By Jaden Gerard Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) — Peppino’s owner John Vigliotti has been around pizza almost his whole life. His parents had a pizzeria as a child where he started working when he was around 10 years old. He worked in a pizzeria all throughout high school and bought Peppino’s when he was 23.
“It’s been pretty much a love affair,” Vigliotti said, “…you’re gonna make it into something that somebody’s gonna eventually enjoy and eat, and so much of our lives are centered around food and I think all of that together really gave me a lot of passion to want to be in the food industry.”
Now, he is making award-winning creations such as the new “Primo Posto” calzone, which is now on sale. The calzone won first place at the “World Calzone Championship” in Atlantic City, N.J.
The inside of the calzone has ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Italian sausage, and pistachio pesto. The outside is covered with crushed tomatoes, a layer of mozzarella cheese, a drizzle of pistachio pesto, and crushed pistachios.
Vigliotti came up with the initial idea for this calzone a few weeks ago. It’s inspired by a pasta dish he used to sell at a previous restaurant. The idea continued to evolve until he made the final version just 48 hours before the competition.
Vigliotti’s favorite part about owning a restaurant is serving the community with his food and giving customers something they will enjoy. With this calzone, Vigliotti appreciates the opportunity to represent his community and give them something to be proud of.
“It was a good feeling knowing that I could, you know, bring some pride to the Syracuse area, you know, put Syracuse on the map on that level…one of the best calzones coming out of that area,” he said.
