Mozzico in Roman means “bite / to bite” which is the most natural thing to do after buying a slice of pizza. Daniela (Dani as friends and family call her) grew up by snacking on the pizza from the pizzeria in her neighborhood in Rome. Not only that, but her sister always asked her for a “mozzichetto” (lil’bite). Therefore picking the name was pretty obvious: something that recalled the act of biting, the roots of Rome and, of course, family. Her family played an important role and must be in her DNA, because her grand grandfather was cooking for the Italian Royal Family, the Savoia’s, and many family members work in the food and beverage industry in Italy and abroad.

Daniela (or Dani, like friends and family call her) graduated in Tourism and Hospitality Business in Rome, the eternally touristic city.
At 20 years old she got hired by one of the most prestigious supertuscan wines producers, Castello del Terriccio, and she fell in love with the wine industry. Since then, she has collaborated with wineries in Tuscany, Lazio, Calabria. When hospitality married with technology, she became a consultant in the hospitality web marketing between Rome and Paris, and later joined the first EMEA team of web consultants for GoDaddy in Belfast, United Kingdom. Her love for wine never ceased, and during her WSET journey at the Ulster University, she accepted a role with the biggest independent online Champagne and wines distributor, where she happily followed multiple aspects from sales to tasting events and purchasing, along with the ecommerce and online inventory.

In 2019 she moved to California where she met Troy, a South Dakota born and raised. The pandemic started and the terrible homesick feeling led her to start playing with flour and yeast in order to recreate something resemblant to the pizza in Rome. 

First by following the courses of Officina Cruscaurbana by Barbara Frangi, in Rome, she started practising the Roman style at home, for family and friends. After buying some more equipment she realized that her hobby was getting more serious. Therefore, after deciding to follow Troy to South Dakota, she bought a trailer and under the guidance of the pizza chef  Riccardo Iapadre (Pizzeria Spiga, Rome and Ristorante La Valle, in Amatrice, Lazio) she built and opened “Mozzico”.

Pizza is just a way for her to bring Rome to South Dakota. Once you bite that pizza, you can taste its signature crust, given by high hydration and long proofing dough. The flour used is non GMO non bromated, the tomatoes come from Naples and the only oil used is Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Europe. All these ingredients together with fresh milky mozzarella cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano, get baked in a Moretti oven, from Italy at 750F. The final result is a very light, highly digestible crust with two textures at the same time: crunchy at the bottom and fluffy on top.