Super Pizza Recipe from Northern Italy for Fast Casual

The flavor leaps from this simple pizza!

This pizza was prepared in Trento Italy in by our friend Albert in a 140 model revolving brick oven at approximately 750 degrees.  

The best things in life are sometimes easy too.

First- you will need an easy Neapolitan dough for a base which is then generously covered with fresh buffalo mozzarella broken in pieces and a very light spattering of tomato sauce.  Then (and this is key) after it is baked to perfection you slice fresh sopressa and gently fold it over your pizza in a delicate blanket. Next comes the artichoke hearts and finally the Gaeta olives.  The savory meat, delicate crust with hints of yeast and the tangy olives combine with rich cheese and artichokes to delight the pickiest of pallets.
Sauce can be substituted by a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you prefer but as with any delectable dish-you can only get out of it what you put into it, so use the best available ingredients, then bake to perfection  in your New York Brick Oven.  I you need to learn the Art of Pizza please contact the Pizza School of New York, they can make it easy for you and get you started on the right foot.

Pizza Concept Trends

An Exciting Time For Pizza

The New Wave of Entrepreneurs have hit the ground running.

Fast casual, locally sourced, artisan pizza, organic and build your own are the buzz words being tossed about and of course there is the "Chipotle of Pizza" dream being expressed by the media but some ingredients are universal in the latest "Gold Rush" of pizza. First and foremost is the idea of building your own or designing your own pizza. Although it's not  a new idea to such Industry standards as Goodfella's from Staten Island New York which in known for it's Vodka pie, the open counter display of ingredients through a glass partition where the customer choose the toppings, thus "building" his own pizza" is now the predominant part of many of the new concepts.  The artisan part of pizza making is being reinterpreted to mean choose your toppings and hand made instead of hand made dough which is then hand stretched and cooked by a skilled pizza man in an authentic brick oven but customers are not that choosy yet as the competition is still evolving. Speed is foremost at this time but is not making it necessary to sacrifice product at places using the revolving brick ovens to cook hand tossed dough at such  an amazing rate of speed and consistency that it would make a Neapolitan Pizza Man smile. Organic ingredients are a bonus for some places looking to offer a healthier pizza, while local growers are being utilized as an incentive to be part of the community. Trendy places with exciting themes are taking the place of the old mom and pop slice places and offer somewhere different from the typical Pizza Franchise to take the family on pizza night. With the market share of fast casual pizza increasing by leaps and bounds it is anyone's guess as to who will be the "Chipotle of Pizza". Regardless of who dominates the market it is a win-win for all pizza lovers. 

Fast Casual Pizza Injury Prevention Tips

Food service has many areas of safety from storage to cooking at correct temperatures. Most municipalities and schools cover the prevention of food contaminants and  bacteria control but even more basic to food prep is location safety.

An alert and aware staff that is trained on what to look for is your best bet. Minimally your managers should should know these basics.
1) Does everyone know to immediately handle spills by blocking the spill with a sign, chair or their body while they get help cleaning it up?

2) Does your staff know to NEVER pass hot beverages, dishes, pizza or especially soups over heads of customers?  This may seem like common sense but sadly it is not not. Make sure you tell them.

3)Are doors clearly marked for Public or authorized personnel only?

4) Are floor floor mats and carpets clean, secure and flat?

5) Are steps clearly lighted? Slip proof? Do they have proper railings? Do you have caution signs?

6)Is your sidewalk, entrance way and parking lot in good repair and well lit?

The above are just the bare bones but will go a far when implemented to prevent injuries.  You can add anything you observe to the list that will help prevent injury and then post it for all your staff to see.

New Trends in Pizza-The Gourmet Pizza Brew Pub Arrives

The Gourmet Pizza Brew Pub Arrives

Having recently visited the extremely well executed Radius Brew Pub in Emporia Kansas featuring wood fired brick oven pizza from a revolving  brick oven that is part of a wonderful open kitchen design, I realize a new player/category is emerging -The Gourmet Pizza Brew Pub. To begin, select craft beers such as Watermelon Wheat and Milk Stout are being brewed for customers in one of the nation’s first completely visible and walk around electric micro-breweries as the Chess Masters Blues tunes set rhythm to  the mood. A unique sampling of six delightful ales and  stouts arrives at the table in a signature hand-made split level server( which takes up less room while making for a wonderful display) is brought to the table with each of its individual glasses glistening with cold condensation to start. Details, details, details, a pleasant Midwestern staff and a completely unexpected menu are a welcome surprise to see in this small town on the prairie but when the Scotch eggs with homemade Dijon mustard and butter washed Pretzel bread featuring a homemade cream cheese and Cheddar spread arrived, I was sold. Then the Mako Shark with adobe spiced French potatoes was placed in front of me I had visions of my home town- New York, this was a piece of paradise or an oasis on the Great Plains (pinch me). As if all this was not enough for this kid from Brooklyn, the next dish was a broccoli pancetta pizza delight cooked in a revolving wood burning brick oven built by the New York Brick Oven Company.  I had to hold back the tears.  Radius brew pub has raised the proverbial bar on pizza and set a new standard for brew pubs while homing in on a new food trendsetting idea.   This long time restaurateur   feels Gourmet Pizza Brew Pubs will be of the importance and demand attention on par with the fast casual trend for quick eating. It is fantastic to see young entrepreneurs bringing their best game and hitting it out of the park. Marc Cosentino

