Guest Columns

When trying to pick the great pizza cities of the world there are a few places that I call the “usual suspects.” Naples, for many reasons, is often considered number 1, followed by a chorus of voices shouting about New York, Chicago and, for the real pizza fans, New Haven. All of these places can make a legitimate claim to pizza supremacy but if you are serious about pizza you…Read More…

(Note from Peter:  John O’Hanlon, a serious home baker and long time correspondent, sent me this story of his recent quest to make a killer vollkornbrot (translation: 100% whole grain, German style rye bread). His passion and determination inspired me to ask his permission to share his story and his recipe with you, so here it is. Let us know if you try making this bread — we’d love to…Read More…

Isaac Newton has long been one of my science heroes—my earliest life journey was as a science and math geek. Now he is my newest baking hero.   Most everyone knows that Newton developed his theory of gravity after seeing an apple fall from a tree. Every high school physics student learns of his three laws of motion. He built the first practical reflecting telescope, confirmed the accuracy of Kepler’s…Read More…

Dave Wilson and I set out about 7-8 hours earlier on a mini pizza quest, where we started at Di Fara Pizza and were now just leaving Roberta’s — both in Brooklyn, NY.  You can read about these stops in Part I and Part II of this series.  Links:  Part I, Part II   As we staggered out of Roberta’s for the second time that night, after running into the…Read More…

Note from Peter: If you’d like to read all five of John’s columns on this subject you can go to the Guest Columns section instead of scrolling down the home page. There, you will find them all in one place. Either way, please do read them; it could make all the difference between success and failure. And even if you’re not thinking of opening a place, this is great, universal…Read More…

Note from Peter:  We’ve been writing about this new Baking Steel for a couple of months, so I asked its creator, Andris Lagsdin, to tell us more about it in his own words. I love his inspirational story, one that exemplifies what Pizza Quest is all about, and am thrilled to be able to share it with you now. Enjoy! Although for my day job, I work for a family-owned…Read More…

Note from Brad: I was reading Part 4 of John Arena’s “Are You Ready to Turn Pro” series on our site and noticed an interesting comment from one of our readers, Kevin Szot.  Well, truth be told, it was interesting in that the commenter owned a micro-brewery in Chile and loves to make pizza!  I checked out his site and realized that he didn’t just love making pizza, but had…Read More…

Note: For a recap, scroll down the homepage past the halfway point, to read about Dave’s and my visit to Di Faro’s, which is Part One of our NYC Mini-Quest: Dave and I had to force ourselves to stop eating pizza at Di Fara’s.  This was no easy task.  You’re sitting there in front of what is a “perfect” pizza in a “perfect” place and you have to stop eating…Read More…

Note from Peter: We’ve had great response to this series by John Arena, which has been a true reality check for all of us. For those who haven’t seen the previous three installments, or who may want to review them, they are all still here on the homepage (scroll down a bit), and also in the Guest Columns section. Thank you so much, John, for sharing your lifetime worth of…Read More…

OK, so you have considered the physical challenges and demands of becoming a pizza professional. You are confident that you want to transition from being a great amateur to becoming a successful pizza operator. Allow me to introduce you to your new best friend…MATH! I know that many of you have a dream of escaping from the mundane business world and earning a living as a pizza artisan. Math may…Read More…