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This week on the Hot Slice Podcast we talk mobile pizza business with Chris Hill, owner of A Slice of New Jersey in Byram, New Jersey.

Before starting A Slice of New Jersey, Chris was a physical education/health teacher. After being laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chris began his pizza odyssey with no background in the pizza or restaurant business. For 10 years though, he had always had a fascination with pizza, traveling the world to study pizza making. His pizza travels took him to Coalfire Pizza (Chicago, Illinois); The Dough Bros (Galway, Ireland); Joe’s Pizza (New York, NY), Zeneli Pizza (New Haven, Connecticut); No. 900 Pizzeria (Montreal, Canada); Sorbillo (Naples, Italy), Mission Pizza Napoletana (Winston-Salem, North Carolina); Metro Pizza (Las Vegas, Nevada); Settebello Pizzeria (Salt Lake City, Utah), Scottie’s Pizza Parlor (Portland, Oregon); Pizzeria Beddia (Philadelphia, PA); and Bonci (Rome, Italy).

The circumstances of the pandemic heightened that interest, and he began to pursue the perfect pizza and then scale it to sell pizzas at farmer’s markets. Those humble beginnings catapulted Chris into a thriving mobile pizza business. A Slice of New Jersey concentrates on prebooked public events and private catering. A big component of his public events is giving customers the opportunity to pre-order their pizza. It helps Chris manage the kitchen and operation side of the food truck.

The menu is grounded on a unique pizza crust made from dough that is fermented for 48 hours and uses a blend of artisan flours, including a local wheat sourced from Sussex County, New Jersey. Chris also sources seasonal produce from local farms.

The pizza menu has staple favorites like the margherita and pepperoni. There is also Drunken Pig with a house-made vodka sauce, fresh mozzarella, Italian sausage, parmigiano-reggiano, basil and extra virgin olive oil. The Cremini-Miny-Moe features roasted cremini mushrooms, ricotta, fresh mozzarella, garlic infused olive oil, Parmigiano-Reggiano, thyme and black pepper. The seasonal pies are getting more attention as his customers look for something different, like the Life is a Peach with peaches, prosciutto, mascarpone, toasted walnuts, basil, balsamic drizzle and The Autumn-ic Bomb with house-made butternut squash purée, pancetta, fontina, red onions, fried sage and house-made spicy maple syrup.

Now that you’ve had a bit of an overview on Chris Hill and A Slice of New Jersey, here’s what’s this week’s The Hot Slice Podcast with Pizza Today:

• Learning pizza making

• Getting the business started

• Creating pizza dough for scale

• Transitioning to a food truck

• Strategy of the mobile business

• Per-ordering for public events

• Catering focus

• The pizza menu favorites

• Work/Life balance

This week’s The Hot Slice Podcast hosts are Editor in Chief Jeremy White and Executive Editor Denise Greer.

Thanks to our sound engineer and designer Katie Wilson.

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On The Hot Slice podcast this week is veteran pizza maker/pizzeria owner Joe Carlucci. Joe owns Valentina’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar in Madison, Alabama. He followed up first-place win in the Traditional Division at last year’s International Pizza Expo with a Non-Traditional victory this year. He went on to win and be named Pizza Maker of the Year. This is the first time in challenge history that a competitor has won categories back-to-back and nabbed the Pizza Maker of the Year title.  See Joe’s reaction speech to being named Pizza Maker of the Year on Pizza Today’s Instagram Reel.

Born in the Bronx and raised in Carmel, New York, Joe studied under Tony Gemignani for 15 years and was a founding member of the World Pizza Champions. He is a six-time World Pizza Champion and three-time World Champion Pizza Acrobat. Joe is a Guinness World Record holder for largest pizza base spun in one minute measures 72 cm (28.35 in) and world’s highest pizza toss using 20 ounces of dough at 21 feet and 5 inches into the air. Carlucci has appeared several times on national TV shows – such as, The Today Show, Martha & Snoop, Master Chef Kids, Best In Dough

Joe transplanted to Alabama to open Joe’s World Famous Pizza in Madison. His latest pizzeria, Named after his daughter, Valentina’s Pizzeria & Wine Bar opened in 2020. Valentina’s is expanding into a new 4,000 square foot building in four months.

