Passionate pizza-maker Claudio Russomanno has tantalised many a taste bud at The Fraternity Club.
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And many who have tasted his scrumptious pizzas reckon the flourishing flour scientist from Wollongong has the right ingredients for success at the annual Australian Pizza Championships in Sydney next Wednesday.
Hailing from the pizza-scented streets of Calabria in Italy, the passionate 32-year-old has become a popular attraction at The Frat as a prominent pizza chef.
With a strong base to work from, topped with a sprinkling of skill and enthusiasm, Russomanno will put his creative talents to the test in the highly-ranked categories of 'Italian Classic' and 'Pizza Dessert' at Australia's elite pizza event.
"I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm very confident," he said.
Russomanno is a graduate of the Associazione Pizzeria Italiana school in Rome, which operates worldwide and produces a variety of quality flour.
It was here that he studied the science behind the perfect flour base and ingredients.
"A good pizza for me means a digestible, nicely cooked, well-balanced product with the right crunchiness and softness at the same time," he said.
"I also work on the pH of the dough which needs to be between 4.5 and 5.5 in order to give the acidity to the dough for a real smell of traditional pizza.
"For this major event I am going to present a different technique from a normal pizza that recalls the croissant technique. I replicate the same layers of its dough, folding and brushing so it (the pizza) has a light and desirable base."
A lot of good judges reckon Russomanno will do well at the Australian Pizza Championships.
The man himself is also quietly confident of success at the event being held at the International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour on September 11.
"I feel that my passion, skills, expertise and ability to think outside of the box will be the difference," he said.
"I hope to impress the judges with simple techniques, yet enhance their taste palates once they cut their teeth into a slice of my carefully created pizza."