AUTHENTICA REIGNITES ITS FIRE: FRANCO PEPE REOPENS HIS MOST EXCLUSIVE SPACE, WELCOMING LEADING CHEFS FOR A NEW SEASON OF CREATIVE ENCOUNTERS
Caiazzo, March 13, 2026 – The fire of Authentica burns once again. The most intimate and exclusive space within Pepe in Grani reopens as Franco Pepe prepares to launch a new season of culinary encounters, welcoming some of the most influential chefs from Italy and around the world.
Authentica is the private creative space within Pepe in Grani, widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential pizzerias. Designed as a place for exchange and experimentation, Authentica brings together Franco Pepe’s iconic dough and the creative language of his guest chefs in a unique gastronomic dialogue.
A series of unrepeatable dinners will take shape, reserved for just eight guests at a time: intimate culinary experiences created in the moment, where technique, instinct and inspiration come together to give life to dishes never conceived before. Among the eight guests, a journalist will always be present, invited to experience and recount the evening, transforming each encounter into a narrative of creativity, territory and culinary dialogue.
Menus for the Authentica events are never defined in advance: they take shape through the meeting between Franco Pepe and the invited chefs, leaving space for spontaneity and the magic of the moment. Each dinner becomes a unique, one night-only experience.
Iconic recipes by Franco Pepe and the guest chefs will take center stage, reinterpreted for the occasion through subtle and surprising variations capable of intertwining their two creative visions in an authentic gastronomic dialogue. The first event of the year, scheduled for March 24, 2026, will be dedicated to the territory, paying tribute to the lands of Alto Casertano and to the long process of renewal and valorisation that has reshaped its gastronomic and cultural identity over the years.
Chef Domenico Marotta, at the helm of Marotta Ristorante*, will inaugurate this new season. A refined interpreter of territorial cuisine and, above all, a long-time friend of Maestro Franco Pepe, Marotta shares with him a common vision and a deep love for Alto Casertano, a land they both express through their work with coherence, respect and a contemporary perspective.
Each encounter will be announced through the official social media channels of Franco Pepe and Pepe in Grani and will not follow a fixed schedule: Authentica remains a place guided by hospitality and creative freedom. Throughout the year, Franco Pepe will open the doors of his space to chef colleagues and friends who wish to share this special experience.
About Franco Pepe
Franco Pepe is widely considered the most famous Italian pizzaiolo in the world. Dough runs in his DNA: his grandfather was a baker, his father a pizzaiolo, and he has carried forward the family tradition. His international reputation was further strengthened by an article written by Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold, who described his creation as “probably the best pizza in the world.” He was named Best Pizzaiolo in the guide Where to Eat Pizza by Phaidon and is featured in an episode of the Netflix series Chef’s Table: Pizza.
He has received numerous awards, including Ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet, Ambassador of the Territory, Pizzaiolo of the Year by Food and Travel, Pizza Awards Italia, World’s Best Pizza Chef (2021–2024) and Maestro dell’Arte Bianca from ALMA – The International School of Italian Cuisine.
About Pepe in Grani
Pepe in Grani is Franco Pepe’s pizzeria located in Caiazzo, a town of 5,000 inhabitants
in the province of Caserta, where it welcomes around 400 guests per day and prepares approximately 800 pizzas daily. The project is built on the research of raw materials, innovation and the valorisation of human capital, with a scientific approach to frying techniques, the use of electric ovens and the design of kitchen equipment. Its pizza is born from innovation while remaining deeply rooted in tradition.
About Authentica
Authentica is much more than a dining room: it is a laboratory of ideas, a place for dialogue and experimentation where hospitality and creativity meet in a direct and authentic way. A space designed to encourage exchange, sharing and the creation of new visions.
Opened in 2017, Authentica is located on the top floor of the historic 18th-century building that houses Pepe in Grani. Over time, this landmark has expanded its identity beyond that of a pizzeria, developing tasting rooms, B&B accommodations and ultimately this reserved space dedicated to small-scale, highly exclusive events designed to offer intimate and unrepeatable experiences.
Over the years, Authentica has welcomed some of the most influential figures in contemporary cuisine, becoming a place of encounter and exchange among leading personalities of gastronomy. Chefs from Italy and abroad have taken part in these special evenings, contributing their own vision to create a creative dialogue with Franco Pepe’s dough and the Alto Casertano territory.
Among the chefs who have participated in Authentica experiences are: Albert Adrià (Enigma; El Bulli**); Ana Roš (Hiša Franko***); Chicco Cerea (Da Vittorio***); Giuseppe Iannotti (Krèsios**); Floriano Pellegrino and Isabella Potì (Bros*); Alessandro Pipero and Ciro Scamardella (Pipero*); Antonia Klugman (L’Argine a Vencò*); Nancy Silverton (Osteria Mozza*); Riccardo Camanini (Lido 84*); Andrea Berton (Berton*); Xanty Elias (Acánthum*); Moreno Cedroni (La Madonnina del Pescatore**) … and many others.
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Vanessa Kroop – vanessak@mateoandco.es – M: +34 608 849 809
