Pizza maker becomes a recognised profession

Pizzerias are eager for skilled chefs. But where can you find 'pizzaiolos', pizza bakers in Italian, who understand the Italian culinary art? To reduce the shortage, Dok030 started a special pizza baker training course two years ago. After a successful pilot in Utrecht, the course will expand in September with a location in Nieuwegein. There are also plans for a learning-working pizzeria in the new NPD strip Your career in Overvecht.

To give the craftsmanship the recognition it deserves, the founders are also striving for recognition as a full-fledged course with an SVH quality mark. It seems that this will succeed. Pizza baker will thus become a recognised profession in the Netherlands that falls under the hospitality CLA.

There are more and more artisanal pizzerias and pizza chains in the Netherlands, says project leader Abdel Harchaoui. But too few people master the ancient craft from Italy. In collaboration with the GAK institute, the municipalities of Utrecht and Nieuwegein, WIL, and Rabobank, he therefore started the pilot. Twenty people with a distance to the labour market were trained as pizzaiolos. With the expansion to Nieuwegein, even more skilled workers must now be prepared.

Students learn to make airy dough and traditional sauce, use the right ingredients, and handle the pizza peel properly, says Harchaoui. “But what we mainly impart is a passion for the craft.” They also receive theory lessons from an Italian about the history of pizza. They learn hospitality skills such as cutting techniques and obtain a hygiene certificate.

Utrecht is a national leader with the pizza baker training, says SVH director Ricardo Eshuis. At the request of Dok030, the hospitality industry organisation is investigating whether there is a need for recognition of the pizza baker's craftsmanship elsewhere in the country. “That indeed seems to be the case,” says Eshuis.

Recognition would mean that the pizza baker becomes an official profession and gets a place in the hospitality CLA. “The profession would then have a clear job profile, training requirements, and a national exam with an industry diploma.” Recognition is also important for the image of the pizza chef, who is currently classified in fast food, says Eshuis. Most importantly, of course, is that pizzerias gain competent staff.

Source: De Telegraaf