchase of a specific oven, he began to make bread inspired by his interpretation of an American study, as well as bread with a dough very similar to that of baguettes.
After an internship in France, he also began making croissants. Even in this case, it took many tests before finding the right formula, but today he has managed to create the croissants he wants, both in savoury and sweet versions, creating unusual combinations that allow him to take the best and combine it, merging different cultures and schools of thought. From June 1st, everything described can be tasted, so that everyone can decide if Tafuri's passion has borne good fruit. Or rather, good bread and good pizza.
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