Pizza Quest

Welcome Back to Pizza Quest! This conversation is bound to tick off some folks, and everyone's entitled to his or her own opinion, but our music  Yoda ,  Peter Scott Ruben , is definitely not shy about his Mt. Rushmore of top rock band singers. During his last visit we did the same for solo singers, from Frank Sinatra and down, but this time the criteria is for those who earned accl...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! The cottage bakery movement  is a global phenomenon and we have here, in my hometown of Charlotte, NC, a shining example of a rising star of this movement.   Doug and Kaitlin Rose,  along with their "team" of four kids (ages 9-16), are cranking out amazing 100% sourdough breads and bagels (and other inventive sourdough products made with heirloom an...

Welcome back to  Pizza Quest ! This episode is a case study on how to create and bring a new product to market. The product is called  Pizza Freak , and the team members behind it are  Brad Daniels, Brad Kilgore, and Matt McKenney  or, as I like to call them,  two chefs and a marketing guru.  What you will learn in this episode is how a Detroit-inspired frozen square...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest!    Somehow, New York City never has too many great pizzerias, and they all seem to push their competitors to keep raising the bar. In the midst of one of the most competitive marketplaces on earth, a new player better have some game if he or she wants to thrive, especially in the intense pizza playground known as the West Village. So, what did the succes...

Ten years ago, Sarah Owens decided to parlay her success as a successful cottage baker and curator of roses at the  Brooklyn Botanical Gardens,  and write a book,  "Sourdough: Recipes for Rustic Fermented Breads, Sweets, Savories, and More."  The book went on to win a coveted  James Beard Award   and Sarah was off and running into the next stage of her career: teachin...

Mark Todd, aka "The Cheese Dude"  returns to take us on the ultimate cheese tasting to die for -- or, more accurately, a "Before You Die" tour. Mark has previously guided us through the  pasta filata  category (aka, mozzarella-like "pulled" cheeses), the cheddar category, the world of hard aged cheeses, and Alpine and smelly cheeses -- he has been my cheese Yoda for the past fe...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest!    The artist known as  Meathead  is back, hard on the heels of his newest book,  The Meathead Method: A BBQ Hall of Famer's Secrets and Science on BBQ, Grilling, and Outdoor Cooking with 114 Recipes.  His website and newsletter,  AmazingRibs.com , is followed by millions of people worldwide, where we all can get everything we ne...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest. You may remember  Blaine Parker  from an earlier episode, awhile back, in which we discussed his book and website,  Free the Pizza , which is a humorous, step by step manual for how to make restaurant quality pizzas in a home oven. Well, Blaine is back, along with his talented wife and writing/producing partner,  Honey Parker , to tell us all about...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest, Rye bread, the way we remember it -- at least those of who grew up near Jewish bakeries and delis -- has never really gone away but it does, at times, seem like an endangered species.  Steven Katz,  a Washington DC attorney and policy consultant, who also happens to be a published food writer and recipe developer, along with his longtime friend, library archi...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! Charlotte, NC is starting to generate more and more national buzz as a culinary destination city.  Top Chef   is in pre-production here in preparation for its next season, with Charlotte as the host city, and some of the local chefs and restaurants are getting recognition by The James Beard and other prestigious organizations. And, on the pizza front, a coupl...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! Every now and then we are fortunate to welcome back the legendary  John Arena , who I refer to as the  Yoda of Pizza . Often,  Brian Spangler  of Portland's  Apizza Scholl's,  also joins us and we refer to the two of them as  The Pizza Yodi's . It's one of our most popular series and always a lot of fun for me. Well, Brian couldn...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest for another new season of conversations with very interesting people. Ellen King, whose bakery in Evanston, Illinois,  Hewn , has become legendary for its beautifully crafted breads and pastries using regionally specific flour and local grains. Ellen explains the vision behind the bakery's name and she shares the story of her long and winding journey to fulfill tha...

Garrett McPerry  fell down the sourdough rabbit hole about eight years ago, started selling loaves at his local farmers market and, fueled by the public's enthusiastic response, just kept drilling deeper until, two years ago, when he and his wife Lauren opened a brick and mortar bakery cafe called Tommy & Atticus,  where the lines are often around the block, the sandwiches sell out by 1:30, an...

