The love story between Massimiliano Prete and pizza started when he was only 15 years old.
This passion drove Massimiliano to leave his hometown of Puglia and move to Asti, where he worked for many years in the local pizzeria, Tramonti. After that, he moved to the city of Saluzzo and established himself as a pizza maker and pastry chef.
Love brings love: the young pizza maker fell in love and married Erica and together they opened the café-pastry shop, PiazzAffari, in Piazza Cavour, the heart of Saluzzo.
The year 2000 brought hard work, satisfaction, and growth. In 2011 Massimiliano opened Teatro del Gusto, the pizza restaurant that fulfilled locals’ and tourists’ appetites with elaborate and well-thought-out dishes.
Revolution
2014 was the year for change.
Massimiliano was ready to start a new project. PiazzAffari closed its doors for a complete makeover and became Gusto Divino, one of Piedmont’s first gourmet pizzerias.
Gusto Divino sealed the chef’s position within the contemporary pizza revolution, one that doesn’t seem to be losing its momentum, a beautiful mix of innovation and tradition, where genuine flavors, high-quality ingredients, the art of pastry, and haute cuisine flavors unite.
Massimiliano opened Gusto Madre in 2016, a contemporary pizzeria in the center of Alba, the heart of the Langhe and the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy since 2017.
In 2017 Gusto Madre added a new location in downtown Turin, greeted by a wave of approval from critics, journalists, and customers, selling out daily for lunch and dinner.
Gourmet Pizza
Chef Prete is not only known as a pizza maker but also as a leavening expert. The dough is the achievement of his culinary resume and the eccentricity that differentiates his creations from other gourmet pizzas.
Innovation, taste, and the easy-to-digest dough are thanks to constant research and development.
The careful selection of ingredients for the toppings and constant experimentation to always arrive at original combinations turn an excellent pizza into a gourmet pizza.
Excellence requires dedication. To focus his attention on locations in Turin and Saluzzo, Massimiliano left Gusto Madre in Alba, closed Teatro del Gusto, and gave a new name to the project in Turin: Sestogusto.
The sixth taste sensation, according to researchers, is the mouthfeel and richness that certain foods made of carbohydrates can give, resulting in cravings for pizza, bread, etc.
The same drive that has motivated Massimiliano previously helped him celebrate five years of Sestogusto in Torino via Mazzini in December of 2022. This was followed by the inauguration of a second Turin Sestogusto location via Stampatori 6, leading him to future projects.
The embodiment of new projects led Chef Prete to close Gusto Divino Saluzzo after ten years. The birthplace of his gourmet pizza was also the starting point for additional success and opportunity. Without abandoning Saluzzo, in the same fall of that year, a laboratory he had long dreamed of became a reality, where he studies, researches, and perfects his leavened products.
If it receives warmth and is kept alive,
it grows, evolves, and brings happiness.
