Alumni of the School of Communication and Information's journalism and media studies program are reporters, editors, PR reps, teachers, lawyers and political operatives. But pizza chef?
Meet Michele Lucarelli, an Italian “pizza celebrity.” Lucarelli, an exchange student at Rutgers in 2008 from Urbino University in Italy, has been a prolific food blogger and pizza maker since he was 17.
After returning to Italy from New Brunswick, he knew he wanted to take pizza to another level, so he began making pizzas that were organic. Instead of using yeast, he cooked with sourdough, and instead of adding processed ingredients he decided only to use fresh and organic ones.
The invention, known as “BioPizza,” requires a long fermentation of over 48 hours in a controlled temperature. It smells and tastes very different than typical pizza, he says.
The organic pizzas became a hit in his region.
“It is a new way to think about pizza” says Lucarelli, who discovered his passion for cooking at a teenager working at a pizza parlor. “It is also very healthy, you can digest it easily. People who have gluten allergies say it is easy to eat.".
Lucarelli always had a love for journalism, food and traveling. He chose to study at Rutgers to challenge himself to learn a different culture. During his time in New Jersey, he wrote a blog in Italian about his travel experiences and his life. His journalism courses helped him polish his writing skills and his English.
"I met a lot of wonderful people here,” he says. “I really enjoyed the social environment and extra-curricular activities, especially hosting international pizza parties.”
After the semester at Rutgers, Lucarelli returned to Italy to finish up his bachelor’s degree in advertising and communications. But after graduating, he was uncertain what he wanted to do -- other than finding a job that would incorporate journalism and food.
Lucarelli was surfing the internet last summer when he noticed a job opening at a restaurant in New Zealand for a head pizza chef. Lucarelli decided to take the risk and apply. Two days later he received a phone call from the manager saying the restaurant would love to have him.
Lucarelli accepted the job offer, and four months later, Lucarelli packed his chef hat and jetted off to New Zealand.
There, he is making new pizza converts every day and keeping up with his writing. Lucarelli has a new blog -- in English -- where he writes about the restaurants and cafés all over southern New Zealand where he travels by motor bike.
The plan is to return to Italy at the end of this summer and keep up with his blog there. He has hopes to continue with his organic pizza business and take it to the next level.
Maybe even back to New Jersey.
