By Tracy Morin
There were a lot of learning moments in PMQ’s July 2026 webinar in conjunction with Women in Pizza, titled Pizza Women On the Rise: Claiming Your Space in the Pizza Community (now available via replay here). The event was co-hosted by me, Tracy Morin (associate editor of PMQ Pizza), and Alexandra “Azie” Mortati, founder of Women in Pizza and VP of marketing at Orlando Foods in Glen Rock, New Jersey. Our powerhouse panel consisted of Giorgia Caporuscio, master pizzaiola and owner of Don Antonio; Erica Bell, lead pizzaiola and general manager at Double Zero Pie & Pub; and Audrey Kelly, owner and pizzaiola of Audrey Jane’s Pizza Garage.
But in just one hour, we couldn’t possibly cover everything our enthusiastic live audience wanted to know. As questions flooded the Q&A, we promised we’d follow up after the event with some answers for anything we couldn’t get to during the live session. And the responses are too good not to share.
Last month, Mortati addressed those inquiries with insider info that can help pizzeria owners at any stage of their careers. This month, award-winning pizzaiola Audrey Kelly, who sports a lifelong history in foodservice and has been featured multiple times on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, chimes in with her own hard-won wisdom.
Q: What is the best way to get noticed and get on “best pizza” lists?
Kelly: In my experience, if you put the work in and focus on making your product and place the best it can be, the lists will find you. There will always be competition and new pizzerias popping up, but if you are constantly trying to improve and make the best version of your pizza, then people will notice. I’m sure a good PR person helps, too!
Q: How do you nurture your creativity when you wear so many hats every day?
Kelly: For me, it’s always been to keep learning—and hiking! Learning new skills, recipes and methods makes me rethink how I do things at my pizzeria, as well as sparks my own creativity. Hiking has been a constant for me; it helps to clear my head and is where I usually have my best ideas, whether it’s for recipes or other things with my shop.
Q: My dream is to work with pizza, but I come from a totally different field. I’m a self-learner, so how should I get started?
Kelly: I would start small. Seek out online or in-person classes and play around with different dough recipes. Once you solidify your dough, you can move on to testing out different tomatoes and cheeses. Also, eat. Go try different pizzerias near you, and when you travel, to see what you like and what styles you want to make.
Q: How do you cope with not feeling like a boss as a woman—when people don’t listen to you as they would if you were man?
Kelly: In my experience, most of your team will respect you if you lead by example. This means doing the work with them. Don’t be afraid to get dirty: Make pizza, do dishes. I’ve also learned to set boundaries, and I try to always be friendly but direct. There will always be people (almost always men) who will not listen or don’t think you should be the boss because you are a female, and I’ve realized that you can’t change how they feel or act; it is better to not have them working for you. For me, this has rarely been an issue, but most of the time, you cannot change who people are or how they think.
Tracy Morin is PMQ’s associate editor.
