It is a young entity with great aspirations, a well-knit group determined to consolidate its role in the restaurant industry, to enhance the area and make its mark in the world of pizza and quality cuisine.
In the heart of Salento, in Copertino, there is an establishment that in just a few years has undergone an interesting evolution thanks to the commitment and tenacity of its founder, Francesco De Paolis, and today boasts a well-established and expanding presence in the area.
House Pizza and Grill was founded in 2011 as a take-out pizzeria. Francesco De Paolis learned the trade from a very young age, gained experience in different establishments and decided to put his skills to good use with his own business. It may seem like just another story, but it reveals the character and resourcefulness of its protagonist who, in just a few years, built his success, step by step, up to the current reality, a restaurant pizzeria with braceria in a renovated masseria with several rooms and a well-appointed pergola with a capacity that can accommodate more than 500 people between indoors and outdoors, a staff of 11 people, enterprising young people like himself, and a clear vision: to create a format and expand the circle of action; a new opening is already planned, near the sea.
“I started the business from the ground up,” De Paolis says, “with a small take-out pizzeria and classic pizzas, a family environment. The idea to expand the place came two years later with the opportunity to buy the adjacent farmhouse and the consequent opening of a first room, and so on until the current arrangement. Three years ago, with the opening of the last large room, I decided to introduce the braceria and focus the restaurant on pizza and carne alla grigia, two trendy types of cuisine that are on the rise, and we have specialized in these two strands. We offer quality catering-pizzeria with attention to raw materials and execution, and with such a large and spacious venue we are able to organize events of all kinds, from birthday parties to communions to weddings. The venue and its style are a perfect match for convivial gatherings, and we are working very well.”
The ambiance, cozy and spacious, is elegant and bright; Francesco wanted it well laid out, informal but cared for in every detail, with class, because the customer must feel comfortable and pampered, must want to come back. A cuisine that lives up to expectations is not enough; it takes hospitality in the fullest meaning of the term. The kitchen is certainly a strong point, the pizza is the heart of the restaurant with its classic dough according to the Leccese style for a low, light and fluffy pizza. “We practice long leavening, from 48 to 72 hours,” explains Francesco, “and we make a mix of 5 Stagioni flours, which have always been synonymous with reliability for us because they guarantee a constant yield and excellent performance.
We compose a mix of Red, Blue and Semolina flours with which we obtain the result that best suits our style: a digestible, light and tasty pizza. We also make a dough with sesame and durum wheat, leavened 72 hours, a specialty that offers more digestibility and fragrance, which is very popular. It is the top.”
Some 30 pizzas on the menu are the result of the in-depth study that this cohesive team – Francesco De Paolis together with chef Alessio Paglialunga and pizzaiolo Massimo Rosafio – carry out, together, to offer an interesting, tasty and high-quality proposal because it is based on excellent raw materials, especially from the Salento area so rich in specialties, on homemade sauces, master doughs and a style that is both refined and homegrown, a happy marriage of classicism and flair.
Like the pizza that is depopulating customers this season: the Fuego, and the name alone speaks volumes. “We also wanted to give a touch of liveliness to the presentation and for this pizza, where the impactful ingredient is the n’duja pepper, we offer a flambé service at the table, very scenic, with a slightly retro air perhaps but of great visual impact that anticipates what will be the taste impact, a true fuego in short.”
Thus, there are many “ingredients” that, when combined, determine
the success of House Pizza and Grill, not just a pizzeria but a restaurant structured according to a very precise vision: first of all, quality raw materials, and for that matter, it could not be otherwise in a region like Apulia where agriculture and gastronomy offer the best; then a welcoming environment; but, above all, the desire to grow and improve of all the staff members with Francesco at the helm, the expertise of a team of close-knit specialists working together to realize a concrete restaurant project.
Francesco De Paolis is determined to give more and more support to the efforts of his collaborators because he knows that only with the evolution of ideas and expertise can the challenges of the market be met. A lot of time, in fact, he dedicates to training, not only in the culinary field but to be always up to date on human resources management, on the tasks that make the difference between a pizzaiolo and an entrepreneur: “We are born pizzaioli,” he says, “but then we open the pizzeria and we realize that it is not enough: we have to become entrepreneurs to stay on the market, and for this there is nothing left to do but study, open our minds, learn more and more and expand our knowledge to adequately support what creativity and passion inspire us.
