When I began exporting flour to China, I immediately faced a problem: China is a prohibitionist Country and our flour, once added 17% VAT and 65% custom excises, could cost up to four times more than the local product. It wasn’t competitive from an economic perspective. Our flour, though, had higher yield and quality, which can be key characteristics but need to be put in the right context. I quickly realized that we could have not sold our flour without matching it to training courses for staff, so to help them appreciate the quality of our products and the difference they could make to the quality of their end product. It wasn’t just a matter of selling flour to the Chinese, it was a matter of also teaching how to bake bread and pizza.   

I believe to have been the first one to teach Chinese people how to make pizza. I’ve been in the kitchens of luxurious hotels in the main cities, and in far-flung local eateries in the countryside, where often the workplace was far below the Italian standards. I couldn’t speak a word of English, nor Chinese, so just imagine the difficulties in communicating via interpreters and, of course, hand gestures. Thanks god the Chinese are quick to learn and many of them are today amazing pizzaiolos.