The Hot Slice Podcast host and Pizza Today Executive Editor Denise Greer has an in-depth conversation with Joe, focused on the following areas:

• His International Pizza Challenge wins
• Holding the title of Pizza Maker of the Year
• Competing on an international stage
• The winning pizzas
• How the wins have impacted business
• Managing sales volume increase
• Career struggles and triumphs
• Career mentors
• Philosophies and motivations
• Valentina’s staff
• Growth and expansion into a new space
• Advice for other pizza pros

About the International Pizza Challenge

The International Pizza Challenge is held annually in the spring at International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Competitors battled head-to-head to find out who makes the best pizza in the world. We had five best pizza divisions: Traditional, Non-Traditional, Pan, CMAB California Style and Neapolitan/STG which will be represented in the pizza bake-off that will showcase 200 of the world’s best pizza makers and thousands of dollars in cash prizes.

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This week, we bring you more of Pizza Expo Sessions on The Hot Slice Podcast from the show floor at Pizza Expo. On the podcast, we have retired teachers/pizzeria owners Suzanne Francis, Ruth Matheny and Katie Agor of The Grove Wood Fired Pizza in Granbury, TX. We also have Phumzile Siboza who traveled from Johannesburg, South Africa representing the Debonairs Pizza chain. Be patient with the sound. It will be worth it to hear the enthusiasm and energy of pizzeria professionals at the show giving us updates on their pizzerias, the pizza business and Pizza Expo. Tune in next week for more Pizza Expo interviews.

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This week, we bring you more of Pizza Expo Sessions on The Hot Slice Podcast from the show floor at Pizza Expo. On the podcast, we have Jason Dascoli of Rock City Pie Ice, Superior, Colorado, and Bill Bartz and Emily Knudsen with Pleasant Grove Pizza Farm in Waseca, Minnesota. Be patient with the sound. It will be worth it to hear the enthusiasm and energy of pizzeria professionals at the show giving us updates on their pizzerias, the pizza business and Pizza Expo. Tune in next week for more Pizza Expo interviews.

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This week, we bring you more of The Hot Slice Podcast on the show floor at Pizza Expo. On the podcast, we have Jeremy Shirk of Conan’s Pizza in Austin, Texas; Stacey and Josh Kearney of  Society Pie in Beaverton, Oregon; and Joseph Ledwidge of Ranger Joe’s Pizza in Kalispell, Montana. Be patient with the sound. It will be worth it to hear the enthusiasm and energy of pizzeria professionals at the show giving us updates on their pizzerias, the pizza business and Pizza Expo. Tune in next week for more Pizza Expo interviews.

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This year, we took The Hot Slice Podcast to the show floor at Pizza Expo. Be patient with the sound. It will be worth it to hear the enthusiasm and energy of pizzeria professionals at the show giving us updates on their pizzerias, the pizza business and Pizza Expo. First up, we have Andrew and Ruel Gregory of Post Alley Pizza in Seattle, Washington, followed by Alex Funke, a franchisee of Chad's Pizza in Cedar Falls Iowa. We end the podcast with Amanda and Patrick Elston of Gus Franco's Pizza, Lower Burrell, Pennsylvania. Tune in next week for more Pizza Expo interviews.

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Happy Pizza Expo Week! While we are gathered in Las Vegas, we are sharing a favorite episode with Sarah Minnick, chef/owner of Lovely’s Fifty Fifty in Portland, Oregon. Her approach to pizza, a farm-to-table menu and mastery of unconventional ingredients has earned her coveted culinary esteem and an entire episode of the Netflix’s hit Chef’s Table. Listen as she shares an operational shift, details of her sourdough and her ingredient philosophy.

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Get ready for Pizza Expo 2023 with Jeremy, Denise and Josh. We highlight some of our favorite show moments, provide insider tips to enhance your show experience and dive into keys to a successful show.

Before you go...

Watch the Pizza Expo Preview Show.

https://pizzatoday.com/topics/industry-news/the-2023-pizza-expo-preview-show/

Read Pizza Expo 2023: Going for the Record.

https://pizzatoday.com/topics/pizza-expo-2023-preview-going-for-the-record/

Get the Pizza Expo Mobile App:

https://pizza.a2zinc.net/PizzaExpo2023/Public/Content.aspx?ID=39605&_ga=2.223459295.555570237.1678118558-792456683.1591979244

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We sit down with Tony Gemignani to discuss his upcoming opening keynote address at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. While we have him on the line we also dish on pizza styles, the ups and downs of pizzeria ownership and who has had the most influence on his career in pizza.