The Real Slice Perfecting Pizza

Mike Bausch is an industry leader whose restaurant, Andolini's Pizzeria, is a top ten pizzeria in the US, as named by TripAdvisor, BuzzFeed, CNN, and USA Today. Andolini's began in 2005 and has grown to five pizzerias, two gelaterias, two food hall concepts, a food truck, and a fine dining restaurant by 2019.

Master Pizza is a household name in the Cleveland area of Northern Ohio and the "Grand Master" behind Master Pizza is Michael LaMarca. Michael and his team not only run a successful small chain of independent pizza shops but they also organize and manage the International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo and are members of the U.S. Pizza Team. Siler and Nick sit down for a very insightful discussion on how Michael and his team have become so successful. 

Nick and Siler have an amazing episode with four of the Women in Pizza" including Laura Meyer, Audrey Kelly, Nicole Bean, and Georgia Caporuscio. This is a can't miss conversation that offers a rare look behind the scenes into the determination and grit that it takes for women to succeed and excel in the pizza industry. Find out more about the Women in Pizza at womeninpizza.com

Peter Reinhart wrote the book on pizza. Actually, several of them! Peter is one of the original titans of the pizza industry and Nick and Siler have a chance to sit down and have an in depth conversation with him. More about Peter: Peter Reinhart has won four James Beard Awards for his books on bread, pizza, and the journey of self-discovery. In addition to founding the legendary Brother Juniper’s Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and serving as the dough and product developer for dozens of companies and restaurants, he is also a chef instructor and faculty member at Johnson & Wales University, the author of 13 books, the executive director of the Johnson & Wales International Symposium on Bread, and the co-creator and host of the website, Pizza Quest where, for the past ten years, he shares his never-ending search for the perfect pizza, both literally and metaphorically.

In this episode, Siler and Nick speak with Marcus Medina - owner of Hella Pie Pizza Co. He started a mobile wood fired pizzeria in 2017. His company specialized in doing pop up style events at Farmer’s markets and breweries. When Covid-19 hit, the mobile business came to a complete halt so he searched for the right location and deal to open up a brick & mortar. That right location and deal eventually came, and in October 2020 he opened up a take out pizzeria and slice house in his hometown of Tracy, California. Hella Pie Pizza Co. is a family ran pizzeria, respecting the craft of pizza and has a passion for relationships in the community.

If you have been to Pizza Expo then you definitely know who Pete Lachapelle is! In this episode, Siler and Nick have a great conversation with Pete about Pizza Expo, where it has been and where it is going. 

Here is a little more about Pete - Graduating with a marketing degree from Boston College in 1978, Pete has been in the publishing business since 1979. Having served as publisher on 12 different titles, he has worked for some of the largest trade publishing companies in the country and has focused on the food industry for more than 35 years. He began selling ad space for Bakery Production & Marketing in 1983 and was named publisher in 1988. There, he built the magazine into one of the largest industrial food publications in the country. In 1998, he decided to take on the challenge of redesigning and reorganizing Pizza Today into the magazine you see today. In 2000, Pete was named president of Macfadden Protech LLC, where he was responsible for International Pizza Expo, Pizza Today, the National Association of Pizzeria Operators (NAPO) and the School of Pizzeria Management. Most recently, his group has developed Pizza & Pasta Expo, Int’l Artisan Bakery Expo and Artisan Bakery East and the soon-to-be launched Pizza Expo 365, an online resource platform which will represent the Crossroads of the Industry. Pete is also a founding member of the National Restaurant Association’s Pizzeria Industry Council with the goal of  increasing the success rate of independent and multi-unit pizzerias. Today, Pete is the Global Brand Director for Emerald Expositions’ Food Group with the mission to expand the Food Group’s footprint throughout the artisan foodservice community.