A Table in the Corner
A Table in the Corner is the space where Russel Wasserfall chats to people in the food industry about their passion and their take on the business of eating. Russel has worked in the media and food space for over 3 decades. He's run bars, restaurants and a confectionery factory, written for dozens of food and travel publications and made a bunch of cookbooks. His show is about the nitty-gritty of the food trade in all its forms. Top chefs, food artisans, proprietors, bakers, farmers, foragers, cheesemakers, writers, photographers, bloggers... you name it. If they’re involved in the food industry, you will meet them with Russel at A Table in the Corner.
A Table in the Corner
S2-38. Pizza Sessions 02 - Ferdinando's
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Born in San Pellegrino Terme and arriving in Cape Town with his South African partner in 2011, Diego Milesi talks about building Ferdinando’s from a tiny pop-up operation in the Cape Quarter into a loud, chaotic, deeply loved community institution in Observatory.
This conversation goes far beyond toppings and dough. We get into the roots of Neapolitan pizza, the obsession with fermentation and hydration, the difference between traditional and contemporary Napoli styles, and why Diego still believes pizza is fundamentally poor people’s food: something made to bring people together rather than impress them.
We also talk about the culture around Ferdinando’s itself. The music, the cocktails, the packed tables, the sense of belonging and the restaurant’s long-running association with Pasta Kitchen, a community project legacy of Diego’s late partner Kimon, which feeds and connects with vulnerable people living on the streets around Observatory.
Along the way there are debates about banana on pizza, artisanal mozzarella, South African ingredients, Italian food purism and why Diego believes the atmosphere around a pizza can matter as much as the pizza itself.
Pizza Sessions is sponsored by Banhoek Chilli Oil and will also be launching as a video series on the A Table in the Corner YouTube channel.
- www.rwm2012.com
- On Instagram @a_table_inthecorner
- Cover image sketched by Courtney Cara Lawson
- All profile portraits by Russel Wasserfall unless otherwise credited
- Title music: 'In Time' by Olexy via Pixabay