Peter's Blog

Note from Peter: I first met Joe Fugere, founder of Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria in Seattle, WA, at the 2016 Caputo Cup in Harlem, and then saw him again at the 2017 Pizza Expo, and then again at the more recent Caputo Cup in Atlantic City in October. We picked up our conversation each time as if time hadn’t intervened at all. From the first, I was impressed with Joe’s…Read More…

Note from Peter: A few months ago I posted about the wonderful experience I had at the Atlantic City Pizza and Pasta Show, where I met Alex Manzo and Massimiliano Saieva, the masterminds behind the new Roman-style pizza movement here in the USA. It was my first time tasting Massimiliano’s pizzas and I was blown away! While he was making his “al taglio” pizzas (“baked in a pan”) I spoke briefly with…Read More…

Note from Peter: I received this e-mail from pizza fanatic Bret Isbell on Sunday and couldn’t resist asking him for permission to share it with all of you. He agreed, so here it is.  If anyone has any personal memories of either “Z’s Pizza” in Garland, TX, or “Pizza Villa” in Richardson, TX, please feel free to chime in, as these kind of places are a dying breed. And, if…Read More…

Hi Everyone, I ran into my long time friend (and Charlotte pizza legend), Siler Chapman, at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Show in Atlantic City a couple of months ago, where I discovered that he has partnered with his World Pizza Champions teammate, Michael Shepherd, on an exciting new venture. They both agreed to fill me in on their new consulting and coaching business, PerfectingPizza.com, so I’ll let them take…Read More…

Hi Everyone, Here’s a link to a great post from our friend, Bill Rogers, mastermind behind Culinary TV, about the new designation accorded to Wood-Fired Pizza by the United Nations!  Check it out here: https://www.culinarytvshow.com/unitednations  As we approach the magic hour, enjoy this article and we look forward to giving you more wonderful postings, webisodes, recipes, and guest columns here on PizzaQuest during 2018. Have a wonderful New Year from the…Read More…

Hi Everybody, Hard t believe it’s almost Christmas — seems like I just wrote a Christmas post just a blink ago! But here we are, so this is just a short thank you for another great year and for your ongoing support. We are just moments away from making an exciting announcement about the growth and expansion of Pizza Quest, but I can’t say it yet until we sign the…Read More…

Note from Peter: I met Will Grant in October, in Atlantic City during the Caputo Cup Pizza Championship, where I was serving as a judge in the Non-Traditional Category (this meant, pretty much, anything goes, as opposed to the Traditional category which limited total toppings to three). Will had come to my interview, earlier that day, with pizza maestro Joe Beddia, and afterward he filled me in on his life…Read More…

Hi Everyone, As reported here in the past, I was fortunate enough to have been invited by Nathan Myhrvold to contribute to his monumental book project, Modernist Bread, about five years ago. Well, what he originally suggested might be a two or three volume collection has at last been published. It didn’t take long for Nathan and his resident Modernist team of bakers and chefs to realize that it would…Read More…

Hi Again, Last week I was waiting for the final, amended results for the Caputo Cup Pizza Competition and, at last here, here they are:  Caputo Cup 2017 Pizza Championship Traditional Pizzas (NY Style, no more than two toppings) 1st – Derek Sanchez of Mia Marco’s Pizza (Selma, TX) 2nd (tie) – Allen Raymond of That’s Some Pizza (Bainbridge Island, WA) 2nd (tie) – Michael Ricca of Ricca Brothers Brick…Read More…

Hi Everyone, I just returned from three weeks on the road, culminating in a lively few days at the first ever Pizza & Pasta Northeast Show in Atlantic City where, in two presentation sessions I got to interview pizza maker extraordinaire Joe Beddia, as well as three pasta luminaries (Antimo DiMeo, Hari Cameron, and Lorenzo Boni) on the future of pasta. In addition, I served, along with John Arena, as…Read More…