What's Good Dough?

Scott Sandler is the founder of two vegetarian restaurants in St. Louis Misouri that have since been sold. He is a frequent speaker at the Pizza Expo and Today we talk about two topics that don’t get much air time on the show- selling a pizzeria and vegan cheese.

Scott is one business savvy dude. Scott talks about profitability, business partners, and so many more important details.

In the second half of this conversation, Scott breaks down his amazing cashew cheese recipe and how to make it. We touch on the future vegan pizza and whether or not it will go to the moon

Recommended Reading: The Restaurant Man

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Timestamps

(6:02) intro to the pizza world

(14:05) selling a pizzeria

(22:00) Can a restaurant value brand over profitability?

(36:00) Cashew Cheese

(46:09) Are vegan alternatives healthy?

I met Lucio at the judges table at Pizza Expo in 2021. This is a quick and dirty convo on his views on how to win a pizza competition. Let me know if this is an interview you give with- relatively straight to the point.

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Lucio has over 40 years’ experience in the hospitality industry in all facets of food and beverage operations and has held senior positions with Mandalay Resort Group, Bally’s Grand Resort, The Hermitage Hotel, the New York Hilton and Starwood (Sheraton). He currently serves as the CEC of infosys.

Josh believes that if you can't let go of you're ego, you can't have the humility to learn.

Recommended reading Ego is the Enemy. This author is one of my favorites. He writes about stoicism which has been a conversation piece in the past.

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Picking the right oven is essential. Buy an Ooni!

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Let me know what's good dough [email protected]

Pizza Expo Discount

so I had this episode scheduled today and one of my buddies sent me this code. Rather than edit it, let me give props to those who read the show notes. LMFREE22 its supposed to be a free pass

let me know if it works!

BOGO DMFREE22

Past Codes: EMRF1, NEWYEAR

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I’m super excited to talk to Josh because he is someone who did it! He quit his 6 figure job to get into the pizza game. We talk about that in the later half of the show along with some of the conversations and experiences that he had leading up to that moment in his life.

The first part of our convo is about his mobile wood-fired pizza business. We talk about brand, getting customers, and how that is all tied to making a product that Josh is super proud of.

USEFUL LINKS

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TIMESTAMPS

(03:24) Intro + 2AM Pizza (Thank you for using the timestamps! ;])

(7:00) What kind of pizza are you making + varying hydration levels)

(11:00) Saturating a wood-fired oven and remaining consistent

(22:31) taking feedback from others+ building a strong brand

(28:10) story of how josh quit his job, the conversations that had to happen, and the lifestyle change.

(51:18) Rapid-fire questions + one mistake people can avoid, and final thoughts

In this episode, we touch on what Windsor-style pizza is- Dean does a great job of further breaking down the style. We also talk about his love for thinking outside of the pizza box so to speak.

Dean and I also talk about his business and how he, a box boy turned corporate pizza chef turned business owner, turned a bleeding restaurant around. We talk about the importance of hard work AND taking a break, and we get into some of the psychology he applies to manage his employees.

Timestamp

(2:30) Windsor Style Pizza Deep Dive

(10:28) How did you get started in pizza?

(18:40) Do weird pizzas sell?

(36:50) Taking an ownership position at Armandos, Motivating employees, and turning around a failing storeImportant Links

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If you listened to the episode before this, you know that output matters when it comes to pizza. And in this episode, I want to try to get you to avoid one mistake that I made which was not listening to John Arena.

I have never made more pizza in my life than in 2021. I’ve experimented with Neapolitan, Sicilian, grandma, Detroit, cracker-thin, bar pies, roman. Y’all get the point. I was all over the place. And so were my results. While my thirst for different styles was somewhat fulfilled, I never felt satisfied with my progress with pizza in general. So in December of 2021, I sat down and reflected and told myself that I’m going to commit to one style and that is gonna be pan/Sicilian style pizzas. But not only am I committing to that one style. I’m committing to one flour, and one recipe. And yes, I’ve been writing down my notes too. My goal is that every Monday that I dedicate a pizza to a podcast guest, It’s going to be a fluffy, high hydrations Sicilian naturally leavened pizza made with central milling high mountain flour,

Does it really make a difference? For me, absolutely. Throughout 2021, my progress was split into so many styles. In some styles, I made no progress at all. After doing one full month of making the same dough recipe bake after bake, I’ve learned so many minor details that ultimately all add up in my quest for mastery.

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results

https://amzn.to/3HnbeIj

cut through the clutter

achieve better results in less time

build momentum toward your goal

dial down the stress

overcome that overwhelmed feeling

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I’m high off the last episode with Feng, the operator of the IG account Leopard Crust. For those of you who didn’t listen, you should definitely check it out. Feng is someone who makes out of this world pizza creations on Instagram.

She has pizzas with drawings of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she has combinations of Korean, Thai, and other cuisines she’s eaten. And on top of that, as if her pizzas weren’t creative enough, all of her captions come with a pun. Suffice to say, she puts a lot of thought into each and every post.

When dissecting how this individual manages to put out A+ content day after day, she stated one thing that stood out. She initially started this pizza journey with a goal in mind. Not only did this goal jumpstart her Instagram account, but it also contributed to her creativity. Listen to find out how this goal can make you a better pizza maker.

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Ahhh what can I say about Feng, for starters I want to say sorry for butchering her name.

I loved the lightheartedness of this conversation, but we also went deep on a few topics. For starters, if you haven't seen her IG page before, it's linked below. Her creations are out of this world! In this convo, she breaks down her steps to dough mastery- setting a goal of making 100 pizzas at home and ensuring she writes everything down. We also talk to Feng about process and inspiration for new pizzas. In the same spirit as setting up a pizza making goal, her creativity also stems from showing up everyday, making, and posting.

If you want to jump around, there are time stamps in the description for your convenience.

Extended version (Listen or Watch)!

Important Links

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Timestamps

What came first the pizza or the pun (1:50)

Pizza Origins story (6:46)

Pizza Inspiration (12:25)

Weirdough Wednesday (14:13 )

Behind the dough (21:54)

Media creation (29:35)

Process for coming up with new Pizzas (46:50)

One mistake in pizza (51:57)

Final thoughts (54:19)