Peter's Blog

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…

Hi Everyone, While you are reading this I will be in Napa, CA, attending the Puratos Bread Symposium: Taste Beyond Imagination (where I will be delivering a presentation called, “The Next Big Thing in Bread”).  When I return I will post more about this symposium, as well as the upcoming Northeast Pizza and Pasta Show in Atlantic City, where I head to next.  So, since the Puratos symposium is all…Read More…

Note from Peter: I grew up in Philadelphia, a city that takes its food pretty seriously. We always had a few great, iconic pizzerias (Tacconelli’s, Marra’s, Francoluigi’s, Caccia’s Bakery, Santucci’s and others) but, unlike New York City where pizza is a primary marker of cultural identity, it was really the cheese steak, hoagie, roast pork sandwich culture that gave Philly its culinary claim to fame. But, in the past few…Read More…

Note from Peter:  This came in yesterday so I thought I’d share it with all of you. Roberto and Tony are good friends of Pizza Quest and this is a great cause. If you go, please say hi for me.   Pizza Powerhouses Roberto Caporuscio and Tony Gemignani to Share Neapolitan Pizza-Making Techniques and Tasting at Newest Kesté Pizza and Vino Location Collaborative Pizza Benefitting Hurricane Victims to be Unveiled…Read More…

Note from Peter: I first met Chris Bianco just before he burst on the national scene, sometime back in the late 1990’s. One of my baking students was from Phoenix and told me about him and, when I went to Phoenix for an IACP Conference and needed a place to bake breads for a presentation I was making, my student said, “He not only makes the best pizza in Phoenix…Read More…

Note from Peter: This week we feature a guest column from Joseph Calcagno, whose life in pizza has come full circle, as he shares in this moving memoir, which is a beautiful example of our motto: A journey of self-discovery through pizza.  See Joseph’s bio, below, at the end of his story.   It took nearly a year to plan a pizza party. In the last 14 months I’ve moved…Read More…

Hi Everyone, Here’s an update on some classes and events coming up over the next couple of months: One of the most exciting (or those who love near Chapel Hill, NC, that is) is the Festa Italiana, Friends of James Beard Benefit that will be held on Thursday, September 14th at Il Palio Ristorante, located inside my favorite Chapel Hill hotel, The Sienna. Il Palio’s talented chef, Teddy Diggs, has…Read More…

Note from Peter:  I first met Ajith Dharma at the 2015 Forno Bravo Wood-Fired Oven Expo in Salinas, California and, surrounded by hundreds of fellow fire freaks, we became instant friends. As the new owner of FireWithin Mobile Ovens he has built very sensitively and strategically upon the foundation established by the original founder Joseph Pergolizzi, who we’ve featured here on PizzaQuest in the past, and Ajith has now grown…Read More…

Hi Everyone, At last, we have now launched a YouTube Channel for the Johnson & Wales International Symposium on Bread, and you can watch all the talks by clicking here. If you want to watch just the 2 1/2 minute highlight reel, you can go here. If you aren’t familiar with the Symposium, scroll down the Homepage to my earlier posts and recap of the event, which was held 2 months…Read More…