In his 26 years in the pizza business, Enrico Aguila had never competed in a single one. Cira, his wife, changed his mind and signed him up for the Galbani Professional Pizza Cup in Orlando from November 6th to 7th.
Her husband is Uncle Rico, as in Uncle Rico’s Pizza in Fort Myers, and his pies are some of the most well-known in the area.
“Until Cira told me, I did not know I was going in,” Enrico said. “I whined and complained about it for a month.” It was still bad for me on the way to Orlando.
Cira was smart about what she did. Enrico won first place in the category for the classic best cheese pizza.
“It was great,” he said. “I was going up against pizza champions and members of the national pizza team.” In support of something, they wore buttons on their shirts. I wore my Uncle Rico’s shirt that day.
Cira said, “It was not even a new one.” His pizza was enough to say it all.
“I was so scared while I waited behind the curtain for his turn,” Enrico said. “But the nerves went away as soon as my hands touched the dough.” “This is what I do.”
But it was not easy. Because Enrico lets his dough rise for 72 hours, he had to bring it to Orlando.
He said, “The hard part was keeping the dough alive.” “Making sure it stays at the right temperature.” I got up at 4 a.m. to check it. On the first day, Enrico participated in a category for pizza that was not the norm.
He said, “But I made a mistake.” “I tried something new, but I did not make it to the next round.” He came in fifth place. Cira said, “That is still great.”
In the traditional category the next day, he did well against 22 other people from across the land.
Enrico said, “There is competition pizza and your pizza.” The type of pizza you make for competitions, like the one in Orlando, is the one you think the judges will like best and give high marks.
Enrico said, “It was proper cheese, so that is what I gave them.” “I went with my pizza because my wife told me to.” I gave them what I make at Uncle Rico’s. Like always, I made it.
And Enrico won for the first time in his life as a pizza lover thanks to that pizza.
He said, “It is a win for us and Southwest Florida as well.” “It brings attention to me, the area, other restaurants, and the food scene here.” You can get a great pie anywhere, not just in New York.
Enrico said it was a strange experience.
He said, “I was amazed.” “The pizza champions were both asking me questions and giving me advice.” The pizza group is great. I like to learn new things, like how to make pizza. I am not going to be lazy.
Since it opened on March 22, 2022, Uncle Rico’s has done very well. After a year, Yelp ranked the small pizza place on the corner of Hanson Street and Cleveland Avenue as No. 57 of the best 100 restaurants in Florida.
After six months, The Washington Post named its pies the third best in the state for New York-style pizza, which brought it national attention.