Pizza.

From an early age, it was apparent that food would become my obsession and purpose.

Born the youngest to a family of vegan foodies long before the world hardly knew what quinoa or kale was, my interest in the kitchen can be attributed to me being a product of my environment.

As a child I would choose Food Network over Cartoon Network, preferring to learn about the regional cuisines of Thailand or Peru instead of the routine shenanigans of Dexter and Dee Dee. Though I do love me some Dexter’s Laboratory.

While I continue to study and practice cooking techniques and cuisines from around the world, nothing has captivated me like the art and craft of baking and making pizza. Great pizza.

Our favorite pizza place we went to as a family was Bertucci’s, a chain of brick-oven pizzerias on the East Coast of the US. These outings left a lasting impression for two main reasons:

1) Watching the pizzaiolos work the dough and the wood burning oven was mesmerizing and quite spectacular at six years old, and

2) because we were vegan decades ago, it was routine for the servers and kitchen to mess up our order. Our food would always come back with cheese despite my mom and dad explicitly clarifying no cheese. This resulted in dozens of free pizzas over the years and many hilarious nights!

At PizzaPtah, what started as a personal quest to learn how to make great pizza for myself has grown to include my neighborhood, community, region, and beyond. This food truly brings people together in a way that is universal, and at only two years into this craft, I’m just getting started.

While many reading this may never get to experience my pizza in person, my goal is that through this platform I am able to transmit knowledge that could help you on your journey whether you have never baked or cooked in your life, or you are an experienced professional!

-Ptah