VPN Americas

 

Gas burning oven

Get certifed to become a member of the associazione verace pizza napoletana.

VPN Americas Gas Oven

If your pizzeria, locates in USA, Canada or Central America, is a part of a territory in which the use of wood is restricted, you may qualify to become an AVPN member upon demonstrate, with proper documentation, that the use of the wood is forbidden (this include a city ordinance or a single building requirement).
In order to be certified by VPN Americas, and thereby become a member of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, your brick-and-mortar restaurant must already be in operation.
Currently, individuals or businesses (including mobile ovens or oven equipped food trucks) do not qualify for membership.
Coal, electric, or wood/gas combination ovens, while capable of producing a delicious pizza, do not conform to the Neapolitan tradition and are not allowed.

Basic requirements

Equipment and tools:

  • Gas-burning oven. The pizza must be cooked in an approved gas-fired dome oven (see list) operating at a temperature of about 900 F.
  • Mixer. The dough must be kneaded either by hand or with an approved mixer (spiral, fork or double arm). No vertical or planetary mixers are allowed.
  • Tools.A wood or aluminum peel to introduce the pizza inside the oven, a long handle steel round peel to turn and remove the pizza from the oven, a metal (steel or copper/tin) oil cruet, a 5 inches spatula and polyethylene proofing boxes are widely suggested.

Ingredients:

Only fresh, all-natural, non-processed ingredients (preferably imported from Naples or Campania region) are accepted.

5 steps for avpn certification

After review the rules showed in our Disciplinare, please refer to the following steps:

  1. Print and fill the new member application
  2. Prepare the set of documents, pictures and videos for the first preliminary evaluation (click here)
  3. Send all required documentation to vpnamericas@me.com. We suggest posting the demo video on YouTube and sending the link via email, as opposed to attaching a large video file.
    Please send the complete set of documents. Receiving of partial documentation, will only delay the evaluation time.
  4. The Board of Directors of AVPN in Naples, Italy will review all completed documentation, and then approve or decline the request for certification (this process will take at least 30 days).
  5. In the event of an approval of membership request, a delegate of the AVPN will conduct an on-site investigation to verify the pizzeria’s strict adherence to all the AVPN rules. In case of a declination of membership request, we will ask to perform some changes and send us the evidence of the corrections.

Upon approval, the restaurant will receive an official AVPN membership certificate and number and one AVPN signboard to be placed on the exterior or in the interior of the pizzeria.
An additional signboard can be purchased at the price of $ 60, shipment included.

In case of multiple restaurants, each individual store is bound to uphold the standards of the Association and pay a correspondent membership fee. The membership does not automatically extend to any new units opened subsequently after initial joining of the Association, nor it is automatically transferable from one location to another. Rather, each new location is evaluated and billed separately. A yearly renewal fee is due at the beginning of each calendar year.
In the event of non-compliance of these rules by one or more of the associated restaurants, the VPN Association maintains the right to suspend or rescind the membership on an individual or collective basis.

Member advantages

  1. As member of the AVPN, you will be part of an exclusive group of pizzerias that, bearing the sign of the Association, demonstrate that you will be able to create an artisan product strictly follow the rules for the production of a 300-year-old product.
  2. You will receive a certificate attesting that you are a member of the Association, 1 plastic signboard and the AVPN handbook.
  3. Your store will be listed as a link both on the VPN Americas and AVPN Headquarters website and in any promotional and advertising material created by the Association.
  4. Every potential customer and media personnel enquiring to our office will be recommended directly to your store for quality food.
  5. You can utilize the AVPN® logo on your menus, business cards, letter heads, social network and display your signboards inside or outside the restaurant.
  6. You will be informed of all the activities of the Association through a periodical newsletter.
  7. You will be informed of all the shows, festivals, conferences, and expos organized by AVPN or in which we will participate.
  8. We will provide you any kind of assistance in order to guarantee the production of a quality product by your pizzeria and staff.
  9. We will periodically inform you regarding any updating of the Merchant Registry list (list of all the suppliers approved by AVPN).

Member obligations

  1. Displaying in an evident way the plate with the trademark of the Association inside and where possible outside of the associated location;
  2. Specifying in all the menus that all the pizzas are Neapolitan style pizzas, prepared and served adhering strictly to the rules of the VPN Disciplinare, including ingredients and the production method.
  3. Instructing all the persons involved in the preparation of the pizza with the proper knowledge about the Verace Pizza Napoletana ingredients and preparation techniques.
  4. Instructing all the front of the house employees (managers, hostesses and servers) about the basic rules and purpose of the Association.
  5. Reporting the name of the pizza-maker in charge that must be approved by the Association and enrolled in the “Albo pizzaioli”.
  6. Informing immediately the Association for any change of the main pizza maker.
  7. Accepting additional membership in other associations provided they are not in conflict with the goals and the rules of the association.
  8. Informing the Association of any promotional activity, events participation, training courses in which the associated will be involved and in which the AVPN will be directly or indirectly involved.

Cost

The cost of the certification is $ 2,500 for USA and Canada and $ 1,500 for the Central America.

The inspection fee is $ 300 for the USA and Canada and $ 200 for the Central America.

The renewal fee is $ 400 for the USA and Canada and $ 400 for the Central America.