Over the next few episodes of The Hot Slice Podcast, we’re excited to let you get to know pizza makers and owners who we named Rising Stars in the Pizza Industry. We’re so impressed by Marisol Doyle, Co-owner/Pizzaiola, Leña – Pizza + Bagels in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Leña was recently named a top pizza spot in the U.S in the feature: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/di.... It’s been a whirlwind since the announcement and even before that. Marisol has quickly garnered a reputation for her pizza and bagels, and it continues to grow. We talk about how the business started and its evolutions. We also dive into the Mississippi Delta region and pizza.

Marisol has a passion for flavor combinations. We go into some of her menu favorites. As part of our Rising Stars feature, we asked Marisol: Your menu changes weekly? What goes into your creativity? She said, “We introduce a unique pizza special every week, a veggie option that changes from time to time, and five pizzas that always stay on the menu. Additionally, we offer a couple of salads, appetizers and desserts. Our customers really appreciate that we offer something different every week and that we try to make everything in-house. We draw inspiration from our travels, ingredients we enjoy and creative ideas on social media. My Mexican heritage also plays a big role in the specials. I often like to incorporate traditional Mexican ingredients to our pizzas. It usually takes us a day or two to come up with the perfect combination of ingredients. We test out the flavor combos to ensure our customers will like variety — and of course, we always want the end product to taste and look delicious.”

Check out the Rising Stars of the Pizza Industry featuring Marisol at: https://pizzatoday.com/topics/people-...

Learn more about Leña – Pizza + Bagels.
and check out the pizzeria and Marisol on Instagram at @lenapizzabagels  and @marisoldo.Over the next few episodes of The Hot Slice Podcast, we’re excited to let you get to know pizza makers and owners who we named Rising Stars in the Pizza Industry. We’re so impressed by Marisol Doyle, Co-owner/Pizzaiola, Leña – Pizza + Bagels in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Leña was recently named a top pizza spot in the U.S in the feature: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/di.... It’s been a whirlwind since the announcement and even before that. Marisol has quickly garnered a reputation for her pizza and bagels, and it continues to grow. We talk about how the business started and its evolutions. We also dive into the Mississippi Delta region and pizza.

Marisol has a passion for flavor combinations. We go into some of her menu favorites. As part of our Rising Stars feature, we asked Marisol: Your menu ch

This week, Executive Editor Denise Greer goes one-on-one with Hillary Lake, who co-owns Hillary’s Chicago Pizza, in St. Augustine, Florida.

She’s no stranger to restaurant business ownership, but she never thought she would enter the pizza industry. It was during the pandemic that she missed her hometown Chicago pizza and sought to make the perfect Deep Dish. That catapulted into creating a farmer’s market and brewery pop-up for extra income. Today, Her and her husband Bruce bought a turnkey craft house.

Hillary isn’t stopping there. She has a vision to take her social work degree she is currently pursuing and opening a unique take on a Pizza Farm. Listen to her share her future plans.

Earlier this summer, we did a quick Q&A for our Conversation feature. In that, she says “We had and have amazing support here in Northeast Florida, and buying a restaurant was not on our to-do list. We had a restaurant in Chicago and thought we were done with that journey. I applied to grad school during the pandemic and I worked at a school for special education and my husband worked in insurance. The pizza thing would not go away though. Things magically lined up over and over from pop ups to farmers markets to our funding for the brick and mortar. The location was very serendipitous. The people that told us about our first farmer’s market are the same people who told us about the available kitchen in St. Augustine.” Read her Conversation: https://pizzatoday.com/topics/people-pizzerias/conversation-hillary-lake-hillarys-chicago-pizza-st-augustine-florida/

Learn more about Hillary’s Chicago Pizza at https://www.hillaryschicagopizza.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hillaryschicagopizza/ .

Happy 4th of July, everyone! On this holiday, we’re replaying a favorite episode for your enjoyment. Jeremy sat down for a one-on-one interview with pizza legend John Arena, co-founder of Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, just before he gave one of the most memorable opening day keynote addresses at the 40th Pizza Expo in March.

