Gazmir Zeneli

Teaches at La Scuola at Eataly Flatiron

Gazmir Zeneli was born and raised in Albania as the youngest of 4 brothers. Some of his earliest memories as a child are being in the kitchen where his mother used to make bread from scratch every week with mother yeast and a wood fire oven. When he was very young, his family moved to Caserta, a small town outside of Napoli. In Caserta, Gazmir followed his love for food by training to be a cook while going to school, working in some of the most iconic restaurants in the town. It was through these experiences that he discovered his true passion for pizza and started training to become a professional pizzaiolo. In 2008, he took this passion with him to New York, where he worked in several pizzerias in Brooklyn and Manhattan before officially become part of Rossopomodoro in 2011. Gazmir whole-heartedly believes that the secret for the perfect pizza is the use of great ingredients and the respect of tradition. This, together with his years of experience as a professional pizzaiolo and his training at Rossopomodoro, led him to win the US Caputo Cup Pizza Competition for the Best Neapolitan Style Pizza in US in January 2015. He currently is Executive Pizza Chef at Eataly NY. Even if he loves pizza and would spend his entire days and nights making it, his favorite dish is spaghetti with fresh tomatoes!