3D printing firm and Neapolitan pizza chef collaborate

New York – An innovative technology company will work with a well-known U.S. chef to bring 3D pizza printing technology into a Neapolitan pizzeria.

BeeHex, a 3D pizza printing company, has teamed up wtih Pasquale Cozzolino, executive chef and owner of Ribalta, a Neapolitan restaurant with locations in New York City and Atlanta, Ga. Cozzolino will serve as an advisor, overseeing the dough, sauce and cheese recipes used in the 3D printer, the company said in a news release.

BeeHex builds systems that solve problems in food production and dispensing, the release said. Using patent-pending pneumatic 3D printing hardware and app-to-order delivery system, the company’s developmental prototype prints an oven-ready pizza in practically any shape in under four minutes while its 3D printing kiosks print and bake a pizza every sixty seconds.

The tech company was co-founded by tech celebrity Anjan Contractor, Jordan French, Chintan Kanuga and Benjamin Feltner. Contractor and French both worked on NASA projects, and Contractor is the inventor of NASA’s first 3D food printer. Chintan Kanuga, CTO, is a 16-year veteran of Intel.

“Serving traditional Neapolitan pizza, Chef Cozzolino has created a dough that is light and easily digestible as a result of carefully chosen flour, a ‘mother yeast’ aged at 80 years and a maturation process that lasts up to five days,” the release said. “The sauce and cheese will be made from the best imported products from Italy, including tomatoes from Mount Vesuvius and mozzarella made from the milk of Neapolitan cows.”

“We are excited to be working with such an inventive and forward-thinking company. I am looking forward to using my experience in the culinary industry to create a pizza that can be 3D printed without sacrificing quality ingredients and taste,” Cozzolino said.