Pizza Pilgrims - Two Brothers embark on an epic Italian road trip in a Piaggio Ape
Brothers James and Thom Elliot have masterminded a new street food business venture in the UK; selling traditional Italian pizzas, served fresh from a custom made oven in the back of a three-wheeler Piaggio Ape van.
The brothers have flown out to the southernmost point of the Italian mainland, collected their van and have now started their 2000 mile drive back to the UK. James and Thom are using this road trip to completely immerse themselves in Italian culture, history and traditions; eagerly absorbing as much of the local lifestyles and food as possible.
WEEK 1
The journey has officially begun. On Sunday 9th James and Thom touched down in Lamezia Terme Airport, Italy.
Monday morning was the first of many early starts for the boys, as they excitedly went to collect their only mode of transport for the next month - a brand new, racing green, Piaggio Ape.
The brothers enjoyed a morning full of test driving and getting to grips with the three-wheeled van before hitting the road and driving to Spilinga for onion ice cream tasting the next day.
By Thursday they had reached Scalea, and decided to investigate the local chilli pepper, Peperoncino. The boys started their Peperoncino education by visiting a pepper plantation to see how they're grown. They then moved on to the factory, observing how a potted preserve of the peppers is made. Finally, they tried their hand at cooking some Italian dishes with the peppers.
The beautiful Island of Capri is where James and Thom got to visit the home of the famous Italian beverage, Limoncello. They strolled through the lemon groves before witnessing the brewing process first hand. After a tantalizing wait, they finally got their hands on the refreshing but bitter drink; easily consuming much more than their fair share!
The weekend was spent in Napoli, where the guys checked out some local food markets and visited the oldest pizzeria in Napoli, where they took advise from an expert pizza chef.
They also visited a tomato and pasta factory and were taught some valuable culinary lessons in a local cooking school.
WEEK 2
At the beginning of the week, the boys were still in beautiful Naples. Monday was met with a guided tour of the famous Caputo Flour factory, where the guys were shown the various sorting and sifting processes wheat must go through. They then moved into the kitchen and observed a skilled chef as he prepared some classic Italian dishes with freshly made Caputo Flour dough.
Tuesday was buffalo mozzarella day, and naturally the day began at the source; a buffalo farm. The boys decided to grab the bull by the horns, or should I say cow by the udder, and have a go at milking the buffalo themselves. After collecting their milk, they went on to learn the different straining and curdling process involved in making the creamy cheese.
Along their travels, they visited a few of the finest traditional Pizzerias in Naples and Rome and took valuable tips and advise from some of Italy's most prestigious pizza chefs.
The end of the week brought in the famous Donkey Palio and Food Festival of Sassetta. The guys spent the day tasting food, watching parades and chatting with the locals. They even participated in the Donkey Palio, a donkey race held between the local towns.
VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/user/pizzapilgrims
IMAGES
For the latest images from James and Thom's travels please take a look at their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pizzapilgrims
Follow James and Thom's journey on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/pizzapilgrims
The brothers have flown out to the southernmost point of the Italian mainland, collected their van and have now started their 2000 mile drive back to the UK. James and Thom are using this road trip to completely immerse themselves in Italian culture, history and traditions; eagerly absorbing as much of the local lifestyles and food as possible.
WEEK 1
The journey has officially begun. On Sunday 9th James and Thom touched down in Lamezia Terme Airport, Italy.
Monday morning was the first of many early starts for the boys, as they excitedly went to collect their only mode of transport for the next month - a brand new, racing green, Piaggio Ape.
The brothers enjoyed a morning full of test driving and getting to grips with the three-wheeled van before hitting the road and driving to Spilinga for onion ice cream tasting the next day.
By Thursday they had reached Scalea, and decided to investigate the local chilli pepper, Peperoncino. The boys started their Peperoncino education by visiting a pepper plantation to see how they're grown. They then moved on to the factory, observing how a potted preserve of the peppers is made. Finally, they tried their hand at cooking some Italian dishes with the peppers.
The beautiful Island of Capri is where James and Thom got to visit the home of the famous Italian beverage, Limoncello. They strolled through the lemon groves before witnessing the brewing process first hand. After a tantalizing wait, they finally got their hands on the refreshing but bitter drink; easily consuming much more than their fair share!
The weekend was spent in Napoli, where the guys checked out some local food markets and visited the oldest pizzeria in Napoli, where they took advise from an expert pizza chef.
They also visited a tomato and pasta factory and were taught some valuable culinary lessons in a local cooking school.
WEEK 2
At the beginning of the week, the boys were still in beautiful Naples. Monday was met with a guided tour of the famous Caputo Flour factory, where the guys were shown the various sorting and sifting processes wheat must go through. They then moved into the kitchen and observed a skilled chef as he prepared some classic Italian dishes with freshly made Caputo Flour dough.
Tuesday was buffalo mozzarella day, and naturally the day began at the source; a buffalo farm. The boys decided to grab the bull by the horns, or should I say cow by the udder, and have a go at milking the buffalo themselves. After collecting their milk, they went on to learn the different straining and curdling process involved in making the creamy cheese.
Along their travels, they visited a few of the finest traditional Pizzerias in Naples and Rome and took valuable tips and advise from some of Italy's most prestigious pizza chefs.
The end of the week brought in the famous Donkey Palio and Food Festival of Sassetta. The guys spent the day tasting food, watching parades and chatting with the locals. They even participated in the Donkey Palio, a donkey race held between the local towns.
VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/user/pizzapilgrims
IMAGES
For the latest images from James and Thom's travels please take a look at their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pizzapilgrims
Follow James and Thom's journey on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/pizzapilgrims
Source...