Sounds like fun! Count me in! Why don't you describe in terms of taste and texture the crust you are trying to make. Neapolitan style is mostly about the crust - getting that right consistently will, IMHO, be your biggest challenge. What brand of oven do you have? Bill/SFNM
thanks for your enthusiasm and, more importantly, thanks for grasping that the spirit of my post was to simply see if those forum members that have posted their many trials and tribulations might be interested in seeing how these recipes might turn out using a commercial wood fire oven in in a commercial environment. i thought it would not only be fun to document the collective process by posting photos but that it might also be a nice, informative addition to the forum.
i also thought that i was very careful to point out in my original post, in an effort to show that i was not seeking trade secrets or shortcuts, that we would use recipes that have already been posted here - recipes that have already been openly discussed - as i assumed that this would make the most sense and be of most interest to the forum given the amount time already devoted to them. i thought i was equally careful not to imply that i was seeking "free" advice from experienced/professional members such as marco. yet, unfortunately, it appears that this is exactly what some that responded here took from my original post. so, again Bill/SFNM, thanks very much for understanding that this was not my intent!
our busy season begins in 3 months at which time we will be in full swing with our neapolitan-style pizzas. i thought that my staff and i would spend the next month and a half gradually familiarizing ourselves with the new products, different techinques and oven management as much as possible followed by another month and a half specific training - my oevn was installed in a location of my restaurant that will allow us to do this while also remaining open for normal business hours. it was my intention that my forum co-op proposal might be a part of the first month and a half process.
btw, i noticed that you own an earthstone oven - what a gem. as i mentioned in my very first post (november of last year - in which i asked if there was a separate forum section for commercial operators), i also looked very closely at earthstones (and woodstones) and i loved them both although, honestly, i liked earthstones a tad more. if i remember correctly, evelyn sloman speaks very highly of them and highly recommends both (i think she uses a woodstone at her cafe). have you tried using wood shavings (as opposed to saw dust) when cooking? a great way to get an instant burst of flame and heat and most (all?) mills will love you if you take it off their hands for free! i really do look forward to exchanging ideas and experiences with you bill and please check your pms...
Who would so drastically shift their restaurant's focus in midstream unless everything is going down the tubes and it's time for a last-ditch effort to convert it into something profitable. Breakfast and pizza being two of the biggest money makers in the restaurant biz, why not pizza? Hmmm.... brick oven pizza seems to be getting popular these days.. the pictures on this website look good.... maybe you can pretend to have bought an oven in hopes that they'll take you seriously and divulge some beautiful secret that you can use to resurrect the restaurant that you have been managing into the ground.
actually, it's not uncommon for food and beverage operations to reposition themselves for reasons non-economical; nor is it uncommon that such repositions not involve "breakfast and pizza". my restaurant is located in a part of the country that has led the way in organic/sustainable agriculture and, as such, it makes good business sense for me to now move in that direction as much as possible as well. so rather than simply updating my current menu by replacing existing ingredients with their organic counterparts (or the like), i thought it would be a perfect time to introduce an entirely new menu - one that would be able to take full advantage of the wonderful local organic products available in my area (produce, oils, chesses, etc.) - i felt that neapolitan-style pizza, which is unavailable within 30 miles of my location, would allow me to this in a very special way.
i have been in business at the same location for over 10 years and feel that the ability to succesfully reposition when the timing is right has had much to do with my restaurant's success over the years. are you, or have you ever been, a restaurant owner? if so, i'm sure you know what i'm talking about.
If we open the pizza restaurant together, will we be sharing in the profits together? The board is the board, everyone is free to use it. The currency on this board is kindness to the inexperienced, willingness to invest your own time and brainpower in advancing the understanding of pizza, and willingness to share your discoveries publicly. If you start providing all these things you don't need to ask for help, you will get more help than you know what to do with.
if by profits you mean cash, then no - nor will you have to share in the capital investment, 12-hour shifts nor any short-term losses!
but if by profits you mean information, photos, trial and errors, successes, etc. then, yes, i think we will all share in the profits.
You are unknown on this board and come on wanting us to give you our knowledge so you start a business and yet you won't tell us who you are or where you are. Umm.... something sound fishy to me. Jeff
jeff - my intention was not to ask members for their knowledge or for any tightly held secrets, but to ask them (especially those that have spent a great deal of time perfecting "clone" or "reverse-engineering" recipes) if they would be interested in seeing how their techinques might turn out in a commercial application - if they would be at all interested in a collective process that would include photos of their much discussed recipes at work in a commercial environment. in short, to see if some members might be interested in seeing how these openly discussed recipes perform in high-temp wood burning ovens. i thought such a process might provide a great training excercise for me and my staff and would at the same time might hopefully provide the forum with some interesting information.
I think that you may find more feedback from Professional Restaurant operators on the PMQ website, though what they know about Neapolitan is debatable?
i have spent a great deal of time at pmq - a fantastic forum and invaluable website for those in the industry. but i did not find the same passion for neapolitan pizza there that i do here.
just want to try my dough in a proper oven... but do I have to drive up to Novato? :-)
novato? wouldn't healdsburg/windsor be a better bet?
btw, are the niners going to move to your neck of the woods?
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and to those that pmed, responses are on the way!
