The pioneering pastry chef talks to Polly Humphris about Naples’ cultural hotspots, Venice after dark and a stomach-churning cheesecake in Kuala Lumpu.
What is your favourite on-the-road moment?
Riding a bus along the Amalfi Coast was breathtaking. It’s beautiful but the road is also very narrow, which made it both thrilling and exciting. It was a very Italian experience starting in Salerno and ending 14 days later in Venice.
One hidden gem along the Amalfi Coast is the pastry shop Pasticceria Sal de Riso – it was a wonderful surprise to stumble on such world-class pastries.
Favourite city?
Naples. It completely exceeds expectations. It has been through so many different social upheavals and that rich history permeates the city. You’ll find very traditional pizzerias alongside people who are being very innovative with their styles; some pizzaioli are working with doughs with a lot of water mixed into them so that they produce these big puffy rims, and there’s younger guys utilising more unusual, artisan toppings.
I had one pizza topped with crumbled amaretti cookies and roasted pork, which was really good. Enzo Coccia’s Pizzaria La Notizia is incredible.
When have you been most frightened while travelling?
Walking the streets of Venice after hours was not without its imaginary ghosts. It’s easy for your imagination to take over when wandering in solitude through such an ancient city’s maze of Venetian Gothic streets at night – it was frightening and unsettling, but also exciting and very cool because Venice is so atmospheric.
What has been your most life-changing experience while travelling?
I go for an early morning run in almost every city that I’ve been to. As the sun rises, you get to see how a city wakes up and starts its day, and you discover hidden corners. I was particularly struck by the beauty and vivid-red sunrises of both Reykjavik in Iceland and Bergen in Norway.
Worst meal you’ve had abroad?
Besides a banana pizza in Buenos Aires, it has to be durian cheesecake in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Some say it tastes like a combination of cheese, almonds, garlic and caramel all at once, but to me, it tasted as potent as it smells, and that rotten taste is still there, even after you brush your teeth and rinse with mouthwash.
Strangest place you’ve spent the night?
A cacao plantation in the Amazon rainforest. I slept in a tent, which was shorter than me, in the jungle. There were some interesting night noises that I wasn’t used to: animals howling and things scuffling around in the darkness. I remember hoping that I had closed the tent tightly. Somehow you convince yourself that a jaguar will know your tent is off-limits and won’t tear it open.
Francisco Migoya and Nathan Myhrvold’s latest book, Modernist Pizza, is out now. Migoya is head chef of acclaimed Washington restaurant and research kitchen Modernist Cuisine
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