Pizza Today - December 2016 - 43

Nino Coniglio on His New Pizza: "I Don't Know What It Is!"

"If I called it Detroit style the
Detroit guys would say, 'That's
not Detroit style.' If I called it
Sicilian, they'd say, 'That's not
Sicilian.'" So says our Pizza
Maker of the Year winner from
the 2016 International Pizza
Challenge.
For now the pizza being
experimented on by Nino
Coniglio shall remain nameless. The creative force behind

to serve it," he says.
Nino will be giving a
pizza-making demonstration
on Wed., March 29, at Pizza
Expo, prepping and baking the same pies he made
to win the Pizza Challenge
championship. A self-taught
pizzaiolo, he started at
age 12, and while he's studied
some of the famous New
York craftsmen, he has a
Williamsburg Pizza in Brookcreative streak all his own.
lyn has been placing a small
He says he finds inspirations
amount of dough - "like I'd
for new pizzas by looking at
use for a Grandma" - in a
salad recipes at top restauDetroit-style pan and letting
it rise at room temperature for rants; they're usually paired
with cheeses, nuts and other
36 hours, sprinkling Pecorino
potential pizza ingredients,
Romano and Parmesan on it,
minus the sauce. Nino also
baking it enough to get some
crust strength and then adding sticks as much as he can with
sauce and cheese. "I'm trying to ingredients one might be able
get it to where I like it enough to find in Italy, keeping him

PizzaMan Dan's Top 10 List:
10. Keep honest people honest. 80 percent
of employees are honest. The rest are on
the verge of honesty, provided you keep
temptation away by implementing cash
control and by monitoring food and labor
costs. That and the belief that the last one
you caught stealing is sleeping with the
fishes.
9. Don't mistake laziness for incompetency.
Smart, lazy employees will figure out a
way to do it easier and better. And there is
always an easier, better way to do it.
8. One-on-ones. Meet once per month for
two hours with each of your direct reports.
Here's how I know I'm listening to them:
Their lips are moving and mine are not.
7. Structure the pay of your top people so
that 25 percent of salary is bonus based
on results.
6. Speed of the leader is speed of the team.

close to pizza's origins.
"I get up early and get to
the farmers market to see
what's locally available. By
early I mean 10 o'clock," he
says, chuckling. "This summer
I did a pie with peaches, goat
cheese, pistachio and porchetta. People loved it."
He's still experimenting
with different kinds of flour
and varying protein counts
for each style of pizza. He's
studied accomplished bread
bakers such as Chad Robertson and Peter Reinhart
in his crust quests. And he's
looking forward to presenting at Pizza Expo. "I'll bring
some cheese curd," he says.
"I'll make some pies and talk
about that pizza life."

The 10 Most Important Things I've Learned in the Pizza Business

Set the example. Pizzaman, heal thyself.
5. The most important item an owner can put
in his restaurant is his shadow. OK, maybe
also a video camera or two.
4. Market to your existing customers. They
will handle marketing to everyone else. It's
like a legitimate pyramid scheme.
3. Listen to your customers. (Except the guy
who tells you to give away free pizza.)
They are your best consultants and offer
their services for free.
2. The customer is always right. Even when
you think they are wrong. Even when you
know they are wrong. Get over it already.
(And the number ONE most important thing
I've learned in the pizza business is:)
1. Marketing is everything and everything is
marketing. Customers are the only ingredient pizzerias can't do without. That and
maybe anchovies.

During 30-plus years in the pizza business, Dan
Collier has advanced from delivery driver to
director of operations for 20 units of Rusty's
Pizza to rebranding as an independent in 2012.
He now has eight PizzaMan Dan's stores in the
Los Angeles area. Dan is a regular speaker at
Pizza Expo and, with Glenn Cybulski, co-presents The Million-Dollar Pizzeria X 3, a workshop
on Monday, March 27.

VISIT WWW.PIZZAEXPO.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / 4 3

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Pizza Today - December 2016

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