Episodios
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As most of you know by now, for us it's as much about the Quest as it is about the Pizza, and this week's guest, author David Amadio, takes us on a deep dive into the quest of his father, Jerry Amadio, a master carpet installer and rug expert, who is just as dedicated to his own craft as any pizzaiolo that I know is to making the perfect pizza. Jerry Amadio is legendary in the carpet community, especially in Philadelphia, where he has been honing and expressing his skills for the past 50 years. David, as his (sometimes) dutiful son, worked alongside his father for a number of years, learning much (but not all) of what his father knew. But, then, he realized his own path was to be a writer and teacher, not a "rug man," so he instead wrote a book about what he learned from his dad, and called it "Rug Man." It is, technically, a work of fiction, a novel with fictional characters, but it is based on real occurrences in his father's life, dealing with high maintenance customers, arrogant foremen, slacker/stoner co-workers, and undocumented immigrants who are just as dedicated as he is to respecting this noble craft. The story unfolds while the "rug man" practices his fading art of proper carpet installation and antique rug restoration, all while racing the clock against a looming back injury that might lay him out at any moment.
I, like David Amadio, grew up in my family's carpet business, and both of my brothers earned their livelihood in it. My brother, Harry, actually still works for the same company as Jerry Amadio. It was Harry who told me about the book and connected me with David. His book is so well-written that one needs to have no knowledge of, or even interest in, carpet and rugs to fully enjoy the read, as it skillfully captures the universal and fathomless sense of quest that any dedicated artisan feels for his or her craft. It's no surprise that the book is so much fun to read, since David's day job is as a Professor of Creative Writing at Lincoln University, just outside of Philadelphia. He brings the same dedication to story-telling as his dad does to his beloved carpet work.
Learn all about the connection between between the art of creative writing and how closely it parallels the world of the "rug man." Please join us for this stimulating conversation, right here on Pizza Quest.
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Marco Pacelli is doing something wonderful in Redondo Beach, California at his pasta shop, Fatto a Mano. After a lifetime of working for Michelin-level fine dining restaurants, he and his wife Arlene decided to open a small pasta and Roman-style pizza shop showcasing the foods inspired by Marco's Aunt Concettina. She was the woman who shaped his culinary passion during the summers he spent with her as a youth on the Amalfi coast. The rest is history, as customers discovered that they could establish their own vivid taste memories through the amazing homemade pastas, sauces, and pizzas at Fatto a Mano.
Hear in this lively conversation with Peter how Marco shares his culinary vision by connecting his own passion to everyone who comes into his pasta shop by recreating the authentic flavors of his youth and his beloved Aunt Concettina.
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Chef Tandy Wilson is an important player in the Nashville culinary renaissance. Hear how this classically trained chef paid his dues and then returned to his roots to create a signature style all his own (while winning a James Beard Award in the process), in this latest episode of Pizza Quest.
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Chef Fiore Tedesco was born completely deaf and couldn't hear anything until he was five years old, when his hearing was miraculously recovered through a risky series of operations. He made up for lost time after that, retraining himself to not only hear, speak, and expand his vocabulary, but to also play drums in a rock band and then travel the world with his bandmates. Eventually, he brought together childhood family food memories with the joy of creating flavors based on his global travels, and reinvented himself as a superstar chef in Austin, Texas. His latest restaurant is L'Oca d'Ora ("The Golden Goose"), which is named in honor of his daughter, Lucinda (whose nickname is Lucy Goose). At L'Oca d'Ora, he pays tribute to the Italian cuisine and pizzas that inspired him during his remarkable journey of self-discovery. In this illuminating conversation with Peter, Fiore fills in all the gaps that brought him to the creation of L'Oca d'Ora, fueled and inspired by his love for the one and only Lucy Goose.
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Pizza and bagels in the Mississippi Delta might have once been considered a non sequitur, but Marisol and Rory Doyle have put the small town of Cleveland, Mississippi on the global pizza map, thanks to a recent NY Times article featuring their destination wood-fired pizzas. What started as a once-a-week bagel cart has grown into a local treasure and destination pizza cafe. Hear all about the Doyles, Leña Pizza and Bagels, Rory's award-winning photography, and Marisol's culinary journey from Mexico to Mississippi in this week's new episode of Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart.
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On today's episode we welcome back to one of our long-time favorites, pizza master Leo Spizzirri. When we first featured Leo on Pizza Quest about seven years ago we introduced him as the "Greatest guy you never knew," but a lot has changed since then. His ever-present short reels on Instagram, his feature length YouTube instructionals, the many demos he performs at every pizza and food conference, his brand ambassadorship on behalf of a number of food and equipment products, and his ongoing classes at Pizza University have brought Leo to the attention of thousands of food lovers everywhere. He's also an avid collector and replica builder of vintage rock guitars (seems like pizza making and rock and roll music making go together like peas and carrots), which we'll also touch on in this episode.
