Member Profiles

Chris honed his skills in the extremely competitive restaurant scene of Nashville, TN. He received 3 consecutive Reader’s Choice Wards while serving as culinary director of Nashville’s premiere pizza destination.

Chris is currently the owner of Houdini Pie, a pop up boutique pizza experience, entering the festival and catering circuit in early 2017.

Consistently drawing from his experiences as a young chef, Chris creates non-traditional competition pies that have led him to international competitions in Parma, Italy and Shanghai with the United States Pizza Team since 2014.

Will Shaw has been in the pizza business for over 15 years and has competed in numerous competitions resulting in four first place, one second place and one fourth place standings. He joined the team in 2015 for their trip to the World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy.

My name is Drew French and pizza became a passion of mine when I traveled through Italy with my Italian high school sweet heart while on our honeymoon in 2006.  I came back to Athens, GA and launched Your Pie, the first fast casual pizza brand.  I was obsessed about having the best pizza, not only in Athens, but in the World.  Today, I am passionate about improving the communities that we serve by changing the way people experience pizza.

Born in Monroe, Michigan, Tore was lucky to be exposed to foods of the world at a very young age. Born to immigrant parents with a dream to open a restaurant in the United States. My father Damiano, handled the front of the house. My mother Santina, handled the kitchen. I knew quickly that food was in my future. Restaurants were opened in Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio. In 1986 the family decided to make the move to the west coast. Restaurants were opened in Orange and San Diego counties. Tore’s big break happened when he opened up a box of cracker jacks and found a culinary degree. That was a sure tell sign, plus the clusters of popcorn and peanuts are always a bonus. Pizza Festiva is the place we ought to beso we loaded up the truck and competed in Las Vegas.  Divisional winner in 1995 with a BBQ Chicken Pizza, 1996 with a breakfast pizza, and 2008 with the Mardi Gras Pizza.  In 2010 Tore decided that there was more to cooking than Italian cuisine and pizza. A food truck that featured freshly smoked meats. Tore found a new love, pork, brisket, chicken, and the other main meat, bacon. Mastering the art of smoking was a fun activity that quickly turned into passion. There is always a way to deconstruct, twist, flip, and turn a basic traditional dish and make it a wild dripping off the walls culinary piece of art. In 2012 Tore decided to return back to his roots and rejoin the family business. With new locations on the horizon, Tore took the reins at the 2 harbor locations. Tore has a nice collection of awards that can often be purchased on eBay. They include …but it tastes like chicken 2011, Michelin stars sold individually, best mullet trophy 1987, blank James Beard awards, available in 5 different languages, and most 4 hour shifts worked in 8 hours consecutively. “You can take the pit master out of the pit, but you can’t take the pit out of the pit master.” Tore created the Maple and Bourbon porchetta. It is an infusion of the classic Italian porchetta infused with the flavors of the good ol’ south. The flavors just pop, especially since the twist is an Asian style bbq sauce. A multi-cultural creation that just screams “EAT ME!” Tore can often be seen working after hours, perfecting new and exciting dishes. Current experiments include aspartame crusted giblets, lard fat deep fried kale chips, sugar coated excuses, and pate filled cupcakes, just to name a few. Tore has been contacted by the peeps at Guinness world book of records for possibly creating the world’s smallest amuse-bouche. Tore is waiting for a publishing house to pick up his book, “She will love you, just give her a food-gasm.” Tore enjoys spending time with his family, watching them cook and clean for him. Using the business expense account for eyebrow waxes and manicures. Hearing his name called out loud. Tore has issues with vegetarians and vegans, they are aliens and not from this world.

The next chapter combines the craft of making pizza and the skills of a pit master.  Pizza expo Tore debuted his last creation, “The Big Easy”.   Smoked provolone and mozzarella blend, ground duck, ground alligator, shrimp, and caramelized onions, and fried okra.

Future fan club members can contact me at dominicsitalian@att.net or 760-754-1881 or 760-533-0673

Alex joined the USPT in 2017. Alex is the General Manager/Pizzaiolo of Flo’s Pizzeria In grand rapids Michigan. Alex has competed on behalf of Flo’s in Novi Michigan taking first place for the “Best Pizza in Michigan”, in Las Vegas which he took 3^rd place for the “Best Pizza in the Midwest”, and in Ohio which he placed 3^rd for the “Best Pizza in the Midwest”. Alex has been in the pizza business since he was 17 years old.

My pizza journey started out at 17 when I took my first job at Punxy Pizza under the ownership of Scott Anthony. In 2012, I opened a food truck in Cleveland called Sauced Wood Fired Pizza. We had such great success that I decided to open our first brick and mortar in June of 2016 in Fairview Park. I also headed to San Francisco in 2016 to attend Tony Gemignani’s International School of Pizza. I opened another location inside Scene 75 Entertainment Center called Food Truck Alley in August of 2017. I took 3rd Place at the Mid America Restaurant Expo in January 2018 in the Pizza Pizzazz Competition.