There are some things you just don’t mess with.

That’s especially true when you take on the proud Italian city of Naples, the birthplace of the margherita, and you start mucking around with their age-old recipe.

Carlo Cracco is learning that the hard way after trying to serve up an alternative “crunchy” margherita recipe, “featuring petal shapes of mozzarella and a heavy tomato sauce”, at his restaurant in Milan.

The Michelin-starred chef came under immediate fire for serving up his creation, with critics pouncing. Some of that backlash below from the Telegraph:

The Neapolitan writer Angelo Forgione spearheaded the criticism, quipping that the new gastronomic creation was nothing more than “a cracked pizza”.

Another purist noted that Cracco [below], a former judge in the Italian Masterchef, recently lost a Michelin star at one of his restaurants. “After making his own ‘pizza,’ they took away not only his other Michelin stars but also his Italian citizenship and his driving licence,” the commentator said, adding that migrant Egyptians who often work as pizza bakers in Italy could do better. “When I saw Cracco’s pizza I immediately awarded the Egyptian cook downstairs eight Michelin stars,” he said…

Some Neapolitan connoisseurs in Milan who tasted Cracco’s pizza, described on the menu  as  “a variation on a theme”, acknowledged grudgingly that it was tasty. But they suggested he produce a more popular, low-cost version in line with pizza’s proletarian origins.

Wow – imagine someone told them about Butler’s Pizza and their healthy Pumpkin and Zucchini base options? Pandemonium on the streets, I tell you.

Turns out that Unesco actually recognised Neapolitan pizza with official world cultural heritage status last year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun with the recipe.

Then again, maybe you should live a little and treat yourself to some toppings. Seth’s namesake rocks the bacon, feta and salami vibes, but you’ll find a little something for everyone here.

Oh, and on Mondays if you order two pizzas you get a third FREE – winning.

[source:telegraph]