By Sofia Arango, Latinos en Pizza
Editor’s note: The following article is an extended version of a profile featured in PMQ’s September 2025 cover story, Latinos en Pizza: 10 Wildly Talented Latino Pizza Chefs to Watch.
When Juan G. Pérez arrived in the United States, he didn’t speak English, had no connections, and started from the bottom—as a dishwasher. Fast forward to today, and he’s one of the most influential pizza voices in the country, ranked among the Top 100 Pizza Makers of the Year by the Best Pizza Awards, while Posto, the Boston restaurant where he serves as executive chef, has been recognized by 50 Top Pizza as one of the best in the U.S. for two straight years.
Not to mention he’s featured on the cover of PMQ Pizza’s September 2025 print magazine. He also has been a featured speaker at PMQ’s past two Pizza Power Forums, held annually in Atlanta.
His story isn’t just one of hard work; it’s a personal revolution, fueled by dough, fire and fierce authenticity. It all began in 2010, when Perez landed a job washing dishes at a well-known pizzeria. One day, he got the chance to learn how to make pizza, and he hasn’t looked back since. “From that day until today, it’s been a dream,” he says. But his path hasn’t been smooth. “There hasn’t been just one hard moment…there have been many. Sometimes, for different reasons, you lose motivation. But never the love. And that’s what helps you push through.”
Related: From CPK to 50 Top Pizza Restaurant: Juan Perez’s Journey to Success and Acclaim
Today, Perez specializes in Neapolitan pizza, with all the technique and tradition it requires. But he refuses to be boxed in. “I believe anything can go on a pizza. I’m not here to copy what a thousand other pizzerias are already doing. That will never make you stand out.”
His style is defined by variety, creativity and the courage to break rules. Innovation, for him, is the only way forward, and he proves it every week on social media, where he shares ideas, techniques and bold new recipes with his huge and ever-growing audience. He has a staggering 1.1 million followers on the major platforms, including 552,000 on Instagram, 333,000 on Facebook and 224,000 on TikTok (you can follow him at @juangpizza on any of those platforms).
But behind that creativity and mounting influence is something deeper: discipline. “That’s my No. 1 value,” Perez says. “When you have discipline, everything flows better.” It’s that consistency that helped him build a solid career, one slice at a time, never trying to follow someone else’s formula. If he could go back and give his younger self advice, it would be: “Don’t believe everything they say. Don’t try to be like everyone else. Build your own path.”
And his path has been anything but ordinary. One of his favorite stories—that he now laughs about—comes from his early days working at a supermarket. “Customers would ask me things in English…and I didn’t understand a word. I’d just point in some random direction and run away.” Today, that same young man who once ran from confusion is now a confident leader, inspiring pizzaiolos across the U.S. and beyond, especially in the Latin American community.
Perez doesn’t believe a single pizza can represent him, but his work, his impact and every milestone he’s hit absolutely does. He cites Tony Gemignani and Chris Bianco as major inspirations, but he also finds deep motivation in the many Latinos who came from nothing and built success with their own hands.
“Our Latin community is fundamental to this industry,” he says. “Maybe we’re not featured on TV or big media like other regions, but in the U.S., we are the backbone of thousands of pizzerias. That should be valued even more than a fancy name on a list.”
His dream now? To open his own space, where he can be completely free to create, innovate and offer the kind of pizza that tells a story. “I want to connect with more people, inspire others to follow a different path. In my own place, I want to give people pizza that has feeling, strength, history—something that speaks to who we really are.”
Pérez isn’t just a personal success story. He represents an entire generation of Latin pizzaiolos changing the game from the inside out. They’re not here to imitate; they’re here to create. They turn every dough into a statement and every oven into a platform for telling their truth.
And if one thing is certain: Juan’s story is only just beginning.
Sofia Arango is the founder of Latinos en Pizza, a network of leaders who are transforming the pizza industry in the U.S. and Latin America. She was PMQ Pizza’s guest editor for the Latinos en Pizza report for 2025. Click here to read it.
