New Pizza toppings to add right now So, what are the big pizza topping trends you will see this year? If you know me, you know I love analyzing and talking trends and industry change and evolution. For the past decade, it has been my mission to be ab...

Canned Veggie to Pizza Topping Star Writing this article brought me back to the R&D days of Wholly Stromboli. I had many pie-in-the-sky ideas about which products I would and would not use in my restaurant. Settling for canned roasted red peppers...

Magical Pesto Pesto is one of those magic pizza toppings that can turn the most basic pie into something really special. The classic recipe is comprised of just a few ingredients but there’s no limit to putting your own unique spin on it. While mos...

Get The Humble Onion Pizza Ideas When I was thinking of what to make next, I could not take my mind off onions. The most humble of all ingredients… always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Think about all the dishes that an onion is in to elevate th...

Add the coziness of tomato soup to your specials menu Nothing says warmth in the winter like a hot bowl of soup. The choices of cozy soups are endless. As a pizzeria, go with your strengths and that is the tomato. Not the fresh tomatoes you feature i...

Spicy-sweet ingredients are the new bombshells of flavor. One of the most pivotal memories I’ve had with food was when I worked as a waiter at an exclusive French restaurant in Chicago. One day, as service was winding down, my fellow waiters raided...

Will Roman-style pizza be the 2024 pizza trend? Back in January 2012 I used this “Man on the Street” column to predict that Roman pizza would be the next big thing. I was wrong. At the time, I was wowed by the stunning square pizzas I saw at Pizz...

Wine sales may have flattened, but now is a great time to push wine and pizza pairings In August 2022, National Geographic in the United Kingdom published an article about how vintners in Italy were reclaiming the centuries-old traditions of connecti...

Creating a new pizza centers on creativity and balance Whether you are a full-service pizzeria or a small slice shop, getting creative with your toppings and combinations is a great way to keep your regulars coming back, bring in new customers and sh...

Fried Nation: Fried Appetizer Ideas Nostalgia is hot and so are fried appetizers. Yes, I said fried. Americans love their fried delights. Some diners are looking for an escape from their daily diets, often building cheat meals into their week. Crave-...

Pizza is clearly my number one food, but my second favorite is ice cream. They’re both simple on the surface but much deeper upon examination. Ice cream brings us back to our youth, just like pizza. It’s not uncommon to see ice cream or gelato in...

For years I wasn’t really on the calzone train. Sure, I enjoyed them. But, to be honest, I always thought: “Why not just eat pizza? Same ingredients and I don’t need a fork.” And then one day I asked a friend who had an extensive calzone line...