From love for authenticity to choosing Moretti Forni, Richie shares how he brought a taste of Rome to Canada
In the heart of Montréal’s multicultural food scene, there’s a place where the flavours of Italy are served one slice at a time: Segreta – Pizza al Taglio. The name itself hints at mystery, and behind every slice lies a secret authentic Roman recipe that has won the hearts (and appetites) of locals. At the lead is pizza chef and visionary Richie Ourichian, who trusted Moretti Forni’s ovens from the very beginning to give shape – and crispiness – in his business.
Let’s hear his story.
– Hi Richie. Tell us how your journey began.
My journey started 12 years ago, with a documentary that I saw on TV on Italian pizza. I already knew about American pizza or Neapolitan pizza, you can find it all over the world.
But I had never heard of Roman pizza, either tonda or “by-the-slice”.
I was not accustomed to it.
Watching that documentary, I fell in love. So, I decided to travel to Rome with my wife. We went to the some of the most popular pizza places in the capital.
That’s where I discovered everything: dough hydration, flour types, fermentation – including cold fermentation – blue steel baking trays… And then we came to electric ovens.
– Why did you choose Moretti Forni’s S series oven for your business?
Because Moretti Forni is the pioneer of electric ovens.
They’re eco-energetic. You could par-bake, you could bake, do pizza al taglio, New York-style pizza, even Neapolitan pizza with the Fastbake deck. You can also bake bread…
We make high-hydration hoagie bread rolls for our needs and customer preferences perfectly.
We started with a S series S100E with two decks. Now, we have three S series S120E ovens with a total of nine decks. It’s cheaper on your insurance, no open flames. And for the type of pizza we make at Segreta, it’s the right tool.
– What kind of pizza do you make at Segreta?
Our speciality is ‘pizza al taglio’. We bake it in traditional blue steel trays, imported straight from Italy. That’s it, we don’t make any other type of pizza at Segreta.
– How many pizzas do you bake each week?
The magic question. Let’s just say… we make enough to have nine decks. I’ll leave you with that.
Segreta is named after a unique, carefully guarded recipe: an authentic Roman dough, made in-house and fermented for 72 to 96 hours. The result is a light, airy base crunchy at the same time.
Everything is prepared in-house, from the fresh tomato sauce to seasonal toppings, using local flours and carefully selected ingredients, including sea salt and extra virgin olive oil.
Roman pizza here becomes a blank canvas for creativity: from classic Margherita to bold toppings, vegan or vegetarian options. Segreta speaks to everyone – from kids to adults, from who’s looking for simplicity to those who love experimenting.
Before we let Richie go, we ask him one last question.
– Why would you recommend Moretti Forni?
Because it just works for us, it’s beautiful. Sleek design, Italian made, we have a proven track record and it’s perfect for pizza al taglio.
I’ve already recommended it to many people here in Canada over the past two years.
I cannot not recommend it.
Richie wraps up with the same quiet confidence that helped him turn his passion into a secret worth sharing. One slice at a time.
