Lorenzo Tron Interview on TeleDiamante at the World Spicy Pizza Championship
SHOP225 co-founder Lorenzo Tron spoke with TeleDiamante on the final day of the 25th World Spicy Pizza Championship in Calabria, where he joined the judging panel as the only Australian invited.
THE INTERVIEW
Watch Lorenzo's TeleDiamante Interview
It was Lorenzo's first time judging the World Spicy Pizza Championship in Calabria. TeleDiamante spoke with him after the acrobatic pizza finals on the last day of the 25th edition.
He had travelled from Australia to taste pizzas from 16 countries. In the interview, Lorenzo spoke about the quality of the gluten-free and spicy pizzas and how much he enjoyed the acrobatic pizza final.
LORENZO'S STORY
From Trieste to Melbourne
Lorenzo left Trieste at 24 to study English in Australia. Nineteen years later, Melbourne is home, with a family and pizzerias to run. In the interview, he jokes that he feels more Australian than Italian these days, and that trips back usually mean a championship or a holiday.
When he is invited back to Italy to judge, he is happy to make the trip and be part of the competition.
“My motto is food for everyone.”
— Lorenzo Tron, co-founder, SHOP225
FOOD FOR EVERYONE
Food for everyone, at the same table
When TeleDiamante asked what he brought to the championship, Lorenzo came back to the idea behind SHOP225: food for everyone. He spoke about cooking for vegan, gluten-free, halal and dairy-free guests, as well as people who need meals without onion or garlic.
He compared it to Sunday lunch at Nonna's: if one person at the table is vegetarian, they still get something made for them.
“So I'm the Nonna for every Australian,” he said. At SHOP225, that means
gluten-free pizza,
vegan food and
halal pizza in Melbourne can all sit on the same menu.
ITALIAN FOOD ABROAD
Italian food in Australia has changed
Lorenzo also reflected on how attitudes to Italian culture have changed in Australia. He recalled that Italian migrants arriving in the 1960s were often viewed differently. Today, he said, Italian food and culture are embraced very differently.
At the same championship, SHOP225 received the
Excellence in Inclusive Dining award. It recognised the same principle Lorenzo spoke about in the interview: nobody at the table should be treated as an afterthought.
The same idea, back in Pascoe Vale South
The idea Lorenzo spoke about in Calabria is the same one behind the kitchen at SHOP225. He also mentioned Il Caminetto and Pronto478, the other venues run by the same family.