I could have been accused of having run away to join the circus in Kimberly before and now it looks like I've entered the world of the Italian mafia.
This is Pierluigi. He is 3 times the size of me and is covered in more tattoos than my facebook friends. He owns and runs the very successful and well known Roscioli Bakery and Restaurant. His pizza bianca, spaghetti carbonara, stock of Italian cheese and wine are just some of the regular staples featured by all kinds of reviews. And he is buds with Anthony Bourdain.
...Except I didn't know all of these when I met him...I just wandered in off the streets. In retrospect, my ignorance landed me a great opportunity. Had I known how famous he was, I would have convinced myself that there'd be no chance and walked on by.
I suspect the reason why he was approached to be on No Reservations was not entirely due to the success of his bakery, restaurant or his taste of excellent Italian food. I suspect it also has something to do with the fact that his bad boy image matched the irreverence of Anthony Bourdain.
Either there is absolutely nothing bad with this baddie or I have been, again, incredibly lucky. Every time I made a request and expected Pierluigi to say no and put an end to my jolly adventures, he responds by giving me nothing short of full access. And I mean INSTANT FULL ACCESS TO EVERYTHING, ANYTIME.
This was the entire conversation we had when I first met him :
Hello. I've been visiting bakeries in Europe learning how to make real artisan bread. Can I come and have a look at your bakery?
When?
Er...I'm in Rome for only a week, so...tomorrow?
Unfortunately the bakers work at night.
(Shit, this means no.)
But you can come tomorrow at 6:30 in the morning.
Really?! For how long?
For as long as you want, until you are tired.
When the bread section finished its work by 10:30, I asked if I could hang by the pasticceria, to look at how the nice torte and biscuits got made and this was how it went :
Sure, have a look. Paolo! Fabrizio! (pastry chefs rush out). This is Ai Ming. She wants to have a look. Vai! Vai!
When the pastry bakers were done for the day, I decided to go for broke and hit him with a multi-day pass, I thought this must be pushing it. Again, all he said was :
Sure, you can come back any time and whenever you want.
And on my last day, when I said farewell, he ended it with :
When you are in Rome again, you can come back any time you want. This is your home.
If his tattoos didn't have the mirror effect of making me feel tough and hard, I am certain I would have hugged him and cried. And for a moment I think, this is the closest I'll ever come to to being completely taken by a bad boy.
