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Louisville Pizza artist's love of fermentation goes beyond the dough

There's nothing new about fermentation for pizza crafters since the crust itself is the product of dough fermentation. But when it comes to the toppings, this is a new area and Louisville, Kentucky's Pizza Lupo is mastering the culinary craft.

Pizza Lupo's Max Balliet at Pizza Lupo's giant red oven. Photo credit Josh Keown, Estes PR

February 27, 2019 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

There's nothing new about fermentation for real pizza crafters since the crust itself is the product of dough fermentation in most cases. When it comes to the toppings, however, this is a new area and one chef from the foodie city of Louisville, Kentucky, is crazy about creating these types of flavors for his high-end pizza concept, Pizza Lupo, in the city's Butchertown area.

The restaurant — recently named the best new restaurant by Louisville magazine— is devoted to the true and original art of Neopolitan pizza as created first in Naples and mastered by the Italians. In fact, the restaurant's name, Lupo, means wolf in Italian, a reference to the founding of Rome by those two famous brother wolves, Romulus and Remus.

"To me, this is an art studio. ... This is a success in my mind because people can sense that there's someone who cares and our real core base — the one I'm trying to develop — are those who see that we take it all a little further than we need to. We consider it an expression of ourselves."

-Max Balliet, Pizza Lupo

That kind of context seems to be very important to Balliet, who sees himself and his restaurant staff more as culinary artists devoted to an ancient craft rather than solely chefs. And true art — in food or anything else — not only requires expertise and time but money and appreciation from fans who are willing to pay $13 to $17 for a 12-inch pie, among other things. 

"To me, this is an art studio," Balliet explained in an interview at the restaurant recently. "I don't know that I could delegate or franchise this. What we create here ... is art and that's the way we look at it.  ... And likewise, this is a success in my mind because people can sense that there's someone who cares and our real core base — the one I'm trying to develop — are those who see that we take it all a little further than we need to. We consider it an expression of ourselves."  

Maybe that view of his craft as "art" is part of the reason Balliet is so enamored with fermented toppings. After all, fermenting foods is just the kind of quasi-experimental stuff that a good artist loves to play around with in hopes of discovering something breathtaking. 

"Fermentation is very much at the core of what we do here because every single day we make pizza dough and pizza dough is fermented," he said, pushing forward a plate of chickpea miso. 

"The health benefits of fermented foods (are) cool, but that's not what really got me into it. I just think it's interesting to take something and control the levels of decomposition on it — to be an active player in a process that takes place with the enzymes that exist within it. ... It really opens up the door to you in ways that you can cook that are just completely wild."

So where does it show up? Well just about everywhere, from kimchi on pizza to fermented chilis in house-made pasta. In fact, the customer-craved spicy honey on the brands "Sing like a bee" pie is created by mixing chili peppers, garlic and honey together "just letting it ferment," Balliet said.

Fermentation is having its day

Of course, Balliet is not alone in his love of fermented toppings. In fact, it would be no stretch to say that fermentation is having a "culinary moment," according to Suzy Badarraco, founcer of Culinary Tides, a Portland-based food trend think tank. As she explained it, the popularity of fermented foods is the fusion of the public's growing affinity for health and wellness, along with global travel. 

"Yogurt was the poster child ...  as it became know that yogurt is tied to digestive health, then Greek yogurt stepped into the spotlight next," Badarraco said in an interview with Pizza Marketplace. "Travel enters with Nordic cuisine, interest in regional Asian specialties, like Asian pickles, miso, kimchi and natto. Russia and Eastern Bloc Europe enter with sauerkraut. And just so beverage isn't left out, kombucha and kefir entered the picture (and) gochujang and fish sauce lend voice to the seasoning group."

But just as salt tends to make the fermentation world go 'round, fermented pizza ingredients tend to also make the specialty beverage world, which is true for Pizza Lupo with its selection of the  Italian drink known as Amaro. Like fermentation, these beverages also have elements of health and wellness and exotic travel to them. 

"They're infused spirits, like a base spirit like grappa (grape-based brandy), infused with botanicals. And some of it is wild!" Balliet said. "These are infusions originally designed as tonics and medicines ... and you can nerd out on it like you would craft beer. In fact, I think it's gaining a little bit of traction. ... We have like 20 of them up there," he said pointing to the restaurant's bank of bar beverages lined up on its 100-plus-year-old brick walls. "We're even making our own ... and we've got one now that is fermented chestnuts soaking in grain alcohol and it's delicious."

Pizza Lupo's Amaro selection is another example of how this brand and its restaurateur-chef extend the artisanal and fine-dining feel throughout the menu with intentional, time-consuming offerings that require customers to indulge their dollars and senses. 

"There are people who don't really care about food and don't really get what we do here who will come here and say, 'Yeah, that's pretty good,'" Balliet said. "That's fine and I want them to keep coming back, but that little nudge —what really gives us that edge is that we're really spending way more time than needed to make this all happen here —and there are people out there who notice that ... people who want interesting things put together thoughtfully."

Pizza as art defies duplication

Balliet is quick to tell you that this is not an approach to pizza restaurant creation that will travel well, however. In other words, he is certain Pizza Lupo could never be franchised or duplicated because its kitchen staff's capabilities are unique to those that Balliet describes as having something of a screw loose in their commitment to great pizza and its preparation. 

Nonetheless, adding the delights of fermented ingredients to pizza creation is something Balliet encourages other restaurateurs to try. And though Balliet makes it sound like creating these unusual concoctions and their flavors is as easy as tossing table scraps and salt into a jar, he said there are some basic ground rules to follow.

"It's very easy," he began. "Just take any non-starchy vegetable —so not potatoes and not beans — and weigh it. Then, add by the weight ... 3 percent in salt. Then, just let it sit out ... at least three days. That's when you'll first start to see what it's going to be. ...

"Then, let it go as long as you want, they will grow molds, but you can scrape it off and you can still eat it -- the mold that vegetables (do not try this with meats) grow. ... But you have to keep tasting it. you have to taste it and you have to keep tasting it ... because there's a sweet spot when you say, 'I'm going to put it in the 'fridge. Then it keeps forever. ... And the one rule of thumb is simple — if it tastes good, eat it." 

First and third photos: Josh Keown, Estes PR

Second photo: S.A. Whitehead

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.