Trailblazing Pizza Maker Giorgia Caporuscio
When Giorgia Caporuscio came to New York City from Italy at age 19, she could not have imagined the trajectory her career would take – starting with industry-leading accolades. Caporuscio was the youngest of only two women ever to win first place in the “Classic Pizza” category of Naples’ largest and most prestigious pizza competition. She earned 50 Top Pizza’s 2024 Pizza Maker of the Year and its Empower Women Award. Her restaurant, Don Antonio, is Michelin-recognized and rated one of the world’s best pizzerias.
After a transition delay during the pandemic, Caporuscio’s took the helm at Don Antonio in 2024. That journey began long before, as she set her sights on creating her own indelible mark among the world’s best pizza makers.
Caporuscio’s Neapolitan pizza foundation was laid at Kesté Pizza and Vino under her father, Roberto Caporuscio, a leader in the Neapolitan pizza movement in the United States. As she worked alongside her father developing Neapolitan pizzaioli across the country, she developed a deep love for pizza making.
Caporuscio often refers to making pizza as her yoga, or a zen-like experience. “I always feel relaxed when I stretch the dough,” she says. “You’re not working with anyone else. It’s your hands, and it embodies your mind. So, if you’re not relaxed, your hands are going to make a mistake.”
She goes on to say, “My approach to Neapolitan pizza and fermentation is really delicate. So, I need to be really soft. When I teach other people how to make a Neapolitan pizza, you need to control the power that you have in your hands.”
Since opening in 2012, Don Antonio has featured an extensive pizza menu. Substitutions were not allowed, as pizzas were meticulously crafted to highlight ingredients. As Caporuscio has introduced more of her own vision for the pizzeria, she has maintained core components of Don Antonio while creating a menu that is more flexible and incorporates a more seasonal approach.
With her culinary curiosity, she’s also experimented with flours. “I want to go back to the simplicity of using just 00 flour.”
Leading a top-performing restaurant with her husband, Matteo, and two children under age three, creating simplicity in the processes is the goal. “A simple, organized environment and kitchen give you success,” she says. “I think that’s why after six years – after the pandemic, after so many changes that happened in this city, in the food world and the world – we’re still here.”
With a sense of purpose to do more, Caporuscio eyes her own development, growing her business and igniting a new generation of pizza makers. She says, “This is just a start.”
