An African immigrant's pizza wins global raves — and overcomes Italian prejudices

Ibrahim Songne, an immigrant from Burkina Faso, opened a pizza spot called IBRIS in the Italian town of Trento. He overcame local prejudices — and now has been named to a list of the world’s top 50 pizzerias. (Marilena Umuhoza Delli for NPR)

After immigrating to Italy from Burkina Faso at age 12, Ibrahim Songne tasted pizza for the first time. His reaction?

Disgust.

“I’d never even heard of pizza before I arrived in Italy. I took a bite and found it gross and completely tasteless.”