A PIZZAIOLO STORY

My name is Federico. I was born in Ferrara, Italy, with Neapolitan roots through Papà Ettore and Mamma Maria. Growing up, I slowly realised

that studying wasn't really going to be my thing. After failing my first year at school, Papà Ettore and Mamma Maria were not exactly impressed

— ahahaha — and decided to send me to culinary school. At first, I thought it was a bit lame. But somewhere along the way, I discovered a real

passion for food, cooking and the craft behind it. That passion became my path.

At 19, I left Italy and started my journey in Herning, a small town in Denmark, working as a cook. I quickly realised it wasn't for me — ahahaha

— and after a few months I went back to Italy and decided to head to London.

In London, I joined Franco Manca, where I was lucky enough to learn from three of my best friends and superiors at the time — Giuseppe,

Dario and Giovanni. They taught me the craft of making pizza properly and helped me grow through my first steps in the industry. Over two

years, I worked my way up from dishwasher to head chef. I also had the opportunity to spend some time in Rhodes, Greece, where I took the

lead of my pizza team. Eventually, I felt it was time to chase the Australian dream.

Australia had always been part of my family story. In the 1970s, Mamma Maria and Nonna Gabriella came to Sydney, settling in Fairfield,

together with Nonno Gianni and the whole family. They travelled by boat, and the journey took around a month to arrive. My Nonna still has the

photos from that journey today — ahahaha. Growing up, they would tell me about Australia and show me the life they had built here.

Then there is Nonno Gianni: after eight years in Sydney, he decided Australia wasn't for him and moved back to Napoli. He eventually brought

my whole mum's family back to Naples too, where years later, she met my dad. Ahahaha.

Their stories stayed with me and, in 2018, I finally came to Australia myself. It wasn't easy, and there were plenty of obstacles along the way,

but even against all the odds, I kept pushing forward. Then, during COVID, I was lucky enough to secure a sponsorship visa, which soon led me

on the path to something I'm incredibly proud of — my Australian citizenship.

In 2022, I opened my first pizza shop, Pizza Mates. Those four years were an incredible chapter of my journey. Together with my team, we built

it into a great business and took it to its strongest point. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved, and I’m grateful to everyone who supported

us along the way. Eventually, I felt it was time for a new chapter, so I decided to sell the business and take a year off — a chance to travel, reset

and think about what I wanted to do next.

And here I am. Pizza Mia is my second pizza shop — and the name says exactly what this place means to me. In Italian, “Mia” means “mine”.

So Pizza Mia is quite simply my pizza, my way. It’s my chance to bring together my Italian roots, my Neapolitan influence, everything I’ve learned along the way, and create the kind of pizza I truly believe in. So come and enjoy the best pizza in PERTH !!

CIAO !!