Pizza maker and consultant trained under Simone Padoan, Enzo Coccia, and Gualtiero Marchesi, he led the oven at Dry Milano and co-founded Crosta. Awarded the “Tre Spicchi” by Gambero Rosso and “Maestri dell’Impasto” (2021), he is now the author of PIZZA Fatta in casa for Il Cucchiaio d’Argento.
Born in 1981 in Padua, Simone Lombardi discovered his vocation early, while working part-time in a takeaway pizzeria during his studies. The experience convinced him that the logic of mass production was not his path. He took a sabbatical year, completing the three-level A.I.S. sommelier program, a turning point that broadened his gastronomic vision and taught him to think beyond the kitchen.
The real breakthrough came at Ai Tigli in San Bonifacio, under Simone Padoan, where he encountered a new way of conceiving pizza—refined doughs, carefully studied toppings, and a tasting-menu approach. Around the same time, he trained with Enzo Coccia, one of the masters of the Neapolitan tradition, and attended the Università della Pizza by Molino Quaglia, deepening his technical expertise.
Curiosity soon led him into fine-dining kitchens: first at Gualtiero Marchesi’s Hostaria dell’Orso in Rome, working alongside Alfio Ghezzi, and later at Dulcis Vitis in Alba with Bruno Cingolani, where he learned that true cuisine begins with the search for ingredients.
In 2011, Lombardi moved to Mexico City to open La Cantinetta del Becco with chefs Rolly Pavia and Julián Martínez Bello—an experience that merged Italian roots with international perspective and deepened his understanding of hospitality and teamwork.
Back in Italy, he joined the launch of Dry Cocktails & Pizza, a format combining mixology and contemporary pizza. From 2013 to 2018, he led the oven at Dry Milano, earning major industry awards: the Innovazione Horeca Award 2014 (Il Sole 24 Ore Group), Foodies Star 2014 (Gambero Rosso), Pizzeria of the Year 2015 (Barawards – Bargiornale), and the coveted Tre Spicchi (2015–2018).
In 2018, Lombardi co-founded Crosta Milano with master baker Giovanni Mineo—a hybrid space uniting bakery, pastry, and pizza. Crosta quickly became a benchmark in Lombardy, maintaining the Tre Spicchi from 2019 and earning Lombardi the title of “Maestro dell’Impasto” from Gambero Rosso in 2021.
The year 2024 marked his editorial debut: PIZZA Fatta in casa (Pizza Made at Home), published by Il Cucchiaio d’Argento / Editoriale Domus, condenses a decade of professional research into doughs, fermentation, and domestic baking methods.
His “cucina della pizza” revolves around selected flours, precise hydration, long proofing, and digestibility. Toppings, seasonal and ingredient-driven, act as narratives of territory. “I’m an artisan with my feet on the ground,” he often says—a statement that sums up his ethos of study, consistency, and authenticity.
Today he divides his time between consulting, teaching, and dough design, crafting tailor-made recipes for restaurants and brands, always seeking to express a sense of place through pizza.
