In our efforts to create a complete foodservice publication that focuses on both the marketing and food side of the pizza industry, we determined that Evelyne would be the perfect fit to PMQ, so we asked her if she would be interested in joining our staff of contributors. She said she would have to give it some thought and called us back a few days later. We are very pleased to now be able to announce Evelyne as our new Culinary and Technical Editor for PMQ. Not only has she been at the coalface of the industry for many years, she has the credentials to prove it. You'll be reading articles from Evelyne (see the Ultimate Veggie Pizza article in this issue) and hearing her speak at PMQ's New York Pizza Show in November 2006. In the meantime, let's get to know her.

The Beginning...

After speaking with Evelyne, I discovered food has been a lifelong fascination for her. She wanted to become a chef at an early age, but, as she puts it "(her) conservative French parents did not think it was befitting of a woman. (There was no such thing as a women chef in those days!)" With professional cooking school out of the question, she went on to earn a BFA in painting and printmaking, an MA in Art History and nearly completed her Ph.D. before pausing for a leave of absence. "During the leave, I seriously pursued my love of cooking and began to teach," she told me. She quickly earned a good local reputation and started her own cooking school. With a background in classic French cuisine, she also had another passion as a pizza aficionado. "I collected pizza recipes from everyone and anyone."

Learning From the Masters

The pizza mystique enthralled her and she became a familiar regular who hung around the old-fashioned coal oven pizzerias of New York City. She decided to share her pizza repertoire and the professional tips she had garnered from the old pizzaiolos in the first pizza cooking classes and workshops that she offered in New York City. Things snowballed and the workshops acquired a long waiting list with more and more aspiring pizza entrepreneurs booking time. With the buzz, she decided to devote herself to this pizza quest. "I never did return to graduate school and The Pizza Book ended up being my 'dissertation,'" she said.

At the end of the 1970's it looked like the big pizza chains would vanquish all independent mom and pop pizzerias, and the tradition of the pizzaiolo's craft would be lost forever when the few remaining old timers would pass on. Evelyne explained that back then, "pizza was considered junk fast food. Italians didn't want to own up to it, and most Americans thought it was something invented in Chicago, or in New York, during the 1950's."

Evelyne was bent on legitimizing the craft and tradition of the pizzaiolo and on a mission to raise pizza up from its junk food status. "My contempt for the modern pizza industry was strong because I held them responsible for its demise. In my mind, they were accountable for turning pizza into a mediocre one-dimensional dish." She sought out the remaining living sources of pizza history and hung around their pizzerias reminiscing about the past glory days. Her experience with these old masters remains unique, because in nearly every case, she was the only person they ever allowed into their kitchen to watch how their dough was made and to learn their cherished secrets. "Sadly, all of them have passed away and no one else can make the claim of learning their techniques—at the hands of the masters; as I did," she said.

How The Pizza Book Changed Things

In 1983, she grabbed the opportunity to apprentice in a 4 star French restaurant. The Pizza Book had gone to press, and she quickly rose through the ranks and ended up as the chef at Pizzico Restaurant in Manhattan's Upper East Side. When the book came out in 1984, the California culinary revolution was just getting into full swing and the new face of pizza, as inspired by Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck, was getting attention in the press. Suddenly, all of her background research was making a splash on the pizza front. "I thought my mission was accomplished and that I could now continue cooking in the relative peace of my kitchen at Pizzico," she laughed. "My biggest surprise was how the pizza industry reacted to The Pizza Book. I used to joke about having a contract taken out on me—perhaps a broken knee or thumb—but nothing too serious."

In 1987, Gerry Durnell sought her out to give a seminar at the upcoming Pizza Expo. Evelyne explained, "I thought it was a joke...Pizza Today Magazine? Pizza Expo? Las Vegas!?? I had to laugh. I said to Gerry, 'If you have read my book, then you know my opinion about the pizza industry; so why do you want me to come and talk to them?' He said he thought they would be interested, so off I went to Las Vegas to talk to a bunch of apprehensive pizza operators about 'Gourmet Pizza: Fad or New Direction.' Surprisingly, there were actually a lot of people who really were very interested. I would also learn, to my amazement, that people were using the recipes in my book to go pro and open pizzerias!"

After that first seminar, she became a monthly contributor. Over the next decade, when the trends she supported all came to fruition, her status as pizza expert became widely accepted. During that first decade, she spent much of her time traveling, lecturing, teaching and consulting.

Consulting, Teaching and Her Own Restaurant

"Over the years, I have advised countless fledgling pizza entrepreneurs as well as corporate chains on how to develop pizza concepts and how to fix or maintain current ones," she explained. "I have consulted for some of the major ingredient producers and equipment manufacturers in the pizza industry. As a result, I have been able to travel and visit with pizza makers in their shops all over America." She completed the Pizza and Technology course at The American Institute of Baking under Thomas Lehmann. After graduating, she was asked to teach classes on traditional pizza hand production techniques and specialty pizza theory and practice. She has delivered keynote addresses, seminars and has taught for AIB on and off for 10 years.

In March of 2000, Evelyne opened a restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area with business partner and co-owner, Eleanor Triboletti called Nizza La Bella. Currently, she is at work on several new books on the subject of pizza and a new expanded and updated version of the original Pizza Book. "I live in Berkeley, along with my dog and two cats, in a small house that has a wood-burning oven in the kitchen and that over-looks the San Francisco Bay," Evelyne said. "I have finally come to terms with my pizza thing: it is not a job; it is more of a calling. Some got religion, I got pizza."

The Next Evolution of PMQ

Within a generation's time, Evelyne has gone from popular cookbook author, to the definitive authority on pizza and has been instrumental in changing the way industry professionals and consumers think about pizza. She is a master artisan pizzaiolo in her own right, an author, writer and editor, industry consultant, teacher, business coach, historian and mentor. The Pizza Book has developed an almost cult-like following. Many of today's pizza professionals, who started out as amateurs with The Pizza Book, later went on to open some of the nation's top independent pizzerias and most innovative chains. The most famous national concept to arise from her influence was California Pizza Kitchens, which included her definition of California style pizza in their original business plan. It has been her personal passion and mission to seek out and find "all there is to know about the world's greatest pie." As she continues on in her quest, her finger remains firmly on the pulse of the pizza biz like no one else. In upcoming issues, you will see just as many marketing solutions and strategies as before, but now there will be more culinary and technical additions. We hope you'll enjoy all Evelyne has to offer in upcoming issues of PMQ...now coming to you EIGHT times a year.

– PMQ –