S tarting a culinary movement turned out to be just the beginning for chef Nick Strawhecker. It is a rarity to lead an entire movement in a city and also be able to sustain it and expand upon it. It was seven years ago that Pizza Today visited a fresh-faced Strawhecker, a young chef who had ventured out on his own with a VPN-certified Neapolitan pizzeria concept that the city of Omaha and the state of Nebraska had never experienced. His restaurant Dante put Omaha on the culinary map for its Italian pizza style and concentrated focus on using hyperseasonal ingredients from local producers. Strawhecker came onto a crowded Omaha food scene with esteemed credentials. He studied culinary arts at Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island. After a stint at Northern Arizona University, he traveled to Italy to complete a Master Chef 's Program at The " MY PHILOSOPHY IS TO TRY TO STAY WITHIN THE SEASONS OR HYPER-SEASONALITY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE WHILE STAYING LOCAL. - Owner Nick Strawhecker 5 0 / P I Z Z AT O D AY. C O M / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 9http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM