Si Nonna’s, the all-India Pizzeria chain, achieved a historic milestone this week by becoming India’s first pizzeria to receive the globally-recognized certification from the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), founded in Naples, Italy in 1984. This is the international authority that protects and promotes the tradition of making true Naepolitan pizza. This places Si Nonna’s among the less than 1000 pizzerias across 60 countries—an elite global community committed to preserving the centuries-old art of sourdough pizza making.

Si Nonna’s pizzas thus cater to every international standard set by AVPN, including the precise method of dough preparation, a 24-hour sourdough fermentation process, ingredient quality, oven preparation and baking technique. Traditional Italian craftmanship blended with local insights in India ensure consistency, quality and accessibility across more than 30 outlets in the country. 

Ayush Jatia, founder of Si Nonna’s, says, “This honor is incredibly humbling and fills us with immense pride. This recognition reflects the hard work, dedication and passion of our team and motivates us to continue sharing the joy of authentic Italian sourdough pizza with every guest who walks through our doors.”

AVPN is recognized by UNESCO for safeguarding this culinary heritage as the standards demand immense precision: a perfectly round shape, soft at the center, and crowned with the golden, airy ‘cornicione’ (the Italian term for ‘cornice’, meaning the raised outer rim of a pizza crust, also known as the crust or lip) baked at 400 degrees Celsius in a traditional wood-fired oven.

Antonio Pace, President, AVPN, who had flown in for the occasion, said, “We are delighted to welcome Si Nonna’s into the global AVPN family.”

The pizza was born in Naples, says Pace, when South Asian Herald spoke to him. “There are two types of pizza: our Naepolitan pizza and the imitation pizza!” He adds, “The Naepolitan pizza is not just a recipe but a description of all the processes for its making. The certificate means that the makers follow all the rules. No other pizza in the world has written rules—you can have a Brazilian pizza, a Japanese pizza et cetera. So, everyone can say that it is my pizza, but they have no rules!”

Pace adds that the pizza originally has no inventor, no father and no owner but belongs to and was created by the genius of the people of Naples. “It’s the perfect healthy food for the Mediterranean people with the right amount of carbs, proteins and fat!” His family, though, has been involved with making this pizza for the last 200 years.”

We ask the difficult one: Why then is pizza in general considered as avoidable junk food? “Some pizzas in the world are not cooked in the right way, so they are considered as junk food. The Naepolitan pizza is fine dining!” says Pace, and goes on, “We find something similar between the Indian cuisine I have tasted and our pizza as there is nothing fried. Cooking a pizza correctly takes 90 seconds only. That way, the ingredients get cooked but do not lose their nutritional value.”

For the certification, Massimo Verzini, the Italian chef at Si Nanno’s, sent a video to AVPN in January. “Though his pizza was good, it did not meet some requirements. So, we sent a person to guide Massimo, and a second video was sent in September. We then gave him some legal advice and then the certificate was given, which is why we are here all the way from Naples!” grins Pace, all of a dynamic 80 years old.

Gianluca Liccardo, Marketing Manager, AVPN, acted as translator as Pace does not follow English.

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