Dani Branca left Salerno, a port city 56 kilometers from Naples, to work at a neighborhood pizzeria in Guaratinguetá, in the heart of the Paraíba Valley in São Paulo state. Exactly 21 years later, he is considered the best pizza maker in Brazil — and the 42nd best in the world — by the international ranking The Best Pizza Awards 2026 .
This somewhat improbable story takes on even more curious dimensions when you learn that he lives in the triangle formed by Guaratinguetá, where he lives with his wife, Sarah, and their three children; São Paulo, where he runs the Soffio pizzeria; and Santo Antônio do Pinhal, high in the Serra da Mantiqueira mountains, where he is the head honcho of the Sabiá Olive Oil Pizzeria.
Between that trip in 2005 and the award, received on June 24th in Milan, two decades passed, facing challenges quite common to all immigrants. The choice of Brazil as a destination, for example, was almost random. A businessman from Guaratinguetá, of Italian descent, had bought a pizzeria and needed someone to run the business.
She remembered her niece, who lived in Italy and was dating a young man who had recently graduated from a vocational cooking course. There was no need to call them twice.
“I was 22 years old, I had already done some internships and I decided to give it a try. I was very young, if it went wrong, I could go back to my mother's house,” Branca tells NeoFeed . Six months later, his girlfriend returned to Italy and he stayed—never to leave again.
Without speaking a word of Portuguese, a language he learned the hard way in the restaurant's dining room, the young Italian still used his full first name, Daniele, when he was tasked with improving the pizzas at Forneria Paestum.
He proposed to his employers that they implement the Neapolitan style — long-fermented dough, stretched by hand, yielding individual discs with high, airy edges. Topped with a few good ingredients. "On the fourth day, the most frequent customers called me and threatened not to return," he confesses.
Branca then opted to stay in the middle ground—she went back to making large, eight-slice pizzas, but with well-fermented dough. She surrendered to half-and-half crusts and generous toppings, just as her customers requested. It worked out too well. "In a short time, I made an offer and bought Paestum, which is still mine today," she recalls.
Focused on her studies, Branca became an expert on the subject at the same time that pizza culture was changing in Brazil, especially in São Paulo.
As imported wheat flours gained market share, raising the bar for the national industry as well, Branca established himself as a consultant and brought courses from the Italian Accademia Pizza Doc to Brazil.
In 2022, his name appeared for the first time in the Best Pizza Awards ranking, in 79th place. Respected in the industry, he already stood out in international competitions, but remained unknown to the general public in São Paulo, a situation that would only change with the opening of Soffio in 2024.
“My partners followed me on social media and invited me to do some consulting work,” he says. “I started by helping them buy equipment, a dough mixer, an oven, until they offered me the chance to stay permanently in São Paulo.”
But he didn't accept immediately—the 230 kilometers between Guaratinguetá and Soffio seemed too long. In the negotiation, he secured a support apartment in the capital and the perk of only being at the pizzeria two or three times a week. Since then, he travels to São Paulo on Wednesdays and returns home on Fridays.
Soffio quickly gained popularity — and accumulated awards with its signature pizzas, which feature toppings of pear, gorgonzola and honey, smoked provola, parmesan and guanciale, or prosciutto and Tulha cheese . The technique is authentically Italian, but the pizzaiolo has embraced certain Brazilian influences, such as the buffalo ricotta-stuffed crust that surrounds the Soffio Ripieno pizza. Individual pizzas cost between R$ 69 and R$ 87.
The success of the venture served as a calling card for the Azeite Sabiá pizzeria contract, but the negotiation also started one way and ended another.
Bob Costa and Bia Pereira, the owners, were overseeing the construction when it came time to choose the equipment, including the oven. Through a mutual friend, they learned about a consultant who lived relatively close to Santo Antônio do Pinhal , about 80 kilometers away.
“The first conversation already created a great connection. When we went to Soffio for the first time, we understood that there was nothing more to discuss,” recalls Costa, in a conversation with NeoFeed . Branca became more than just a consultant for Sabiá.
Every Saturday, clad in a chef's jacket displaying "The Best Pizza Awards" embroidered on the sleeve, he leads the team of pizza makers and circulates through the dining area. The restaurant is managing to break an old industry paradigm—open only for lunch until late afternoon, it has been packed every weekend.
The menu, more concise than Soffio's, repeats some hits , such as the special margherita with buffalo mozzarella. The zucchini marinated with red onion and parmesan, however, is only available there. Individual pizzas, all priced between R$ 89 and R$ 99.
Having lived in Brazil for 21 years, Dani Branca almost passes for Brazilian. Her accent, though subtle, only reveals itself occasionally. Her temperament, however, still has a hint of southern Italian.
The one committing the indiscretion is Kayo César Moreira, head of the pizza makers at Sabiá and his right-hand man in Santo Antônio do Pinhal. “He’s calm, but sometimes he gets so irritated that he even turns red,” he reveals to NeoFeed . “When that happens, I tell him to go out and take a walk.”
The Via Dutra, the highway that connects Guaratinguetá to the rest of the state of São Paulo, has become a kind of second home. Every week, Branca travels at least 630 kilometers to work at his two pizzerias and be a present father to Fiorella, 12, Aurora, 3, and Antonio, 5 months. But, if it were up to him, the pace would become even more intense.
At 43 years old, the pizza maker hints that he's barely started. Soffio, which has been packed since its last award, has just implemented its own delivery service . For now, the delivery drivers only circulate in neighborhoods in the southern part of São Paulo, but the idea is to expand the map with the support of dark kitchens .
“We also have the idea of opening another location, but everything will be done very cautiously,” he warns. Slowly, slowly , as the Italians say.
