Pizza Quest Webisodes

We are moving now closer to the showdown between Kelly Whitaker, Al Henkin, and me on pizza versus Patrick Rue on beer.  It all began at, and was inspired by, this dinner at Basta – Wood Fired Eatery and Pizzeria, where Kelly and Al came up with a wonderful tasting menu inspired by some of the beers from Orange County artisan brewery, The Bruery.  In this segment you will see…Read More…

In this installment of the Basta series, as we inch closer to the big pizza/beer throw down, Kelly Whitaker takes us through his process for making one of the most amazing meat dishes I’ve ever had. A few years ago very few people knew of the cooking method called sous vide, which means, “under vacuum.” Now, because of high profile chefs like Thomas Keller, as well as exposure on television…Read More…

As our story progresses, we’ve already introduced you to Kelly Whitaker in the previous two segments and now we meet Alan Henkin, the co-owner (with Kelly) and also the Beverage Director of Basta, in Boulder CO.  In this webisode segment, Alan and Kelly take us through a virtual master class of beer and cheese pairing, as well as showing how it compares to more familiar wine and cheese pairings. In…Read More…

In this, the second in our newest webisode series, we continue our conversation with Kelly Whitaker, chef/partner at Basta in Boulder, CO.  You’ll notice a few breakaway shots to some of his menu items, such as a sous vide short rib dish that is phenomenal, cooked under pressure at a precise temperature for 48 to 72 hours, and then fire-charred just before serving. We will have a whole episode on…Read More…

We are beginning with this posting of a new webisode story arc featuring our friends at Basta, the wonderful wood-fired restaurant in Boulder that we’ve featured here in the past. This short opening segment re-introduces you to Kelly Whitaker, the visionary chef/owner of Basta and, in later segments we’ll meet other members of his team and then, over time, we’ll follow his trail all the way to Southern California and…Read More…

  We’ve been wanting to share this webisode with you for quite a while, so here it is. Last year, when we were at the Fire Within Oven Owners Conference, we taped a number of demo’s in the beautiful mobile ovens built by Joseph Pergolizzi and his team of masons and metal craftsmen. Among those in attendance was Andres Salazar, who was just on the verge of releasing his first…Read More…

It’s fitting that we wrap up our first year of PizzaQuest.com with the final segment of our series with World Champion pizzaiolo, Tony Gemignani. We did it in grand fashion, climbing to the top of a hill above the Golden Gate Bridge, looking back on Tony’s new “kingdom.” It looks almost like the Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz, and the view was truly majestic, as you will see…Read More…

This is one of my favorite webisodes of all time. Tony Gemignani took us on a field trip to Stanislaus County, to the town of Westley (near Modesto, CA), where we met Steve Rouse, the marketing director for the world famous Stanislaus Food Products company. We arrived just a week or so before the peak of the harvest, but found a few vines that were, nevertheless ripe and ready, as…Read More…

While we were filming at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana we met Marti Casey, the editor-in-chief of Salute’ Magazine, a publication dedicated to celebrating the Italian-American experience. Of course, there we were, in the heart of San Francisco’s Little Italy section, North Beach, eating amazing pizza at Tony’s, surrounded by quintessential Italian-American focaccerias, pork shops, bakeries, and classic spaghetti and meat ball trattorias, so what better place to discuss the immigrant experience….Read More…

Here’s another in the extremely informative sessions we had with Tony Gemignani at his landmark restaurant, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in North Beach, San Francisco. In this websode, Tony shows us the difference between what he calls a “traditional Italian pizza” and the Napoletana/Neapolitan pizzas he made in previous segments. I think we might also more accurately think of this as “traditional Italian-American” pizza. This style is baked in a gas…Read More…