-One hundred years. -One hundred years.
We are in Sanità which is an amazing historical place.
-A very special place. -A special place, yes.
And why is that?
It has an impressive energy,
and we've always respected the community
because it's important to maintain their energy in the district.
In the early days in Sanità, let's say around the time I was 11,
this was a neighborhood with a high rate of crime.
Because of the mafia, one or two people would be murdered every month.
And the people from other districts of Naples
didn't come to my district.
We managed to create a network
of young guys from the district.
And through art and culture
we managed, step by step,
to change what the district of Rione Sanità used to be.
-Stanley. -Hi.
-Good morning. -Morning.
How are you?
-Breadcrumbs. -I don't like it.
It's too heavy.
Guys.
-Legend, Salvatore. -Hello.
The eggplant parmigiana.
-Shall we cut it? -Sure.
Let's serve Stanley first, come on.
Serve Stanley.
That's typical from Naples.
100% Naples.
Long live Naples!
Here we are on Via Roma.
This is "pasta street."
This street has become famous
for its exposure to the sea breeze
that helps the pasta dry slowly.
Then the stones also make a big difference.
Our pavement is made of volcanic rock from Vesuvius.
It absorbs the heat and then releases it.
Up till the '60s the streets were full of pasta, left and right,
left to dry for 24-36 hours.
We know pasta was being made in Gragnano as far back as 1500.
Look how little water is in the dough.
-It looks like sand. -Yes.
Look, this is the semola.
This is the water.
The important thing is the pressure that pushes the pasta into the die
so that it comes out in those shapes.
Here you are.
-What are these called? -These are called Trottole.
How much pasta every day?
Three tons.
It's a small quantity, very small.
Because our drying process is very specific
but the things that take longer always turn out better.
We dry it in these chambers.
-Right, these chambers. -Are you ready?
Breathe in.
It's a sauna. A pasta sauna.
A pasta sauna, yes.
Consider that this aroma and this heat...
just comes from the pasta.
There is no added heat.
-Can I see it? -Take a look.
The pasta rests in here for 36 hours.
When it's completely full, we close them in and can't reopen
until they've completely dried.
Well, we have to close it then.
No, otherwise we'll dry up too.
What are we doing?
Let's turn the stove on. Start full throttle.
We add some oil.
I'm going to make you some...
"spaghettino alle vongole fujute" which means runaway clams.
You can only taste their aroma. The clams are an illusion.
Let's start.
Is this "poor" cuisine?
-Extremely poor. -Extremely poor.
So then, garlic...
a couple of stalks of parsley,
a whole chili pepper...
and we will leave it to brown.
Here we have the "piennolo," some typical hanging cherry tomatoes.
So, the technique to avoid getting all red...
so it does not look like you were shot with a tomato gun.
You put the tomatoes in water and squeeze them.
You see? So simple.
Now we add them.
So,
now we add the...
here it is.
This is the secret ingredient.
Stones.
I've never heard of this.
May I?
Smell it. See? This is the sea.
-It's the sea. -The sea.
That's it. We place them in here.
We choose the ones which are richer...
in algae.
Now it's time to add...
our spaghettino.
It's the thinnest kind in production.
When we were young and had no money,
we'd come back from the beach starving,
a spaghetti with stones and a nice glass of beer,
add in a guitar and you've got a fantastic time.
Isn't it gorgeous?
Let's turn it off.
OK, so,
let's finish it off...
with our pesto.
And it's ready.
Here it is.
-Thanks, Chef. -My pleasure. Thank you.
The great thing about this dish is eating it like this.
I am too...
-Wait. -I'm too short.
I'll move it closer to you. There you are.
Doesn't smell bad, right?
The sea.
Maybe even too much sea.
Like you're diving into the sea.
So, I need to buy one of these.
I'll sort you out.
This is a variety called Procida lemons.
Their white part, the albedo,
is much thicker and sweetish.
-It's different from the other ones, -It's different--
the white bit is too bitter.
But in these lemons, it's very sweet.
Are these in other parts of Italy or not?
-No. -Only here?
Yes, only here.
Once upon a time, these lemons had a low market value
because they had little aesthetic defects.
My first job, when I was 13, was collecting lemons and
then going to sell them in the fruit markets in Naples or Pozzuoli.
And our lemons didn't get bought at all.
Did you study to be a chef?
My high school was a hospitality school on Ischia island.
I worked and studied at the same time.
I got the ship every morning from Procida at 7:30 to go to Ischia
to attend school. Then in the afternoon I'd come back for work.
-Yes. -Yes?
I've never been to Procida before, only Ischia,
Capri, never here. It's so beautiful.
Procida is very beautiful.
It's a small community where everyone helps each other
and it's a wonderful place to live.
Come on, I'll introduce you to Francesco.
-This is Francesco, our chef. -Hi, Francesco.
-I'm Stanley. Nice to meet you. -Good morning.
Thank you.
So this is lemon?
