World No 23 pizzaiolo Massimiliano Prete will be serving dinner at La Bottega Enoteca this April

By now, most of us are familiar with the term ‘pizzaiolo’, essentially the Italian word for a pizza chef. Now, say ‘lievitista’, Italian for a master of dough fermentation. If you’ve paid attention to pizza trends in the last few years, you’ll know that fermentation has transformed pizza in Italy from fast food to slow food, thanks to a growing movement of contemporary pizza makers.

Among them is Massimiliano Prete. His meticulous approach to producing pizza doughs with excellent digestibility has led him to rank 36th in the world by 50 Top Pizza 2024 and place 23rd worldwide in the Best Pizza Chef 2024.

Prete will be in Singapore for a pop-up from Apr 1 to Apr 3 at La Bottega Enoteca in Joo Chiat. His nine-course degustation menu, priced at S$158, will feature a variety of doughs, including a buttery pan brioche base topped with anchovies in salsa verde; a crisp corn-based crust bearing gambero rosso with burrata and Iberico lardo; and a barley-infused crust crowned with vitello tonnato (veal in tuna sauce).

This is the third time La Bottega Enoteca’s owner and chef Antonio Miscellaneo has brought in one of the world’s best pizza chefs for a pop-up. Last year, he hosted 8th Best Pizza Chef 2024 Bob Alchimia and 2023’s top pizzaiolo Diego Vitagliano.

Miscellaneo said he invited Prete to cook at La Bottega Enoteca because he wanted to bring another pizza style for diners to sample. With Vitagliano, the focus was on classic and contemporary Neapolitan style, while Alchimia brought more eccentric pizzas in terms of dough and ingredients. “Massimiliano is recognised as one of the most experienced bakers, who is very detailed about dough in all its different shades, with contemporary toppings. Yet a different style of pizza, more typical of Piedmont,” he said.

There are two seatings each night, at 6pm and 8.30pm. Reservations are available at La Bottega Enoteca’s website.