Andrew Bellucci
{{Short description|American cook (1964–2023)}}
Andrew Thierry Bellucci (January 21, 1964 – May 31, 2023) was an American cook.
Life
Bellucci was born on 21 January 1964, in Jersey City, New Jersey.{{Cite news |last=Wells |first=Pete |date=2023-06-05 |title=Andrew Bellucci, Pizza Visionary With a Troubled Past, Dies at 59 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/dining/andrew-bellucci-dead.html |access-date=2023-06-07 |issn=0362-4331}}
Initially developed his skills in the East Village, Bellucci's fascination with the history of pizza drove him to rediscover the heritage of New York's pizza-making, tracing its origins to Naples immigrant Gennaro Lombardi. This led him to resurrect a defunct coal oven in Little Italy, persuading Lombardi's grandson to endorse a pizzeria bearing the family name. Later, Lombardi's Pizzeria was established.{{Cite news |last=Maag |first=Christopher |date=2023-06-07 |title='Never Seen Pizza Boxes at a Wake Before': Mourning a N.Y. Pizza Legend |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/nyregion/andrew-bellucci-pizza-funeral.html |access-date=2023-06-07 |issn=0362-4331}}
Bellucci emerged as a distinguished figure in New York's pizza scene in the 1990s, crafting artisanal pizzas that later influenced a new generation of chefs. His renown was overshadowed by an earlier crime involving embezzlement at a Manhattan law firm, leading to his arrest and a 13-month prison sentence.
Following his prison sentence, Bellucci ventured through a phase of professional obscurity, later resurrecting his culinary career in Malaysia. His return to New York saw him fulfill a lifelong dream of opening his own establishment, Bellucci Pizza, in Astoria in 2020. Further developments included a legal dispute over the naming rights to Bellucci's initial pizzeria in Astoria, which was eventually settled in a federal court in December 2022.
Bellucci died on May 31, 2023, due to a heart attack.{{Cite web |last=jmoro |date=2023-06-01 |title='Don of Dough' Andrew Bellucci dies after heart attack in Astoria pizza shop |url=https://astoriapost.com/don-of-dough-andrew-bellucci-dies-after-heart-attack-in-astoria-pizza-shop |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Astoria Post |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Fortney |first=Luke |date=2023-06-01 |title=Andrew Bellucci, Famous Pizza Chef Who Helped Reopen Lombardi's, Dies at 59 |url=https://ny.eater.com/2023/6/1/23745190/andrew-bellucci-pizza-chef-lombardis-dies |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=Eater NY |language=en}}