During the discussion, John touches on his feelings about tinkering with dough formulas and pushing the industry forward through trial and error. He teases his keynote (“from Me to We,” he says) and even talks about his favorite style of pizza to eat (hint, he grew up on it), as well as his favorite style of pizza to make.

Follow John Arena on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/johnnypizzaguy/

Giovanni Cesarano is part of the new generation behind the legendary King Umberto on Long Island, New York. We last caught up with Giovanni in 2021 on the podcast when we shared with him that he had been named a Rising Star in the Pizza Industry.

A lot has happened with Giovanni and the business. We talk about how he’s able to keep King Umberto’s top of mind in a changing New York pizza scene. We learn more about how the business has elevated and talk pizza styles. Giovanni remains humble in his leadership.

In his Rising Stars Q&A, he was asked, what is something uniquely you’ve brought to the pizza business? He replied, “It’s hard to be unique in a business where so much information is shared and seen on a day-to-day basis. With that being said my mother was a seamstress growing up, so I watched her make beautiful dresses and that was always inspiring for me. We’ve introduced some cool King Umberto gear like hats, t-shirts, and jackets.” Check out that Rising Stars Q&A at https://pizzatoday.com/topics/people-pizzerias/rising-stars-of-the-pizza-industry/ .

Listen to this one-on-one interview with Giovanni and Executive Editor Denise Greer.

Learn more about King Umberto at https://www.kingumberto.com/

Follow King Umberto on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kingumberto/

Follow Giovanni on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/giovanni_chez/

Listen to Giovanni’s previous The Hot Slice episode: https://pizzatoday.com/podcasts/the-hot-slice/s5e1-rising-star-john-cesarano-on-continuing-a-legacy/.

It’s been a whirlwind kind of few months for Tony Cerimele, owner of New Columbus Pizza Company, in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania. After capturing the first-place finish in the Pan Division, Tony went on to win the Finals to be named World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year at the International Pizza Challenge during Pizza Expo (March 19-21) in Las Vegas.

We caught up with Tony to see learn more about his winning pizza, competing at an international level and see what’s happened since the big win.

During a Q&A, we asked Tony: What does it mean for you to receive recognition as the Pizza Maker of the Year? He said, “I think the biggest thing for me is that fact that I accomplished something I set out to do a long time ago. I first started competing in 2017. Since the beginning it has been a rollercoaster. Looking at it now I am most happy to bring these awards back to my hometown of Nesquehoning, PA, and all of Northeastern Pennsylvania. We have some incredible pizza in our area and I am just happy to be a part of the community. I think the most import thing for me after winning is the fact that my daughters witnessed firsthand that hard work and determination really do pay off in the end. They saw all the reps, all the trials and tribulations with this pizza, and to get this outcome was the greatest example I could give them to keep pushing forward to achieve what you dream off.”

Read his Q&A at https://pizzatoday.com/topics/industry-news/world-champion-pizza-maker-of-the-year-2024-is-tony-cerimele-new-columbus-pizza-co/

This week on The Hot Slice Podcast is Chip Myles. His passion for the pizza business and his customers radiates through this episode.

Chip Myles opened Myles’ Pizza Pub in 1978 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The pizza pub's family business hospitality, unique style of pizza, and late-night hours earned a loyal fanbase among the Bowling Green community and beyond in Ohio, leaving a lasting legacy behind when they closed in 2016. The Myles family moved to Greenville, SC, where they re-opened Myles’ Pizza Pub in 2019.

Chip, now in his 70s, still mans the kitchen every day the pub is open and serves as keeper of the secret sauce. Though Chip shares restaurant owner responsibilities with his wife Bridget and daughter Meredith, he remains the sole keeper of the secret sauce. The new pub gets visitors from their Bowling Green era almost every day, and ships their pizzas nationwide for those who can't make the trip.

Listen to more on:

· Closing the Bowling Green, OH restaurant

· Opening in Greenville, SC, and the notable differences

· Being a hands-on operator

· Why retirement wasn’t for Chip

· Handing over the reins to your daughter

· What’s next?

Learn more about Myles’ Pizza Pub at https://www.mylespizzapub.com/.