How to Promote your Pizza Business by Marc Cosentino Co-Founder of Three Time World Champion Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza Part 1

Watching my facebook friend Grant Cardone go on and on about getting known and attracting attention I thought I might as well share some very hard won knowledge on the subject to help my friends just getting started. I’d like to first say that IT IS SO MUCH EASIER TODAY THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN TO GET ATTENTION FOR BUSINESS!!! What do I mean by this? The internet, cell phones, home printing, email, blogs, online ordering, electronic press releases, computers, you tube, facebook, insatgram, search engines and a host of other items that make it so easy to get out there that it may seem overwhelming or too easy.
No matter how incredible your product is, if nobody knows it exists, you will never sell one item and die broke a complete failure. What you need besides a great product is getting it known. I have some experience in this having generated hundreds of newspaper articles, TV news stories, hundreds upon hundreds of pages on ggogle search, lead google stories, 100′s of thousands of hits on youtube videos, twenty years of NYC Mayors visiting my original store, having my pizza bet on the NY Giants by the Mayor of New York when They won the Superbowl, radio and I think you get the point.
SO how did I do it? More importantly; how do you do it? If you do a portion of what I advise you here I guarantee you will succeed in getting your product known. With good management and a consistent product you should start expanding.
1-list out all the people you know and every group, organization and social club you belong to. Note: Yes, work and a burning desire to succeed are a necessity so no crying!
Believe it or not but the people most likely to promote you are the ones you already know so start contacting them and letting them know what you are doing and don’t be afraid to ask for help getting the word out because most-not all-people are good. Email. call, visit, write letters, make post cards, put up signs and contact each and everyone of them. Invite them to your grand opening and tell them to bring their friends. Yes I said it and if you thought for one second “Oh my god how would I ever handle that many people” you need to rethink your promotional philosophy and heres why. A true promoter never stops and never, ever considers delivery, just getting the people in-period. I don’t care how you do it and you don’t care about handling them, that’s another part of the job called production or delivery. Your only concern when you wear the promotional hat is promoting. What is promoting? It’s making things known and well thought of. It’s getting the word out and creating interest.
2-Signs announcing your product. Let’s take pizza

since it is why we are here. You need to tell people you are coming and get your name on everyone’s tongue. Signs on your place, signs on your car, signs on your clothes, on your dog, kids. hats, cards.
3-Everywhere you go, shopping, barber, car wash, doctor, school. little league, diner, dog groomer you talk it up and introduce yourself and give out cards or better yet coupons for everyone.
4-When you open you go and hand out samples to all these people-don’t worry about the cost because it will have a return on investment way over what any paid advertising def: paid offers of your product in various media. WORD OF MOUTH is always your best promotion and will always bring greater results than paid ads.
5-video on your iPhone all of the above and dump it on your new youtube channel, facebook, instagram, twitter accounts your opening in the next step
6-open twitter, youtube, facebook, instagram, linked in and every other social media account you can find. And continually put up photos and videos of your progress and promotion.
to be continued

Fast Casual Comes to New Jersey with a Twist

Papa Poncho of Edison New Jersey has just opened it's doors to rave reviews from from the pizza eating community. This is evident by the lines of new patrons and the number of pizza's flying out of their "Revolving Brick Oven". That's the new twist and the center of the operation- a revolving brick oven which brings new meaning to the term Fast casual.

Revolving Brick Oven

No doubt it's a sure winner, especially with guidance from Andrew Scudera of the World Champion Goodfella's Pizza School of New York and design hints from Scot Cosentino of the New York brick Oven Company. If your over in Edison New Jersey check it out. 

The Bronx is Burning! New York Brick oven Company Brings Inferno to the Bronx

The Bronx is Burning! View this email in your browser

New Revolving Brick Oven Installed at "The Bronx is Burning" in NYC NYC Fireman installs New York Brick Oven Company's Revolving Brick Oven The soon to open Pizza Place will be featuring the Inferno Series oven to handle expected demand. Talk in the big apple is centered around the controversially named eatery which has been under fire since  putting it's hat in the ring with a name that is still a sore spot with local politicians who remember the term from the hostile environment of the Bronx during the 1970'S. But as soon as the doors open and the pizza starts flying all complaints will fall by the wayside and pizza harmony will prevail. Stay tuned for more data and the opening date.

The New York Yankee Pizza. Battle for the pizza of a city.