By Sofia Arango, Latinos en Pizza
Editor’s note: The following article is an expanded version of a profile featured in PMQ’s September 2025 cover story, Latinos en Pizza: 10 Wildly Talented Latino Pizza Chefs to Watch.
For pizzaiola Alexandra Castro, pizza isn’t just food—it’s a language. A way to tell her story, to honor her roots and to connect with others in a meaningful, joyful and deeply human way. Through her company, Everything Dough in Stamford, Connecticut, the former pizzeria owner and current pizza-making instructor has crafted something special: a vision of pizza that feels personal, alive and full of soul.
It all began in 2012, during an internship right after graduating from culinary school. In a small town in Colombia, she encountered sourdough for the first time in both bread and pizza. “At that time, sourdough wasn’t trendy, especially in small-town Colombia. It was a whole new world for me,” she recalled. “The process, the flavor, the aroma…how a few simple ingredients could become something so complex and incredibly delicious. I fell in love.”
But the real turning point came when she chose to start over in a new country. Leaving behind her pizzeria in Colombia, she arrived in the United States with excitement, fear and total uncertainty. No clients. No community. A completely foreign business system. “Permits, taxes, logistics—everything was new. And I was entering a very competitive market, where artisan pizza already had major players.”
Still, Castro decided to trust her story, her hands and the power of good pizza to build connection.
Related: Alexandra Castro: This Rising Star Is Helping Shape the Future of Pizza
Reinventing Alexandra
Castro started by teaching. Small classes at home. Private events. Corporate team-building. Pop-ups at Hudson Table. Collaborations with Cocreate. Local fairs. Door by door, she showed up consistently, creatively and with a clear voice. “I shared my real story: a Colombian baker at heart who fell in love with dough and found her voice through pizza.”
Over time, she completely reinvented herself, mastering social media platforms like Instagram to reach more people and show off her skills and deep pizza knowledge. She launched kids’ classes, frozen pizzas, e-books, brand collaborations, all without losing her essence: a deep love for what she does and an unshakable belief in the idea that pizza is a tool for sharing knowledge, emotions and experiences.
Just take a look at the upcoming schedule for Everything Dough. October 18 brings a unique class called Eat, Sip and Glow, featuring a professional fashion makeup artist from Lisbon plus a pizza bar where students will learn to make their own pies. She’ll follow that up with Neapolitan-style pizza-making classes on November 15 and December 16.
For the past two years, Castro has also been a featured speaker at PMQ’s Pizza Power Forum on topics like dough-making and frozen pizza.
“In everything I do, I try to embody my values: passion, authenticity and commitment,” she said. “I don’t take shortcuts. I respect the process. I use high-quality ingredients. I want every person to feel something real, close and delicious.”
More than a recipe or a business, pizza has become her medium for expression. She loves playing with local ingredients, fresh vegetables, cheeses and nuts. And she always adds a feminine visual touch to each creation. No one pizza defines her—they all do. They carry her story, her eye for beauty and her baker’s soul.
Not a Traditional Pizzeria
Castro has owned or managed pizzerias and pizza kitchens from her own restaurant in Colombia to the Inn at Pound Ridge (under acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten) in Pound Ridge, New York, and the renowned Magpie in Montreal, where she served as head chef.
But Everything Dough is not a traditional pizzeria. It sells curated experiences around pizza. From kids’ birthday parties to wedding catering, from intimate workshops to corporate events, each offering is designed to nourish, educate and connect. “I trained as a chef, then specialized in baking, pastry and Neapolitan pizza,” Castro recalled. “That gave me the foundation to create a project with soul, made with hands and heart.”
Her model is as unique as her voice. And her vision for the future is even bigger: a creative space of her own, where she can unify all of these experiences and give free rein to her ideas. “It’s not just about growing,” she says. “It’s about doing it with purpose, without losing what moves you.”
Castro firmly believes the future of Latinos in the pizza industry is bright. “More and more of us are entering with passion, effort and authenticity. It’s not just about making pizza; it’s about telling stories, transforming technique and showing that our heritage is not a barrier, but a strength.”
Her biggest inspiration has been Sara Minnick, owner of Lovely’s Fifty Fifty, but Castro herself is fast becoming a source of inspiration, especially for other Latina entrepreneurs in the culinary world. If she could give advice to anyone starting out, it would be this: “You don’t have to do everything at once or prove anything to anyone. Trust your pace, your intuition and what you already know. What seems small today—a workshop, a market stall, a pizza made at home—could be the foundation of something so much bigger if you do it with heart and consistency.”
And Castro is living proof of that: a Latina woman who bakes with soul, teaches with love, and is quietly, confidently leaving her mark—one pizza at a time.
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.