This week, we talk with Corey Watson, founder of Pizza for Ukraine. Pizza for Ukraine's mission is to Make Pizza, Not War. We make Neapolitan pizza is made for Ukrainians affected by the trauma of war. Whether they are displaced, orphaned, wounded, responding to emergencies, or fighting for freedom, hope is served one pizza at a time.

Corey joined us via Zoom from Kyiv, Ukraine to talk about his Pizza for Ukraine nonprofit and his push for pizza as a humanitarian food. In release from Pizza for Ukraine, Corey shares:

Pizza for Ukraine was founded by \Watson, who was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, where he studied Political Science at Portland State University, with a focus on National Security, Authoritarianism, and Democracy Promotion. After university he worked as a software engineer before pursuing his passion for pizza in Naples, Italy. There, he trained as a pizzaiolo at the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN). Before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he planned to work at an AVPN pizzeria. Instead, he made his way to Poland on April 25th, 2022 to volunteer with World Central Kitchen on the Ukrainian border in Przemsyl, Poland. There he helped cook and serve hundreds of thousands of portions of food for Ukrainian refugees. Then on June 20th, 2022 he moved to Lviv, Ukraine to volunteer indefinitely and start Pizza for Ukraine. The broad mission of Pizza for Ukraine is to “Make Pizza, Not War”. While Ukrainian forces are fighting back against Russia, Pizza for Ukraine will support the cause by making Neapolitan pizza for Ukrainians who are displaced, orphaned, wounded, responding to emergencies, and fighting for freedom. Believing pizza to be humanity’s favorite food, it can provide a source of nourishment and hope, but also as a bridge to connect the world and act as a communal lens to discover support at an inspirational level beyond other forms of aid.

Now based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, a frontline city less than 20-miles from the Russian border that’s under constant attack, Pizza for Ukraine begins its new mission to open a pizza school in Kharkiv. Such a school will invest in the local economy by providing Ukrainians new professional skills to start new businesses, provide children an uplifting experience, youth a feeling of empowerment, soldiers to receive psychological therapy, and volunteers to take part in pizza deployments to villages along the frontlines. Pizzaiolos from around the world are invited to teach at this school in-person or remotely via a video-link. Its first masterclass will be on June 10th, in collaboration with the Swiss charity HEKS/EPER, to provide Ukrainian female youth empowerment and opportunities to become future pizzaiolas. On June 15th and 16th they’ll be welcomed to volunteer at the Vintage Buro Charity Market as Pizza for Ukraine makes and sells pizzas to fundraise for the Ukrainian military.

Pizza for Ukraine has been supported by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the guardians of the Neapolitan pizza tradition based in Naples, Italy. Mobile pizza ovens donated by Ooni, pizza flour from Caputo, tomatoes from Ciao, dough mixer from Sunmix, pizza making tools from Gi Metal and Cambro, and donations from private individuals through its website: https://pizzaforukraine.org

This week, Josh and Denise chat with Hengam Stanfield, co-owner of Mattenga’s Pizzeria in San Antonio, Texas. What started out as taking over a failing pizzeria in 2013 has grown into eight locations and expanding.

Hengam and husband Matt met in college, both aspiring engineers but soon realized they wanted to be in business for themselves. They entered the restaurant world without any experience in dining. They learned on the job from day one. They were able to apply their engineering mindset to establishing the systems to help their business succeed.

In 2020, after considering selling their two-unit operation, Hengam and Matt decided instead to take their business to the next level and grow. Even amidst the pandemic, Mattenga’s able to grow by 20 percent that year. Hengam shares their growth strategy and what she is looking for in potential restaurant spaces.

Mattenga’s staff is key to the pizza company’s growth. Hengam talks leadership and how important communication and team development are.

Hengam host the Making Dough Show on YouTube with over 500 episodes focused on restaurant business advice and tips. We get into a discussion about one of her episodes on Using AI in marketing. Check out her Making Dough Show at https://www.youtube.com/@makingdoughshow/.

Also on the podcast episode:

• Hengam’s drive to be a leader and educator in the pizza industry.
• Mattenga’s priorities are in the next year.
• Social media strategy.

Learn more at https://mattengas.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mattengaspizza/ .