This is lemon. As I explained before,
the white part is much thicker,
and it's called the albedo.
-It's sweet. -Sweet.
The white part of our lemon is very sweet.
For this pesto, we use the juice of Procida lemons,
fresh mint and basil. Extra-virgin olive oil.
Garlic, pine nuts and grated cheese.
We use a cheese made only with Italian milk.
Chef will make it.
Okay, now it's time for the spaghetti.
Where are the mussels from?
The mussels are here. We already blanched them.
Yes, from Vivara.
Away from the fire it melts slowly,
then bit by bit we add the mussels.
OK, we're ready, just a bit more pasta water.
Is this really just from Procida?
Just from Procida. Everything...
lemons from Procida.
-Everything from Procida. -Everything from Procida.
So, we're in Ercolano...
And here, thanks to Vesuvius's volcanic soil and to the sea,
we manage to grow something magical.
Here he is, at work.
Hello, hello...
Hello. Nice to meet you.
-My pleasure. -Hello.
Have you been doing this your whole life?
-Yes. I'm the fourth generation -Really?
cultivating the Piennolo del Vesuvio tomato.
-Right here? -Here.
We can only cultivate it here, at the foot of Vesuvius,
because, look, we have a soil that's very sandy
and full of minerals.
This tomato, as you can see,
it stays low.
It's a lot of work, it requires many hours of work,
and it grows low so we're always crouching.
Ah, yeah.
We work on quality, not on quantity.
-Should we taste the tomato? -Yes, yes.
-May I? -Sure, sure.
See, that's how we eat it.
-We clean it... -We clean it, right.
because we're in the countryside.
Intense.
So intense.
Tell me your story.
I've got Cameroonian heritage.
I came here because of my studies.
And then I tried working around Italy
in order to pay my university costs.
So, yes, I moved here,
I was told that if I wanted to work,
I should speak to the foreman.
Foreman?
A few days later this big man came in.
I saw everyone going over to him
with their documents.
He said, "You're hired. You start tomorrow at 5:00 a.m.
We meet here at 4:00 a.m., then we leave."
Our job was to fill these cases of tomatoes.
One of these cases was about 660 pounds,
300 kilograms of tomatoes.
The foreman only pays you when the case is full.
€3.5 for 300 kg.
And the foreman then says,
"You've got to pay me €5 for the transport."
Then there's the sandwich, like this €3.50.
Water for €1.50.
So, for a 14 euros earned, I got only 4.
In the end after a few days,
I said, "That's enough."
I organized a strike with my friends.
I've been threatened by the foreman.
The difference between a fair-wage product and one that is not, is 10 cents a tin.
Because otherwise we'll keep fueling this model
of capitalism, where the product is worth more than human beings.
Because this is in our society today, this matters more than me…
-Yes. -...the worker.
Yes.
Here we sell the cheese.
This is the counter with all the products from buffalo milk.
I'll let you taste the mozzarella which is our most important product.
Just a little salt, so you can taste the milk, it's intense.
They are swamp animals, they love water.
What's the difference between cow's milk and buffalo milk?
Buffalo milk is two and a half times fattier.
The yield is different. It yields more because there is more fat.
-How many are there? -We have 450 animals.
Buffalos arrived here in the 10th century, in Norman times, from Sicily.
Before, buffaloes were used as working animals
to pull ploughs, to work the land.
For agriculture.
Then they discovered the milk was very good and nutritious
and Benedictine monks of Capua started making mozzarella.
They called them "mozzate".
-Hey, Stanley. -Hi.
Come and have a look.
So, Stanley, this area is called Capo di Fiume.
Already in medieval times,
there were mills here and water was used differently.
And it's in the last 22 years
that the restaurant was born and we built this place up.
We use all buffalo milk-based products.
Normal ricotta,
and the smoked one.
Yeah.
And this one - you know when you're bringing mozzarellas back home?
That you have water that is a bit salty?
Well, this one we use to cook the pasta.
It's hot...
Can you taste the salinity?
And we'll put it here.
Are you from here?
-I'm Neapolitan. -Neapolitan.
And for how long have you been here?
-Six years. -Six years.
Do you like it?
Yes.
-Well, it's beautiful, right? -Beautiful.
For the sauce we just melt the butter.
And the water we talked about.
So, let's get the pasta out.
See, now the heat...
and it melts.
You have a bit of sauce, wait.
-So... -Thank you.
And that's it.
Now we're putting it on the plate.
We're going halves on this. Not all for you, OK?
Now I'm starving.
Can you see the texture?
It's creamier.
Can you tell the pasta was cooked al dente?
Yes.
The acidity, the creaminess?
Yes.
It feels like you're eating a mozzarella.
Super interesting.
Thank you, Stanley.
It's a clever combination.
It's genius.
...apple of our eye.
Can I?
Was it all done by hand?
So, this is...
This is the Falanghina.
-Thank you for everything. -Thank you.