For the past 65 years I have been in an ongoing dialogue with my childhood friend, Howard (aka Howie) Brownstein. Howie used to work as a delivery driver for Mama's Pizzeria,  which many of you know as the place I revere as cheesesteak heaven. When he couldn't work his shifts he would ask me to fill in for him and the inter-weaving aromas of Mama's super-cheesy pizzas and juicy cheesesteaks (both...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! When I first met Randy Clemens  he was a seventeen-year old guy looking for a purpose in life, something to sink his teeth into, and volunteering to be my assistant for a bread class I was teaching at Sur la Table in Los Angeles. Fast forward 23 years and join me as I catch up with Randy who, after writing three books (including the famous " The Sriracha Cookbook" ) an...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! One of the most beloved couples in all of pizzadom have just released their first book, Pizza From the Heart, and it's a beauty, loaded with wonderful recipes, anecdotes, banter, and the whole backstory on the creation of the legendary Paulie Gee's Pizza. Paul and Mary Ann Giannone, aka Paulie Gee and Mrs. Gee , are manifesting their dream and legacy on a daily basis....

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! Kyle Ahlgren returns with some great news regarding the online baking courses he has created for Central Milling's Artisan Baking Center . He's also offering a special discount code for any Pizza Quest  viewers and listeners (and your friends). In our conversation, Kyle takes us behind the scenes regarding what it involves to create these terrific baking courses with a...

Six-Time James Beard Finalist, Cathy Whims, of Portland's Nostrana, on her new book. Welcome back to Pizza Quest! This week we welcome six-time James Beard Award finalist, Chef Cathy Whims , owner of Portland's beloved restaurant, Nostrana . which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. I first met Cathy when she was the chef and co-owner of Portland's celebrated fine dining Italian restaurant...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! NYC is a treacherous place to open a new pizzeria.  The competition is fierce and public is vocal and not always diplomatic. But the lure of reaching for holy grail of pizza is hard to resist, and now Chef Ian Coogan , formerly of Eleven Madison Park a nd the Jean George lineage of great chefs (among other top-tier mentors), and currently the culinary director at the p...

My long-time friend, Peter Scott Ruben , is the best guitar player I know, having personally watched him jam with some of the great rock and blues musicians of the seventies (Joe Perry in his pre-Aerosmith days and Kim Simmonds of The Savoy Brown Blues Band are two who immediately come to mind -- I read that Simmonds died two years ago in England and the band had to break up after an amazing fifty...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest! Elizabeth Brasch  is committed to delivering what she calls, " a higher order of pizza, " at Mellow Mushroom,  where she serves as VP of Marketing and Menu Innovation. As anyone who has been to any Mellow Mushroom  location knows, the notion of a pizzadelic  experience is not at all far-fetched. And, for those who own their brands, this conversation with Elizabeth will...

Welcome Back to Pizza Quest! As you know, our usual focus is on the celebration of artisanship in pizza and anywhere else we find it. But what if the next generation of "artisan" pizza makers are robots? Or is this a non sequitur? Hey, before you shoot the messenger, listen to this revelatory conversation with Nipun Sharma , the CEO of Appetronix , who is about to launch the first fully robotic pi...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest!         There's something special happening in Pukalani , on the island of Maui, where Chef Jeff Scheer and his wife Kaili (along with their trusted friend and restaurant anchor, Chef Chris),  are drawing big crowds and James Beard Award attention at their non-touristy, upcountry restaurant, Marlow . It starts with fabulous wood-fired sourdough pizzas (both traditional...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest!  It's been a while since we've caught up with our two most recurring and popular guests, pizza legends John Arena (Metro Pizza in Las Vegas) and Brian Spangler (Apizza Scholl's, Portland, OR) . Not only have they both been there and done it all, but they are also trusted mentors to many pizza operator newbies  and, over these past years on Pizza Quest , have served as...

Welcome back to Pizza Quest, Our guests this week are the co-hosts of the popular Pizza Pod Party Podcast , Arthur Bovino and Alfred Schulz . They recently completed their first season of 52 episodes with a star-studded roster of  guests including Mo Rocca, Andrew Zimmern, Tony Dukoupil, Guy Raz ("How I Built This"), Candace Bushnell (yes, who wrote "Sex in the City"), George R.R. Martin ("Game of...