Pizzaiolo Maurizio

Here at Beaches restaurant & Bar we have a wood fired pizza oven. Now having a wood fired pizza oven is one thing, but being able to make a good authentic Italian style pizza is something else.

Since controlling the kitchen at beaches I have experienced many pizza’s some better than others. But for the past 18 months we have had the pleasure of Maurizio Sevesi in my chef’s kitchen.

Maurizio is Italian as you may have guessed from a name like that, but has lived in Australia for many years now. Being Italian who better could I have to bring the standard of pizza to such new heights.

After creating a new pizza menu with 22 different pizza, we tested many a dough until we found one that we could use. This actually came about from a visit by Maurizio to Cairns and a pizzaiolo there. With the dough recipe set the toppings were created. The napoli sauce was not a problem, the cheese mix neither.

Now contrary to the Australian thinking, pizza’s should be thin based with a minimal amount of topping, not a mountain full!!!! This proved to be one of the biggest hurdles for us to overcome.

With the new menu came new prices, a considerable drop in price, also a considerable drop in topping. The outcome was in our opinion great. An authentic thin crisp pizza with a full flavoured topping that allows you to appreciate the pizza for what it is.

The sad end to this post is, that Maurizio my good friend has just left us and will be enjoying his life in Cairns. A dream that himself and his partner Barbie have had for some time. I wish them both lots of joy and great times in there new home, knowing that they will be sadly missed.