Sometimes an orange dream can take you far: all the way to the stage at the Alcatraz in Milan, where the Bar Giornale Awards 2026 crowned PUOK the Best Sandwich Shop of the Year. Building a successful sandwich shop in Naples isn’t easy; turning it into a national phenomenon is even harder. Yet PUOK convinced judges and industry insiders alike.
“For us this recognition is like an award for ten years of work.”
“I am proud and emotional – it’s not easy to run a business and social media at the same time,” Egidio Cerrone told Il Mattino. “This award repays the work started ten years ago and especially the effort of the last two years dedicated to creating the astrospatial sandwiches.” The turning point came with the opening of the laboratories in Vomero and Spaccanapoli, investments that allowed us to experiment with new dishes and bring into our stores recipes that seem to have come out of a science‑fiction tale.
On the evening of 12 January the dream came true: in front of the best of Italian food & beverage, our brand won the title of Best Sandwich Shop of the Year. Not just for the sandwiches, but for an entire entrepreneurial model: quality ingredients, identity‑bearing recipes, iconic names and a pop communication rooted in Naples. “PUOK is no longer just a local or social phenomenon; it has become a national reference for quality street food” wrote the online magazine GrandeNapoli.
“Captain Puok” speaks: a message for those who believe in the dream:
Hot off the press, right after the award ceremony, Captain PUOK Egidio entrusted social media with a message of gratitude for those who believe in the dream:
“Here’s Captain Puok. I’m speaking to you from the Alcatraz in Milan. It is January 12, 2026. We are the BEST SANDWICH SHOP OF THE YEAR at the Bar Giornale Awards. Thanks to all the guys, my partners, all the clients and those who every day carry forward this little big orange dream… Let us make the sandwiches!”
These words tell better than any interview the strength of a collective project. Because behind every sandwich there is a group of people who knead, fry, communicate and smile. And it is to them, as well as to his family and longtime partners Paolo Castaldo and Antonio Pepe, that Egidio dedicates the victory.
A laboratory for the future and a dream that continues.
The recognition in Milan is not an endpoint but an accelerator. It confirms that the idea born ten years ago can still grow. And in fact, as he revealed again to Il Mattino, we will soon inaugurate Oink Lab, a laboratory of 850 square meters in Sant’Antimo. A space where new experiments and projects can come to life, to turn the oinkdream into reality and continue to surprise with sandwiches never seen before.
Today PUOK is a format, a language and an experience. Being awarded Best Sandwich Shop in Italy means that this way of telling and living the sandwich has gone beyond the borders of Naples. For those who have followed us from the beginning, this victory is yours. Every time you queue at Vomero or Spaccanapoli, every time you bite into a Braciola Supernova or a Genovese Astrospaziale, every time you share our stories, you are building this orange dream together with us. The award at the Bar Giornale Awards 2026 pushes us to do even better.
We will continue to work with the same passion as always, seeking the perfect balance between Neapolitan tradition and creativity. And who knows, perhaps the next astrospatial sandwich will be born in the new Oink Lab. Stay tuned, come visit us and let us make the sandwiches!
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