Pizza Talks 2025 - Beyond: Culture & Origin - Experience in Pizza

Taste of Italy – seen from Japan

For Chef Daniele Cason, pizza is deeply personal, but also endlessly adaptable. After more than twelve years of working in Tokyo, he’s developed a singular approach that blends Italian soul with Japanese ingredients and sensibilities. “Pizza is something that is constantly evolving,” he reflected. “And we all represent it differently. We take it very personally. We give it our own twist.”

One of his most talked-about creations? A sea-inspired take on amatriciana, made not with guanciale, but with eel. “The idea of using eel came from its fatty content,” he explained. “It’s really reminiscent of guanciale. And it’s a product that’s highly appreciated in Japan.” Paired with pecorino romano, the result is both rooted and radical – a dish that connects the familiar comfort of Italy with the refined umami depth of Japanese cuisine.

Yet for Cason, innovation never loses sight of its origins. “Generally, I try to come up with a recipe that’s an Italian recipe,” he said. “A Japanese product helps me to express the local area… but the vision lies in creating something that brings me back to Italy.” His work is a tribute to cross-cultural creativity – a proof that pizza, when guided by clarity of purpose, can become a language spoken far beyond its birthplace.

Learning the rules to break them well

For Chef Youichi Ito, innovation begins with deep respect – or culinary histories, for local identities, and for the traditions that have shaped them. “I’ve always believed you need to learn a rule before you can actually break a rule,” he said during the panel. “If you just break a rule and try to innovate out of nothing, sometimes people don’t really get it.” As a chef with no Italian heritage, approaching pizza from the outside, Ito felt it was essential to first understand what Italian chefs truly value- what defines pizza in its cultural and emotional essence.

Before daring to create something new, he trained closely with his colleague and mentor, Chef Daniele Cason, and listened carefully to Italian voices within the craft. He also brought his own cultural heritage to the table – rooted in Japan and the Philippines – blending insights from each into something entirely original. “There are things I love in Italian food, things I value in Japanese food, and others I bring from the Philippines. The goal is to combine them thoughtfully, so they create a new yet meaningful experience.”

Ito’s entry into the world of pizza was far from conventional. He wasn’t a pizza chef. He didn’t even bake bread. But that outsider status allowed him to see the dish differently, especially through the lens of global pop culture. “The way I saw pizza, and the way others saw pizza…it was just different,” he said. This distance became an asset, giving him space to reimagine the dish from a new angle. The results are pizzas that challenge tradition while honoring it, breaking free from margherita and marinara orthodoxy, yet grounded in craft, awareness, and respect. 

At a time when pizza is being stretched far beyond its native borders, Ito represents a new generation of chefs who don’t just copy or deconstruct—they translate, interpret, and evolve. Not to replace the old language, but to let new ones emerge.

From Chile to the World

Javiera Contardo, a rising voice in South American pizza, offered a glimpse into how Latin American identity merges with Italian culinary DNA. Her approach is defined by local storytelling – using native products, working with women producers, and turning the dining experience into a conversation about roots, memories, and land. “Pizza in Chile is still young, still finding its soul. But we are not trying to imitate. We are building something with our own voice.”

For Javiera Contardo, pizza wasn’t a lifelong path – it was a radical reinvention. “I began to do pizza like five years ago, just for fun,” she shared during the panel. Coming from a completely different business background, Javiera made a bold move: she left everything behind and immersed herself in the world of pizza, traveling to Naples to study Neapolitan tradition at the source. “I knew I had to become someone that has the correct information,” she explained. “That studies enough. To be responsible on the information I was going to give to people.”

Today, she runs DOU, a pizza education project in Chile alongside her family. What started with a single class has grown into a community of over 4,000 students, 25 classes a month, and a clear mission: empower people, especially the younger generation, to create a new professional path through pizza. “That’s my people,” she said. “Young people that maybe have their jobs, they’re not happy with their jobs, and they want to begin something new.”

Educating palates & minds

Zuppardo underlined the growing responsibility of professionals to raise awareness around quality, sustainability, and honest practices- especially when working across countries where pizza is still undergoing its cultural ‘translation.’

Drawing from her own experience as an “outsider” to the pizza world, having worked in fashion and lived abroad for over 15 years – she brings a global lens to the craft. “Perhaps the fact that we were not belonging to this world gave us a different perspective on pizza, pizza making, and how you sort of consume pizza,” she shared during Pizza Talks. This outsider status inspired a product-centric, yet culturally open approach that sees pizza as a universal language. “Pizza is the content. Let’s reshuffle the cards. Let’s reshape the setting,” she said, referencing how she and her partner created Pizzarium Illuminati, a space that defied traditional pizzeria aesthetics.

From Rome to Dubai, their concept found success in unexpected places – like five-star hotels. “Made in Italy is highly appreciated abroad, sometimes even more than in Italy itself,” she noted. For Zuppardo, pizza is not just food- it’s a cross-cultural, trans-social experience that deserves to be redefined and elevated, while still staying rooted in craftsmanship and quality.

Towards a universal pizza experience

What tied all four voices together was a shared sense of responsibility: to honor tradition while opening space for innovation. From Tokyo’s silent precision to Santiago’s spirited dynamism, from Rome’s institutional heritage to Dubai’s international influence – the panel demonstrated that pizza is no longer tied to place. It’s tied to people.

And people, as this talk confirmed, are more connected- and more curious – than ever.