Lyon, December 27, 2024 – Franco Pepe, world-renowned master pizzaiolo, is thrilled to announce an extraordinary collaboration to kick off 2025 in style. On January 16th, he will join his longtime friend, three-Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco, at La Pecoranegra Lyon for an exclusive four-hands dinner.
Nearly a year after the restaurant’s opening in the heart of the City of Lights, this unique event will celebrate their shared passion for the art of pizza and mark the beginning of an exciting calendar of events at La Pecoranegra.
A Meeting of Tradition and Innovation
Franco Pepe, founder of Pepe in Grani in Caiazzo, is recognised as one of the world’s greatest pizzaiolos – Best Pizza Chef by The Best Chef Awards for four consecutive years – celebrated for his inventive pizzas, artisan dough and commitment to showcasing local ingredients. With his Pepe in Grani project, Franco has redefined the art of pizza, blending innovation with tradition while remaining deeply rooted in the flavours of his native Alto Casertano.
For his part, Mauro Colagreco, the three-Michelin-starred chef behind Mirazur in Menton and UNESCO Ambassador for Biodiversity, champions a circular gastronomy that respects the environment. In 2019, he launched La Pecoranegra, a family-style pizzeria born in Menton. With its modern, wholesome Napolitan pizzas crafted from ethically sourced ingredients, La Pecoranegra embodies the belief that popular gastronomy can go hand in hand with quality, sustainability, and respect for both the earth and humanity.
This collaboration represents a unique fusion of the art of Italian haute cuisine and unmatched expertise in artisanal pizza-making. United by a shared passion for local ingredients and respect for culinary traditions, the two chefs will present an eight-course menu celebrating the richness and creativity of Italian cuisine.
An Exceptional Four-Hands Dinner
During this one-of-a-kind evening, guests will experience an exclusive menu combining Franco Pepe’s vision with Mauro Colagreco’s creative approach. Signature pizzas by Franco Pepe, such as his famed “fried pizza,” the Margherita Sbagliata, and the Crisommola, will be paired with Mauro Colagreco’s daring creations. The dinner will culminate with an original pizza designed especially for the occasion by the two chefs, bringing their talents together in an unprecedented collaboration.
Located at 89 Rue Bossuet, La Pecoranegra embodies the essence of a modern, eclectic pizzeria, championing local, organic, and seasonal ingredients. This venue provides the perfect backdrop for such a culinary meeting, where the craftsmanship and simplicity of pizza meet the excellence and innovation of gastronomy.
“I am delighted to welcome my friend and master pizzaiolo Franco Pepe to La Pecoranegra in Lyon on January 16. This four-hands evening will be a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the richness and creativity of Italian gastronomy together,” says chef Mauro Colagreco.
For 2025, Colagreco and his team have planned a series of exceptional events, both in Lyon and Menton, and it is an honor for Franco Pepe to be the one to inaugurate this exciting cycle.
Useful Information
● Address : La Pecoranegra Lyon, 89 rue Bossuet, Lyon 6e
● Date : January 16th, 2025
● 8-course tasting menu : 65€ per person
● Bookings : here | 04 26 28 34 57
● Instagram : @pecora_negra_pizzeria | @maurocolagreco | @francopepeingrani @pepe_ingrani
About Franco Pepe
Franco Pepe is considered the most famous Italian pizzaiolo in the world. Dough is in his DNA. His grandfather was a baker, his father was a pizzaiolo, and he and his brothers continued in the family business. Famous for his unique dough, and for his dedication to elevating the art of pizza making, his popularity began with an article by Jonathan Gold, a Pulitzer Prize-winning gastronome who wrote in the American edition of Food & Wine magazine: «I’ve probably had the best pizza in the world from Franco Pepe».
He went on to become the most voted pizzaiolo in Phaidon’s «Where to Eat Pizza» guide, in which chefs name their favourite pizzerias around the world. Franco Pepe stars in an episode of the Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza and has been named Ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet Worldwide, Ambassador of Caiazzo Worldwide, Ambassador of Taste and Ambassador of Territory. He has also been named Pizzaiolo of the Year by Food and Travel, Pizza Awards Italia, Best Pizza Chef in the World by The Best Awards 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, and Master of the Art and Craft of Pizza by the Scuola Internazionale di Cucina italiana ALMA.
