Roberto Davanzo

Coming Up

Roberto Davanzo trained at Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli.

Where They Are Now

Since 2016, Davanzo has served as co-founder and chef of BOB Alchimia a Spicchi in Montepaone Lido, Italy. His cooking is centered on local raw materials and the enhancement of Calabrian products, a focus that gives the restaurant its clearest line of thought. Two signatures make that line concrete. Amatricalabra is a Calabrian version of amatriciana, named like a bridge between a familiar Italian reference and the region Davanzo chooses to foreground. Ricordo Mammola is built with pink garlic from Nicastro, ’nduja from Spilinga and grated Mammola ricotta cheese, a composition that names its places as clearly as its ingredients. The work feels close to his own explanation of origin: chance opened the door, but repetition, training and regional attention gave the practice its form. At the restaurant, Calabria is not scenery; it is the material he works with.

Signature

Roberto's signature dishes include Amatricalabra, Ricordo Mammola, Cardinale's “Sweet Hazelnut Focaccia with Hazelnut Custard, and Metamorfosi.

In Their Words “It was an idea full of romance, living together, having a bakery for bread — we made nine kinds — and in the evening baking round pizzas.” “I was a kid, still underage, in the early 2000s, when my father sent me to spend a few months in Eraclea, in Veneto, at my uncles' house.”

Honors

Recognition arrived with specific dishes and rankings rather than broad claims. In 2019, Gambero Rosso named the best sweet pizza of the year at BOB Alchimia a Spicchi in Montepaone, Italy. In 2021, Gambero Rosso recognized BOB Drive with best regional street food. The same year, 50 Top Pizza gave the Special Award 'Best Performance of the Year' to BOB Alchimia a Spicchi in Italy. Also in 2021, Gambero Rosso awarded Tre Spicchi to the restaurant. Taken together, those honors trace a narrow and useful portrait: sweet pizza, regional street food, performance, and Tre Spicchi recognition, all tied to a cook whose vocabulary remains grounded in Calabria.