If you could custom design a chef, Gabriele Bonci would be it. A big, commanding man in every sense – but one whose size contrasts wonderfully with the delicate business of creating the world's best pizza.
A bold claim, but one backed up by plaudits from some of the world's most respected critics. A recent review in US Vogue, for example, saw Bonci dubbed "the Michelangelo of pizza".
To Italians, the big man needs no introduction. Bonci makes regular television appearances and is known as much for his poetic musings on the nature of pizza as he is for the magic he creates with dough.
Using the same spelt that the ancient Romans used for their bread, he tops it with experimental, artisanal produce, coming up with more than 1,500 types of pizza in one year alone.
Now mere mortals can learn secrets from this pizza god by taking part in cookery sessions at his tiny pizzarium, located just five minutes from the Sistine chapel.
The session starts with Bonci expanding on his philosophy, explaining that, over the last 100 years, the pizza has resisted improvement.
"There has been no progress," he says. "Pizza is traditionally seen as food for poor people and so pizza makers would use cheaper industrial dough, and cut corners on quality. I refuse to do that."
Despite his high quality ingredients, Bonci has kept prices relatively low, at around £2 a slice, allowing everyone to sample a little bit of pizza heaven.
To make things even more nerve-wracking, my pizza making experience is being conducted under the watchful gaze of a camera crew. They're here as part of the Expedia.co.uk's People Shaped Travel video series, which reveals unique experiences in cities around the world. With a lens in my face, I begin the hand-numbing process of kneading my dough, surreptitiously checking out the other pupils who all look far more accomplished than me.
As Bonci strolls from table to table, he reveals that head chefs travel from all over the world to learn under his guidance. In the last year, pizza makers from Korea, France and Spain have all spent time in his kitchen.
"I am just a teacher, they go off to spread the gospel," he says.
And what a gospel. In between bouts of pushing and rubbing, we get the chance to sample some of Bonci's current works in progress, including a goat's cheese ricotta and courgette pizza, potato and mozzarella, chickpea spread and mortadella, plus a beautifully moist leg of lamb in a calzone-style case.
"This is an amazing experience," says food blogger Elizabeth Minchilli, who's come along to cover the class for her website. "We are learning from the master at the very table where the magic happens."
Sadly, despite Bonci's best tutelage, the magic fails to materialise for me. My pizza is a sad, hole-ridden thing but, as Bonci points out, you need to practise time and again to truly get a feel for the dough. It is all in the manipulazione. I am up to returning to that challenge when I get back home.
It's taken a while, but the long-awaited reinvention of the humble pizza is here. And it tastes fantastic
• A two-day course with tastings at Gabriele Bonci's Pizzarium (Via della Meloria 43, +39 06 3974 5416) costs €170. Book via tricoloremonti.it or email fermenti@alice.it. A three-night stay in Rome, including B&B, at the four-star Star Hotels Michelangelo in the Trionfale area, plus flights with easyJet from Gatwick, costs from £323pp with expedia.co.uk (0330 123 1235)