About Pepe in Grani
Pepe in Grani, a pizzeria located in Caiazzo, a small town of 5000 inhabitants a few kilometres from the province of Caserta, is the place where Franco Pepe welcomes 400 customers and prepares 800 pizzas a day. Pepe in Grani’s project is based on the research and selection of raw materials and the human factor, where he experiments and integrates among other themes and methods: the frying technique, the electric oven, the structure of the equipment and the scientific contribution. His pizza is based on innovation, but starts from tradition. He improves the dough with a special blend of flours produced especially for him, a key part of his production. He is meticulous in his selection of local ingredients. His aim is to share with the world, through his pizza, the flavours and stories of his territory.
About La Pecoranegra
Launched in 2019 in Menton as Mauro Colagreco’s take on a welcoming family pizzeria, La Pecoranegra is built on a simple and authentic concept: enjoying your favorite modern Neapolitan pizza in a relaxed setting. Comforting yet distinctly unique, the pizzas are exceptionally wholesome and made with ethically sourced, top-quality ingredients, actively supporting the local community. While worlds apart from the fine dining codes of Mirazur***, La Pecoranegra shares the same underlying philosophy, brilliantly demonstrating that popular cuisine can go hand in hand with fresh, local, organic ingredients and a profound respect for both the earth and its people.
About Mauro Colagreco
Mauro Colagreco is known for his passion for his craft and commitment to protecting the planet. Colagreco puts environmental concerns at the heart of his cuisine, championing the emergence of a circular gastronomy that respects the cycles of nature.
In 2006, he founded Mirazur in Menton, France, in a 1930s modernist building with sweeping views of the Mediterranean Sea. Much more than his three-Michelin-star flagship restaurant, Mirazur is a Mediterranean estate and ecosystem with nature as its heart. In 2019, the restaurant was voted Best Restaurant in the World (No.1) by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and in 2021, it was inaugurated into the awards’ Best of the Best category. Mirazur was also the first restaurant to obtain Plastic Free certification in 2020 and the B Corp label in 2024.
Nourished by journeys, discoveries, encounters and ambitions, Mauro Colagreco’s cuisine is instinctive, generous and deeply respectful of the environment. Led to the pinnacle of his art by his audacity, vision and commitments, this eco-conscious chef, who knows neither borders nor boundaries, now runs +30 restaurants around the world (London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Palm Beach, Buenos Aires…).
Colagreco works every day to contribute, as best he can and within his means, to the environmental transition. Recognised by the French government for his services to the hospitality industry, he has been awarded the rank of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in the 2022 list of honours. A tireless advocate of raising the awareness of public authorities, gastronomy professionals and everyone else about the challenges facing humanity, in 2022 he became the first chef to be appointed by UNESCO as a Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity.
About circular gastronomy
Circular gastronomy is a culinary movement pioneered by Mauro Colagreco in 2006. Inherently respectful, necessary and visionary, its aim is to reconnect deeply with nature, and to reconcile cuisine in general with a genuine commitment to society. In his fervent desire to preserve the planet, its resources and its biodiversity in order to ensure a future for the world’s children, Mauro Colagreco has enshrined the principles of his circular gastronomy in a manifesto that develops various areas in which the whole industry can commit to changing the global food paradigm, whatever the level of gastronomy. Briefly summarized, this manifesto calls on us to: always make choices in favor of nature; consume ultra-fresh, local, seasonal, ideally organic or even biodynamic produce; take care of the soil to make it more and more alive; cook in a way that respects plant and animal biodiversity; value products in their entirety; sort, recycle and systematically consider a return to the earth; completely eliminate single-use plastic; support our community; respect, educate and train our neighbors; and work to offset our carbon footprint, for a gastronomy that respects life.
