Pizza Quest Heritage Radio Network

We often focus on independent pizza makers here on Pizza Quest. But, only 50% of the pizzas sold in this country are made by the thousands of independent operators; the other 50% are sold by the many pizza franchise chains, and most of those are from the top five brands. Marco's Pizza has recently climbed into that top tier (along with Domino's, Pizza Hut, Papa John, and Little Caesar's) , as it now boasts more than 1,000 locations, with over 100 more coming this year alone.

Peter sits down with Tim Brown, Chief Operations Officer (as well as owner/operator of 15 Marco's locations), and Kathleen Kennedy, Director of Culinary Innovation (and former colleague of Peter's at The California Culinary Academy in SF, 30 years ago). They discuss how this brand started from one independent location in Toledo, Ohio, and has continued to expand ever since. They mention how Marco's has stayed true to the founder's original vision while meeting the challenges of delivering a consistent pizza experience at every location, while managing the staff training of thousands, new product development, and the supply chain needs necessary to survive and thrive in today's competitive market place. You'll learn more than you thought possible in this week's episode of Pizza Quest.

Chef Michael Friedman grew up in a New York area Jewish American household (in Westfield, NJ, to be specific) and, like me, was nourished by lots of Chinese and Italian food. Also like me, he attended Boston University's School of Communications, so we share a kindred spirit connectivity. After paying his dues in fine dining restaurants around the world (including stints with Rich Melman's Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group, as well as with Chef Marc Vetri in Philadelphia, and also with Chef Jose Andres), Mike started his own restaurant group in the Washington DC area and, for the past ten years, has garnered awards and recognition of his own. All-Purpose (A-P) Pizza Shop, in its three locations, pays tribute to the east coast pizzas and slice shops of his youth, and joins Red Hen and Aventino Roman Cucina as part of his ever-growing restaurant empire. Hear all about Chef Mike's quest to bring the past into the present, and the culinary vision that drives him forward in this new episode of Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart.

Peter just spent a few days at the 2024 International Pizza Expo, where he sat down with the "Energizer Bunny of Pizza," and frequent guest, Scott Wiener, who seems to know everyone in the pizza mega-verse. Together, they cover everything from emerging trends (based on this year's pizza competition at the Expo, where Scott was a lead judge), the growing impact of Slice Out Hunger, the non-profit hunger relief program formed by Scott a number of years ago, the ever-popular pizza tours that first put Scott on the map 20 years ago, Scott's Guinness World Record Pizza Box collection, and most important, the upcoming three-day pizza intensive course that Peter and Scott will co-teach at Pizza University, May 13-15. Get all the details here, in this week's latest episode of Pizza Quest.

Our guest this week is Inja Radman, co-founder of New Culture Food, a company with a mission to provide the world with animal-free cheese, beginning with mozzarella, that actually tastes and performs like the milk-based originals. Even those with lactose or dairy sensitivities have a love-hate relationship with the current options of faux cheese, usually made with nut and seed milks. New Culture's breakthrough came by breaking the bio-chemical code of milk cheeses and to zero in on casein as the key. Casein is what makes cheese perform like cheese, as Inja explains in this fascinating conversation. Where will it lead, and when will this breakthrough, game-changing product be available to the general public? Listen in as Inja explains it all.

This week's episode features Jillana Miller and Ahmad Butler who, together, are the dynamic team known as MillerButler, a sizzling-hot mobile pizza and catering company, based in San Pedro, California. Ahmad competed against Peter and 10 other finalists at the Real California Pizza Contest in Napa back in August, where they first became friends. That's when Peter learned how MillerButler took on the ultra-competitive Los Angeles marketplace, survived the pandemic, and were soon cooking for the stars. You'll hear all about their inspiring journey on this week's all-new episode of Pizza Quest.

Lloyd Pans has emerged as the leading supplier of pans for every style of pan pizza, and Paul Lackey is their Director of Operations. On this week's podcast, which was recorded at the Northeast Pizza and Pasta Expo in Atlantic City, Paul describes the manufacturing process that enables Lloyd Pans to respond to the ever-changing needs and trends in the pizza industry with durable but lightweight and affordable pans. As Peter notes, watching the sales charts of the various types and styles of pans is a great way to spot emerging trends across the country and to see what's the next big thing on the horizon. Join Peter and Paul in this enlightening conversation on this week's episode of Pizza Quest.