But, most importantly, in this episode we announce the collaboration between Leo and me on an upcoming three-day sourdough pizza intensive at Pizza University on Oct. 21-23 (click here for all the details) and we'd love for you to attend. We talk about this, as well as Leo's 25-year journey to perfect his craft and unique teaching methods, and lots of other pizza-loving geek-out stuff in this latest episode of Pizza Quest. Join us for the ride....
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Brigit Binns first appeared on Pizza Quest a few years ago when we filmed some cooking segments with her and her husband, actor Casey Biggs, at the Forno Bravo Wood-Fired Oven Expo in Salinas, California in 2017.
Brigit and Casey have also been operating a wonderful retreat and event center in California's Central Coast Wine Country called Refugio. But, she's far too prolific for settling into the so-called good life, and so keeps writing fabulous cook books for Williams-Sonoma and others, as well as, more recently, a memoir called Rottenkid about growing up in (and surviving) a neurotically crazy Hollywood family (the title says it all). In this delightfully candid conversation, she shares it all with us, including some good, old-fashioned Hollywood gossip – hey, you can't make up this stuff!
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In this episode we step away from pizza for a moment and focus on culinary teaching for the everyday person. I first met Chef Alyssa Gorelick about 15 years ago when she was at the helm of a very innovative vegetarian restaurant called Fern. She was young and single and super talented. Fast forward to today and she is now Alyssa Wilen, a mother, happily married to her husband Andrew, and for a number of years they have been operating a cooking school here in Charlotte (where we all live) called Alyssa's Kitchen. Along the way I found out that Alyssa was not a vegetarian when she was the chef at Fern, but adapted her skills to that cuisine because, well, she could.
It's that kind of artisanal spirit that propelled her and Andrew to tackle the daunting task of opening a cooking school for home cooks, then navigating through the pandemic to survive, and ultimately growing an important and beloved local business. Resilience and entrepreneurship are the key words here, so tune in as we hear all about the journey and creative process of Alyssa and Andrew Wilen, here on Pizza Quest.
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We are in the midst of American greatness on the International pizza stage. First, we recently had Caputo Cup champion Siler Chapman on with us. Now, his compatriot and fellow member of the US Pizza Champions team, Audrey Kelly, is here to tell us about her own championship gold medal in the pan pizza category at the Caputo Cup. Audrey has been on Pizza Quest in the past, showing us how she makes her signature Grandma Pizza at Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage in Boulder, CO, which she calls "The Patty." You can find that episode here.
As we learn in this new episode, it was a variation of that very same Grandma Pizza that she made for the judges in Naples that earned her this year's big prize. Audrey is also one of the early founders of the Women in Pizza movement and is a regular contributor to Pizza Today Magazine. And, she has the most adorable twin boys, who seem to have taken over her Instagram reels at @audreyjanespizza. Welcome back, Audrey!
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Siler Chapman, owner of King of Fire Pizza in Charlotte, NC, was already a world champion long before he went to Naples this year. Nevertheless, he earned the title back when he was a 20-something kid obsessed with acrobatic dough tossing and showmanship as part of the US Pizza Champions Team. Now, twenty-two years later, he's a serious business operator and a mentor to a new generation of up and comers, and he wants to be known for his pizzas and not just his acrobatic skills. Hear all about how he added a new gold medal to his trophy case at this year's Caputo Cup Championship, and how he's teaching new operators the secrets for running a successful pizza business via the Perfecting Pizza training program that he and Tony Gemignani and other mentors have created.
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Welcome back to Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart. We wrap up our summer season of Golden Oldies with a special replay of our panel session at the Atlantic City Pizza and Pasta Expo Northeast, recorded October, 2022. The episode is entitled “Tinkering With Your Dough.” Peter and guest panelist and pizza master John Gutekanst of Avalanche Pizza in Athens, OH, field questions from an audience of over 100 professional and amateur pizza makers from across the nation. We expect you will find some questions of your own answered in this entertaining and informative session, and you will definitely learn some things about dough that you didn’t know before.
Next week we'll kick off the new Fall season of Pizza Quest with all new episodes, so stay tuned. Remember, it's more about the Quest than it is about the pizza, and the Quest never ends....
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Back in September we aired this show with guest Scott Deley. Here's what we said back then: 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, Scott Deley, who just published a book called The Ooni Pizza Project, joins the show to tell us all about it. The book is loaded with inspiring recipes created by Scott (but inspired by his many pizza heroes), who has been on his own personal pizza quest for quite a while. He is now an official Ooni Brand Ambassador, posting regularly on social media to help establish Ooni as a brand to reckon with. In our conversation, Scott tells us all about what being a “Brand Ambassador” means, and gives us an insight into how Ooni managed to break from the pack and become a global marketing phenomenon.
