So, you think you know good pizza? We all have our favourites, but if you’ve never tried the real deal – authentic, made-to-order, wood-oven crispy, fresher than fresh Neopolitan pizza – your life is about to change.
900 Degrees, an upscale pizzeria set to open on Bernard this summer, is taking pizza to a serious new level. So serious, in fact, that it will become the first pizzeria in Montreal to be VPN certified. If you’ve never contemplated the complexities of pizza-making, prepare to be amazed. VPN, the Associazione of Vera Pizza Napolitana (possibly the coolest association in existence), is a legal entity established by the Italian government that sets out strict requirements in order to maintain the culture and technique of Neapolitan pizza-making. “In Italy, being a pizza maker is a whole métier,” explains 900 Degrees co-owner Dominic Bujold. “We want to put the art back into the process of pizza-making.”
So what exactly do the ‘pizza police’ set down as the Neapolitan super standard? To qualify as VPN certified, a pizzeria has to use only fresh, all-natural, non-processed ingredients, employ only approved equipment, and adhere to traditional pizza-making methods. Tomatoes have to be from a certain variety, the flour has to meet a highly refined ’00’ standard, the mozzarella has to be certified. Each and every Neapolitan pizza must include extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, grated hard cheese, oregano, and sea salt, and we’re just getting started. The VPN sets parameters on the size and shape of the final product, the cooking time, and last but certainly not least, the temperature of the oven – a smoking hot 900 degrees.
Not only will 900 Degrees adhere to this long list of prerequisites, it is going above and beyond in order to offer Montrealers the highest quality product available. The pizza dough, which will be made in-house with a special Italian dough mixer, will be left to rise for 48 hours before taking the plunge into the oven. Why the rise time? Pizza made with this type of dough is easier to digest and prevents you from having that post-pizza fullness. Aside from their extraordinary dough, 900 Degrees will be the only pizzeria in all of Canada to offer their very own, handcrafted mozzarella di buffalla. Yes, homemade cheese… it doesn’t get fresher than that.
Dough? Check. Cheese? Check. Now, meat lovers, listen up. 900 Degrees will have its very own meat cellar to house all the charcuterie, prosciutto and delicious pepperoni that will grace the tops of their pies. The pepperoni, an organic creation made especially for the restaurant by Viandes de Charlevoix, will be dried rather than cooked. “Cooked pepperoni is fine to use in a sandwich, but not for pizza,” explains Dominic, who spent a year in Naples conducting pizza-making research. (And now we’re all thinking of quitting our day jobs.) “Sometimes meat is cooked before it goes on the pizza, and then it’s too hard to eat. Sometimes it’s cut too thick and takes over the whole dish.” The 900 Degrees pizzaiolos (master pizza makers) will slice up incredibly thin pieces of meat just before the pizza is put into the oven to ensure the perfect bite.
“People in Montreal know good food,” says Dominic. “I think it’s time we have a place where the pizza is just as good as the atmosphere.” 900 Degrees wants you to love their pizza, but they also want you to stop by for a glass of wine with a plate of antipasti or for a pint of one of their many Italian beers. “I’m a real foodie and I believe strongly in this concept,” says Dominic. “I’m confident it would be a success even in Naples.” With an opening set for mid-July and a food truck ready to set up shop at Osheaga, 900 Degrees is casual-cool with all the right ingredients to serve up some of Montreal’s most savoury slices.
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