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Welcome back to Pizza Quest!         Sometimes it just takes moxie. Shannon Mangini (aka @ThePizzaiola on Instagram)  is living proof of that. In just a few short years since graduating from college in 2018 with a degree in economics, entrepreneurship, and finance (Univ. of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she was also a lacrosse star) Shannon has, among other things, brought DiFara Pizza to the North Fork of…Read More…

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! Anthony Mangieri is one of our favorite guests and now that his NYC restaurant, Una Pizza Napoletana, has been recently anointed by one poll as the “best pizzeria in the world,” this is a timely return visit. In this episode, Anthony tells us all about his new line of frozen pizzas under the name Genio Della Pizza, and how he managed to create and package…Read More…

Dear Followers of Pizza Quest, First, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!  For those still looking for a last minute special Christmas or New Year’s gift, the folks at Pizza University are offering a 10% discount on all 2024 classes (the offer expires on Dec. 31). This includes the three-day class I’ll be teaching with Scott Wiener on May 13-15, 2024 based on my book, Pizza Quest. If you…Read More…

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! In this episode, I talk with Blaine Parker, the creator and host of the website Free the Pizza, a site devoted to the unending quest to make pizza in a home oven as good as those from a pizzeria. Can it be done? Blaine says yes, and has written an entire book showing readers how, as well as posting humorous essays regularly on his site…Read More…

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! There is no question that Ooni Ovens have taken the world by storm, even eclipsing their worthy competitor RoccBox, which had a nice head start. How have they done it? Fortunately, we have Scott Deley with us, who just published a book called, The Ooni Pizza Project. The book is loaded with inspiring recipes created by Scott (but inspired by his many pizza heroes), who has…Read More…

This week Scott Wiener takes us, via his pizza box collection, to two north of the border pizzerias that both evoke Brooklyn, NY as their ethos and as part of their brand names. So what is it about Brooklyn pizza that gives it its iconic status as a cultural reference point? It seems, as you will see, that a pizza box truly can open the door to deep (or not…Read More…

Condiments are essential foods for many of us. What would we do without mustard, ketchup, salsa, Tabasco, or Texas Pete, or Frank’s Hot Sauce? We sort of take them for granted and assume they’ve been around forever — which they haven’t — but during the past few years we (and by “we” I mean our tribe of fellow pizza freaks) bore first hand witness to the emergence a new “essential”…Read More…

Justin DeLeon is the king of the Crown Pizza! He owns Apollonia’s Pizza in  the heart of downtown Los Angeles and I found out about him from none other than Nancy Silverton, who you may recall talked him up in her Pizza Talk interview earlier this year. A former (and current) professional photographer, Justin brings together his love of art and composition with his passion for pizza, and creates some…Read More…

Hang onto your hats this week because Scott is about to reveal the deep, dark Swedish soul through two strangely compelling boxes most of you have probably never seen before. Omnipolis Hat is the name of the pizzeria in Stockholm and their box will, frankly, blow your mind, as will a second box (yes, another twofer from Scott!) that taps into the grim (think Grimm) mythic folkloric tradition of Scandinavia…Read More…

Note from Peter: I received the following letter from “B,” a serious home baker and pizza maker in which she raised some good questions about flour and commented on how important this baking activity has become for her and her family. I think many of you will relate to her story. With permission, here’s a portion of her letter (and, I encourage you all to write to me at Peter@pizzaquest.com…Read More…