Meet the twin Italian brothers behind a pizza renaissance in the heart of Ayr.
Inseparable pair Mattia Piane and Jacopo Delle Piane are finally living the dream after a long road to open their first ever take-away, The Pizzaioli.
They say all roads lead to Rome, and for the brothers, both 28, their journey has seen them leave the Italian capital – their home town – to a tiny corner of New Bridge Street, for a venture that has been years in the making.
With them, they’ve brought a taste of the eternal city, dishing out authentic thin and crispy Roman pizzas – which are going down a treat amongst local foodies since opening in December.
Mattia told Ayrshire Live: “A pizzaioli is the name given to a pizza chef in Italy, they do nothing else but make pizzas.
“We are two pizza chefs and we have set out to bring the most authentic pizzas to Ayr.”
“The pizzas we are making are the ones we grew up with. They are Roman style, thin and crispy.
“Everything we make it fresh. We prepare the dough every morning, and we source the ingredients from an Italian supplier which has a base in Glasgow.”
Mattia boasts that his pizza’s are so fresh they might even be healthy for you.
He said: “People see pizza as an unhealthy food.
“But when it is made properly with fresh ingredients, it is so light and balanced.”
Their offerings have also taken inspiration from Siciliy, with Italian treats cannolis flying out the door.
The delicate Italian pastries are filled with a sweet filling made from ricotta cheese.
And Jacopo is something of a cannoli-expert after mastering the art of them whilst spending three years on the Mediterranean island.
Mattia said: “When Jacopo got back from Sicily and he made me the cannolis, I told him that when we open a shop we are going to sell these.
“When we first opened we sold 400 in 10 days, they sell out fast people here are loving them.”
The pair's Roman revolution was sparked after Jacopo left sizzling Sicily for the South Ayrshire coast.
In 2016 the pair reunited with Mattia already working out of Troon as head chef in Lido, Troon.
Jacopo joined his brother in the Buzzworks kitchen as they plotted their dream venue.
Mattia said: Mattia told Ayrshire Live: “We’ve both been together in Scotland for seven years now."
“My partner lives in Troon so I decided to give it a go. Jacopo came to join me in 2016 and I managed to get him a job in Lido working alongside me.”
“I gained such valuable experience from working at Lido.
"Then when the pandemic hit, it give us time to plan and an idea of how to run things better.
“We thought we would start small and see what the reaction is. Then we’ll take it from there."
Mattia added: “I’ve always had a dream to have something of my own since I was a child.
“To do it by my brother’s side is a dream come true.
“It’s been a great response, the feedback we have had is amazing.
“Our next dream would be to open a restaurant, but right now we’re focused on making this a success.”
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