Next to him the giants of Italian cuisine, from Cannavacciuolo to Bottura. But Pizzaut’s dad brings to the table much more than a successful dish: he brings an inclusion model that is changing the country.
“I am not worthy of being by their side,” he said with the usual humility Nico Acampora from the stage of the Forbes award ceremony, who inserted him between The 25 most influential chefs in Italyassigning the title of “visionary heart”. Yet, the founder of Pizzaut – the first chain of pizzerias managed by young autistici – is rewriting the rules not only of catering, but of an entire company.
Next to him, in the tricolor Olympus of gastronomy, there are the most prestigious names: Antonino Cannavacciuolo, who leads the Forbes ranking; Massimo Bottura, who shares the paternity of a son in the autistic spectrum and a battle for inclusion with Acampora; Davide Oldani, inventor of “pop cuisine” and Michelin star; Carlo Cracco, Alessandro Borghese, Massimiliano Alajmo, the youngest star chef in Italy. “The chefs welcomed me as if I were,” says Acampora. “It was an opportunity to reiterate once again that work and inclusion must be for everyone.”
It is not the first time that Pizza’s message has conquered international stages: the experience of the boys of Cassina de ‘Pecchi and Monza has already been presented to the UN, the European Parliament, in the Italian one and the G7 of disability. But the recognition of Forbes, the “Bible” of the economy and finance, projects the project into another dimension. “We talked about autistic staff with those who can give an important example in the world », underlines Acampora. “Taking a person with disabilities is not just a social duty, it is an opportunity.”
Pizzaut: the revolution starts from the oven
Pizzaut was born from the love of a father and a simple and revolutionary question: “What future will my son have?” From there, Nico Acampora built much more than a pizzeria. He created a model. Today in Pizzaut restaurants 41 guys work in the autistic spectrum, all hired full -time and permanently permanent. “Otherwise they would be closed in a disabled center,” says Nico. “With us, however, they work with pride and call the five” neurotypical “colleagues the ethnic minority”. And their commitment is evident: Every evening 350 covered, satisfied customers, perfect quality dishes and service times. “If I do it, that I’m not a great chef, everyone can do it,” repeats Acampora.
Behind the awarded pizzas and the rooms always full there is much more: there is the idea that catering can be a tool for social redemption, learning, dignity. “The person is not only in the center, it’s everything,” explains Acampora. “Catering is a means of building a better world.”
A world that still struggles to welcome diversity. “In Lombardy, also this year, companies paid 80 million euros in penalties in order not to hire people with disabilities, despite the laws the obligations”, denounces the founder of Pizzaut. The rule requires companies to reserve 7% of the places for protected categories, but there is a way out: by paying 9,000 euros in advance, you can avoid taking on. “It is an absurdity: first a strong principle, then an unacceptable shortcut,” attacks Acampora. “The laws must be changed.”
The inclusion you learn at the table
Still, something moves. The numbers demonstrate this: every year thousands of students visit Pizzaut during school hours, transforming a simple pizza into a civic education lesson. “In 2023 there were about 5,000,” says Acampora. “The school is understanding that it can also be taught like this: by touching a model of inclusion by hand».
And it shows the fact that Pizzaut’s story enters the topics of maturity. Just a few days ago, a teacher sent the photo of the task written by a boy of Fifth Superior to Nico. “I don’t know him, I don’t know who he is, but in his theme he spoke of autism and pizzaut,” he says with pride. It is not an isolated case: more and more students choose the project for their exams, including third grade. “It means that something is changing,” Nico observes. “The road is long, but the direction is the right one.”
A change that starts from the food, but it comes well beyond the dish. “When you eat in a restaurant, live an experience inside: meet people, look at their job»Explains Acampora. «So, whoever comes to us does not only take away the taste of pizza, but a message. Maybe the next time you meet a person with disabilities, it doesn’t stop at prejudices ».
A secret ingredient that is not taught
There is an element that makes pizza restaurants unique. It is not only the quality of the pizza, already rewarded and appreciated. It is not only the competence acquired by the boys in the room and in the kitchen. It is an invisible, but fundamental ingredient: love. “It is not rhetoric,” assures Acampora. “It’s really love. Our guys are needed thinking that in that gesture there is their future, their dignity, their competence ». A value that makes the difference, well beyond the performance.
Forbes’ recognition, in this sense, is a powerful signal. “Pizzaut is proof that profitable and inclusive business opportunities can be generated“, The American magazine said. And the fact that the social insertion passes from a pizza, from a smiling waiter or a place full of life, is the demonstration that inclusion can and must become everyday life.
The chef Olympus, the dream of the boys
The stage of the award ceremony, the selfies with Cracco and Borghese, the embrace of Cannavacciuolo, the friendship with Bottura: everything helps to give visibility to the cause. “Like institutions, chefs can also break down barriers,” says Acampora. “When a great restaurateur takes an autistic boy, he sends a very strong message.”
Although “I don’t feel worthy of being among the 25 most influential chefs,” he admits sincerely, “I am happy that Forbes has turned on a reflector on Pizzaut. We learn life, future, dignity and hope. And who comes to eat with us feels it, lives it, brings it with them». Perhaps this is the secret of Nico Acampora’s success. It is not just about well -made pizzas or prestigious prizes, but a dream that becomes a project, a project that turns into a true, stable, dignified work for dozens of otherwise invisible boys and girls.
And of a future that, slowly, is written. “Even among the school desks, with a theme of maturity of one of his students dedicated to the current affairs in which he spoke of Pizzaut’s Andi», Chiosa moved by the quotation and sharing of the teacher Nico Acampora. Also on the pages of Forbes. Even in the heart of those who, after having launched the pizza tot, no longer look at the world with the same eyes.
Photo © Pizzaut Page FB
