Rosario Cacciatore knows pizza. He first started to make pizza while he was the dishwasher at the Recovery Room, in New London. FYI: the Recovery Room makes some of the best pizza in Southeastern Connecticut.
Now, Rosario has opened his own pizzeria in nearby, Westerly, Rhode Island. Known simply as the Pizza Place, he continues to make great pizza.
For me one of the most interesting things he states is about making pizza. He does explain that you need to use only the finest ingredients. You need very fresh high qulaity ingredients.
But then he goes on to explain that unless you have a love for pizza, it just does not turn out right.
Visit the Pizza Place and let us know what you think.
The Pizza Place
43 Broad Street,
Westerly, RI 02891
(401) 348-1803 or Toll Free 1-877-596-7739
John Arena explains the Vision of Pizza embraced by Metro Pizza in Las Vegas. Jon explains everyone has thier own vision of great pizza. Whether you are from Brooklyn or New Haven. New Jersey or Chicago. Seattle or San Francisco, everyone has their own idea of the perfect pizza.
Metro has a great concept for out of town pizza fans. If you go to Metro with a picture in front of you favorite pizzeria, you will recieve $25.00 worth of food. Metro pizza wants to recgnize and celebrate great pizza the world over.
John and his cousin Sam came from New York to begin their pizza adventure.
In the following presetation John, explains his vision of pizza.
John’s pizzeria philosophy:
“…We believe that a true Pizzeria should be a gathering place for family and friends to relax, share great food and enjoy each other’s company. We have visited hundreds of Pizzerias across the country, learning and gathering recipes to bring our guests a taste of home, wherever home might be….”
Metro Pizza( 5 Locations including:)
1395 East Tropicana Avenue
Las Vegas, Nevada
Tropicana & Maryland Parkway
(702) 736-1955
John teaches a pizza class at UNLV. Here is the course outline:
Week 1: History of Pizza
A discussion of the evolution of pizza and related flatbreads from the ancient Greeks to the kitchens of celebrity chefs. We will discuss how historical events and migration have shaped pizza, where we started, where we are now, and where we may be headed. Class will be divided into three teams for final project.
Week 2: Napoli
Napoli is the birthplace of pizza as we know it. Discussion and hands-on demonstration of pizza as it is prepared in Naples. We will examine the approved standards of the VPN Italy’s governing body of pizza. Week 3: Pizza Comes to the New World
An examination of pizza as it was prepared in New York’s Little Italy in the early 1900’s and how and why it has changed over time. Demonstration and practice of proper hand-crafting techniques.
Week 4: Dough Production
It all starts here. Basics of crust formulation. We will examine selection of ingredients, proper mixing and fermentation, and variations that will change flavor profiles and texture.
Week 5: Basics of Sauce, Cheese and SpicesWe will sample and compare ingredients and learn to prepare a base pizza sauce. This class will also examine regional preferences and variations of the basic ingredients.
Week 6: In the Thick of It
Chicago Style Deep Dish, Foccacia, Stuffed Pizza and Calzones. We will examine the origins and elements of these pizza variations including hands-on practice of basic techniques.
Week 7: Pizza in the 21st Century
An examination of multi-cultural influences and current trends in the pizza world including sample and discussion of pizzas with nontraditional toppings.
Week 8: Presentation of Final Projects
Each team will have 15 minutes to prepare the team’s Pizza Creation including a spoken explanation of the inspiration and rationale behind its development. Final written examination.
In the following interview Tony discusses his newest pizza adventures.
Tony was extremely busy and tired at the Pizza Expo, in Las Vegas. He explains his recent pizza adventures. He has opened a number of very successful pizza restaurants in San Francisco. His latest project is Tony’s Pizzeria Napoletana.
He started with just one wood fired oven. He has now added a coal fired oven and is working on a gluten free concept.
Yeah, you know I grew up in Fremont, California on a farm actually. My grandpa was a big Italian farmer. We lived with our grandpa; a typical Italian family. I never knew I was going to get into pizza. Food was a big part of our life.
We were on apricot orchards, cherry orchards, and fava beans. Italians call them horse beans. I grew up around food all the time especially watching my mom cook. That was a pretty big part of my life. I always tell everybody about that.
Like if it had garlic in it, then it had a lot of garlic. If it was spicy, it was really spicy. In the taste of the kitchen, your taste really comes from someone usually and that came from my mom.
The following interview was done at the Pizza Expo, in Las Vegas:
He has pizza passion. He moved to Italy to learn to create authentic Neapolitan Pizza.
The result is his very famous pizzeria, Spacca Napoli:
According the their website:
The creation of Spacca Napoli ame out of Jon Goldsmith’s profound love for Italy, a cherished place that he, partner Ginny Sykes and daughter Sarah have considered a second home for many years.
One could say the dream was always there, waiting for the right moment to be born.
From Florence to the Gargano to Naples, creating the pizzeria came naturally, bringing together Jon’s passions for cooking and hospitality and melding them with his appreciation of all things Italian. The plan began to take shape on a flight to Italy in July 2004, following a casual suggestion to Jon from a fellow traveller who was from Naples that he ought to open a pizzeria in Chicago. On that trip, Jon began to talk about the pizzeria idea to his many Italian friends in Rodi Garganico (Rodiani).