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Peter’s guests this week are Noel Brohner of Slow Rise Pizza, who has appeared on the show in the past, along with his colleague, molecular biologist James Gaffney. They have been working, along with a few other microbe geniuses, to create a powdered wild yeast sourdough starter that can be used just like instant yeast to make sourdough breads and pizza doughs without the need of keeping a starter in your fridge. How did they do it, when will it be available, and what are the implications of this breakthrough product for all of us? Tune in and find out in this week’s episode of Pizza Quest.
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In our never-ending celebration of artisanship wherever we find it, this week’s episode turns our lens onto one of the truly great American crafts, distilled whiskey, most notably, bourbon. On the show to explain it all is Peter’s long-time friend, culinary educator, and award-winning author Albert Schmid, whose newest book, Bourbon 101, was just recently released by The University Press of Kentucky.
In this episode, Albert takes us through a tasting of four distinct versions of corn mash whiskey, and explains what qualifies some as “bourbons” and others as, well, moonshine, Tennessee or Canadian whiskey, Scotch, Gin, and the dozens of other variations of hootch. Most importantly though, he opens up a whole new level of appreciation for how to savor that essence — the spirit — that distinguishes one brand from another and makes bourbon such a beloved part of the great artisan story of America. Feel free to taste along, as Albert Schmid expertly guides us through Bourbon 101.
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In this episode, Steven Raichlen shares with us his long journey from Reed College, to writing for an underground newspaper in Boston, to landing in south Florida where he has since authored 32 books and won numerous James Beard Awards — all driven by his global quest in search of every known iteration of cooking with fire. His books have sold millions of copies and his public broadcasting cooking shows have inspired us all and opened a world of international flavor possibilities. I often refer to our Pizza Quest followers as members of a tribe of kindred spirits we affectionately call “fire freaks.” So, prepare to meet the tribal elder and current godfather of the fire freak movement, as Steven Raichlen shares his inspiring story in this “break out the grills” episode of Pizza Quest.
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This week we celebrate the one-year anniversary of our conversation with the renowned expert on everything grilled, smoked, and cooked with or over fire, Meathead Goldwyn. Grilling season is still in full swing, so these evergreen tips and tricks from the master will serve as either new or refreshed information. Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling, is his award winning and best-selling book, and he loves sharing his extensive knowledge with all of us, as you will learn during this delightful conversation, first posted on Pizza Quest in July of 2023.
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As we review and repost some of the most popular shows of the past year, the bagel theme is still the hot nationwide trend. In this episode, our beloved pizza Yodi's, John Arena and Brian Spangler, return to explore their latest obsession. They are joined by the "Bagel Whisperer," (or maybe, better, "The Gandalf of Bagels"), Philip Korshak, who was recently on the show to discuss the closing of his legendary Philadelphia shop, Korshak Bagels. Together, these pizza and bagel wizards geek out together on their shared passion for bagels, and also show off their recent experiments in the quest of the perfect bagel.
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Previous Pizza Quest guest Chef Wylie Dufresne recently had an extensive cameo in the momentous season ending episode of "The Bear" on Hulu. The episode features appearances from many of the chefs (both real and imaginary) that inspired the restaurant in the show, so it seems timely to look back on our conversation with Wylie from the Fall of 2023. In the episode, he described his move into the pizza sector with his new restaurant called Stretch Pizza. Let's see if we can find any "Easter Eggs" in this episode that hints at what's to come. Regardless, it's momentous whenever a celebrated fine dining, innovative chef of Wylie's stature starts making pizzas (and they all do, it seems, unless they go into burgers instead), so tune in to see what's behind this major shift in the WD-50 legacy. Could Italian beef sandwiches be far behind?
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Korshak Bagels, nestled in the heart of Philadelphia’s historic Italian Market neighborhood, was like the mouse that roared. Producing only 1,000 hand-shaped sourdough bagels a day, Philip Korshak‘s love-child of a bagelry garnered national press during its brief two-year run, and elicited deep mourning and lines two blocks long during its final week, even when folks were warned they could buy only two bagels per person. Was it Phil's viral Instagram poetry posts (@korshak.bagels.poetry), or the original shmears and curated smoked salmon and "pastrami lox," or simply the amazingly plump sourdough bagels themselves that cemented Korshak Bagels as an eternal star in Philadelphia’s legendary food constellation? Find out straight from Phil’s own mouth as we revisit this conversation from the Fall of 2023, in an enlightening and heartbreaking debrief about a once and shining South Philly "Camelot" moment.
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We are joined this week by Charles Wekselbaum, owner and head salumeriest for Charlito's Cocina, makers of fine charcuterie. Is it salumi or salami? We'll find out, as Charles guides Peter through a tasting of three of his most popular Spanish-influenced products, and explains how he transforms fresh meat products into cured and fermented dried meats in which his goal is to evoke the full potential of flavor trapped in the meat through application of his charcuterie craft. Together, Peter and Charles explore the many parallels between the crafts of breadmaking, as well as cheese, wine, and beer making, to the art of charcuterie. In the end, the common bond is the concept of transformation. It's fascinating and delicious, so learn all about it here, in this episode of Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart.
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