Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart

This webisode is part of our ongoing series from the 2015 Forno Bravo Oven Expo, at Talbott Vineyards in Salinas, California. For three glorious, sunny days we had the opportunity to meet and cook with passionate, fellow “fire-freaks,” and work side-by-side with talented chefs, oven owners, growers, cheese and wine makers, and famous pizzaiolos like John Arena. John, as many of you already know, is a regular Guest Columnist here…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…

Note from Peter: While I’m at the Pizza Pasta Northeast Expo in Atlantic City this week (where I get to interview Joe Beddia on stage and also serve as a judge for this year’s Caputo Cup Pizza Competition), please enjoy this thoughtful post from our newest guest columnist, Joseph Calagno. I love his blending of culinary, cultural, and literary passion, and think you will too. I’ll return next week with…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…

Hi Everyone, This is a wonderful one-on-one with John Arena, the beloved “pizza guy” from Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, and a regular contributor here on Pizza Quest.  I’m going to let John do all the talking here, as his sincere and thoughtful description of the life of a pizza maker says it all. We have more webisodes with him coming up, so enjoy this opening segment. I’m sure you’ll…Read More…

The full name of this sauce is actually Big Brad’s Super Fantastic Smashed Tomato Sauce, but I am only mostly serious about that. I like to alternate the sauces I’m using to find new flavor combinations, textures, and themes for my pizzas.  I do make a lot of pizzas and I’m always looking for something new, or ways to make something different and, ultimately, “better.”   I often use cherry tomatoes alone on…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…