He was encouraged to go west for “true” pizza, to Naples — said to be the birthplace of pizza. As that summer drew to a close, Jon was determined to bring the essence of the Italian markets, the street life, and the abundance of Italy right back to Chicago.
I cornered two Italian pizza masters (pizzaioli) at the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas.
I told them I was not leaving until they gave me their best pizza tips.
They had no idea what I was talking about: they do not speak any english.
They just nodded and waved. Nodded and waved.
I decided to find an Italian translator.
I needed to know the secret. I had to know their best advice. I had to discover what made great pizza, great!
I needed to have the best pizza advice, from Antonio Stariata and Adolpho.
Don Antonio Stariata and Adolpho, two master pizza makers from Naples, share their best pizza tips. This interview was conducted at the Pizza Expo, in Las Vagas.
And you need great pizza tools to make great pizza. Check out this pizza peel:
Pizza Beer is here! In the following interview we discover the history of pizza beer, how it was created and the future of pizza beer! Stay tuned to this one, its a sohcker!
I did sample some Mama Mia’s Pizza Beer and I must admit I really liked it. The taste was bold but not overstated. There is a hint of pizza taste with every sip. And believe it or not that is a good thing.
Pizza Beer is the brain child of Chef Tom. He was experimenting with some home brews in his own kitchen when he made the discovery.
He shared it with some Friends and they shared it with their Friends. He knew he had a hit on his hands.
As a matter of fact, one pizzeria in California (Portino’s) actually uses pizza beer as the basis for all of their pizza.
And it’s good. chef Tom uses basic beer ingredients and then adds: basil, oregano , tomato and garlic.
I was able to do an interview with the creator of Pizza Beer, Chef Tom and Frank of Portino’s.
Chef Tom explains the entire history of Mama Mia’s Pizza Beer and Frank explains how he uses Pizza Beer in his pizza.
Here is the story:
You can learn to make your own beer. Who knows where that will take you?
Frank Giovanni helps pizzerias by supplying them with the finast ingredients. Salandino’s has been in the business for over 50 years. They always put their customers first. You can visit them at;
The story of Saladino’s, Inc., is proof that great things can come from personal commitment, unwavering determination and old fashioned family values.
The story begins in Fresno, California, where Don Saladino worked in the meat department of his father’s grocery store. In 1944, Don combined his meat packaging experience with Old World family recipes from Italy’s Calabrese region, and launched Saladino Sausage Company – the business grew quickly and earned a widespread reputation for delicious, high-quality sausage products.
In 1980, Don’s son, Craig, joined his father in the family business. Together, they expanded their product offerings to include specialty sausage and linguica, which they sold to local pizzerias and restaurants. The company’s wide variety of raw and cooked sausage products attracted a loyal following among a growing number of retail and institutional customers.
If you want to purchase pizza supplies for your pizzeria, you need to check out, Saladino’s. Tell them, Pizza Therapy sent you!
A very important aspect of using the Internet is the use of video. If you are not using video for your website, or your business, you are leaving money on the table.
If you would like a custom video created for your pizzeria, please to go:
The Pizza Promoter.
We can create a website for you. We can make vidoes for you.
When you are with Scott Weiner you are in the presence of a dynamo. A dynamo of pizza history, pizza knowledge, and pizza passion.
The following video gives you a taste of the tour. From the minute the Pizza Tour starts you are in a whirl wind of energy and pure pizza stories.
The beginnning of the video shows Scott’s style as he discusses various pizzas you will be sampling on the tour. The video was recorded at Lombardi’s in New York. Opened in 1905, Lombardi’s is the true birthplace of pizza in the United States.
The second part of the video is a one on one interview with Scott as he explains how he got into the pizza tour business.
It was actually quite by accident. He started by taking friends of his on tours of New York. Soon this started to be quite a habit.
In this interview with Roberto Caporuscio of Keste Pizzeria and Vino, he reveals his inspiration for making great pizza.
Roberto explains his original inspiration for pizza was his mentor. Now he is inspired by his cusomers.
From the Keste website here is some history of Roberto:
It was…in Napoli, the birthplace of pizza, that Roberto went to study the art and craft of this culinary delight with the most talented masters of the Neapolitan pizza makers. After training with the best, he opened two successful pizzerias in Pittsburgh, followed by A Mano in Ridgewood, NJ . Each endeavor brought critical acclaim from the culinary industry, as well as the rave reviews and articles in books and magazines.
While I discussed pizza with Roberto, he revealed to me his true inspiration for pizza:
My customers are my inspiration…I want to do better every day for them. Every morning when I wake up I want to do a better job for them.
He also talks about his new pizza school. You can learn the art of pizza making from Roberto and his world reknowned staff.
What I was most impressed when I did this interview was how friendly and happy, Roberto was. He allowed his customers to come right up to him while he was making pizza. He answered all of their questions. He took time for them. He shared all of his knowledge about pizza. And he did it with a smile on his face.
Roberto is truly an inspirational pizzaiolo. A great person, making great pizza. What a combination.
You can get more information about Robert’s Pizza School, here. The school will teach you not only how to make pizza but also how to make mozzarella.
Roberto Caporuscio is a true Legend of Pizza . He has passion and belief. He truly cares about his customers and his pizza.
Keste Pizzeria and Vino
271 Bleecker Street
New York, New York 10014
