Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart

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…

I was working in New York City this summer and went on some great little pizza quests.  When I got home, I found that a group of volunteer cherry tomato plants were about ready to burst in my back yard. I decided that things had gotten out of control, as the plants were crawling across my patio and it was time to clean things up. First, I had to pluck…Read More…

Hi Everybody, A quick announcement: I mentioned in my previous posting that Craftsy.com will be creating a free pizza mini-course with me soon (as a follow-up to my longer artisan breads course, which has just passed the 2,500 mark in sign-ups), but I just learned that they are also running a special holiday sale through Monday night (midnight), Nov. 26th. Not only is my course on sale but every course…Read More…

In this, the second in our newest webisode series, we continue our conversation with Kelly Whitaker, chef/partner at Basta in Boulder, CO.  You’ll notice a few breakaway shots to some of his menu items, such as a sous vide short rib dish that is phenomenal, cooked under pressure at a precise temperature for 48 to 72 hours, and then fire-charred just before serving. We will have a whole episode on…Read More…

Here it is, Thanksgiving week, which means everything will feel like one long weekend till Chanukah and Christmas. Scary how fast that time goes.  But, to help you enjoy the time, we’ll post a few new pieces including the next installment in our Basta webisode series, which I hope to post on Thanksgiving Day.  Also, we’ll soon be posting the next installment in John Arena’s series on what it takes…Read More…

Living in Southern California, I use my grill more than I use my oven.  I love cooking with fire.  Fire roasting adds to the flavor complexity of almost anything you cook. There is something primal about it.  We’re spoiled with gas grills — mine is even connected to the house and is ever ready to be fired up with a simple turn of the dial, which is great and convenient,…Read More…

We are beginning with this posting of a new webisode story arc featuring our friends at Basta, the wonderful wood-fired restaurant in Boulder that we’ve featured here in the past. This short opening segment re-introduces you to Kelly Whitaker, the visionary chef/owner of Basta and, in later segments we’ll meet other members of his team and then, over time, we’ll follow his trail all the way to Southern California and…Read More…

Just a few quick notes this week: –We’ve had some great response to John Arena’s new series on what it takes to open your own pizza restaurant. A very valid question has been raised: how can he tell us to get fast while he (and Brad English, our intrepid pizza quester) also extoll the virtues of super slow pizzaiolo Dom DeMarco of Brooklyn (see Brad’s recent journey, further down the…Read More…

Di Fara Pizza – Part I of a 3 stop pizza quest: Dave Wilson (our very own Pizza Quest Director of Photography and Co-Director on our various webisodes) and I were working in New York together and realized that it looked like we were going to actually have a Saturday afternoon off.  Time for ourselves!  The wheels were spinning.  What to do?  Where to go?  NY is limitless after all!…Read More…

Note from Peter: Don’t forget to scroll down the home page for Part One of this new series from our friend John Arena, owner of the hugely popular Metro Pizza in Las Vegas. We’ve been getting some great response to this. Thanks John!!) There are many components to opening and sustaining a successful pizzeria, but for now let’s focus on essential pizza making skills.  So here is lesson number one:…Read More…