Member Profiles

Leonardo (Lenny) was born and raised in Castellamare Del Golfo, Sicily.

Lenny left Sicily in 1991at age of 21 and few years later he decided to pursue a career in the culinary arts. From Sicily he brought with him a passion for simple, yet flavorful foods to his role as an Executive Chef and Pizza Chef. Best described as an Innovative and fresh to his approach as his Sicilian/ Mediterranean style of cooking. By using the freshest ingredients, Lenny gets you as close to Original Italian dining experience as you can get.

In 2001 Lenny decided to open his first place called Mona Lisa Pizzeria & Ristorante, two years later he also opened an upscale Fine Dining, San Marco Ristorante Italiano.

In April 2012 Atlantic City NJ, Lenny won the first place in Pizza Competition of the Best Pizzeria in North East America and became Official Member of US Pizza Team PMQ.

Lenny already 3 years in USPT he lives the dream of one of the Best Pizza Chef in U.S.A and the world and also to be part of the PMQ Family.

Leah lives in San Francisco Ca.  She has been working with Pizza My Heart in the Bay Area for 18 years. When she is not slinging pies she enjoys skiing and sitting on the beach with a fruity cocktail with an umbrella in it.

When asked to provide this bio she merely stated, “I make pizza, it’s my job”.

Ali Haider & wife Sayyeda Ali, proud owners of 786 Degrees Wood Fired Pizza Co. Sun Valley CA began their dream journey back in 2013. Being  a huge foodie at heart  Ali found  his creativity outlet ,now by using different flavors of foods from around the world and presenting them in the form of world class Neapolitan wood fired pizzas  His innate passion to find the best local street food led him find the right balance of local flavors with gourmet ingredients. In the will to learn from the best, this insatiable craving drove him back to the motherland of pizzas, Naples, Italy where he studied under the Master Pizzaiolos, the Artisanal craft of classic Italian cooking .

Owner of Palo Mesa Pizza in Arroyo Grande, CA., Michael joined the team in 2013 after winning 3rd place at the U.S. Pizza Team Culinary Trials at IBIE in Las Vegas. Michael also joined the team in Parma, Italy in 2014 to compete as a United States Pizza Ambassador at the World Pizza Championships, scoring the highest score for the team in Classico.

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

David Conti, owner of Red Planet Pizza & BBQ.  After 10 years of doing Kansas City Barbeque Society & New England Barbeque Society Grilling Competitions along with my Barbeque catering, I decided this past year to start doing onsite Pizza catering parties. I entered my first pizza competition at the 2017 Caputo Cup in Atlantic City, I enjoyed it so much that I followed it up by competing in Las Vegas at the International Pizza Expo which I placed 3rd in the North East. After watching the World Championships from Parma, Italy this past April I made it a Goal that I wanted to compete at it one day!  I then entered the USPT West Coast competition with a Grand Prize of going to Italy to compete. My dream then became a reality by winning the West Coast Competition! Then it was back to Atlantic City for the Caputo Cup which I placed 2nd in the Non-traditional division. I am very honored to be part of the USPT and look forward to competing and expanding my Onsite Pizza Catering business in the next year.

Gianni Gallucci of Forno Rosso and Zero Ottantuno in Chicago, Ill. seized a trip from the 2018 Midwest U.S. Pizza Cup and a spot on the U.S. Pizza Team with his traditional Pizza Napoletana STG in the wood-fired oven featuring buffalo ricotta with black truffles, prosciutto di Parma, red piennolo del Vesuvio, and summer black truffle from Umbria.

Derrick Tung, owner and operator of Paulie Gee’s Logan Square, started out by learning how to make pizza at home through YouTube tutorials and PizzaMakingForum.com discussions. After a few years of working at different pizzerias to learn restaurant operations and pizza techniques, and many road trips to visit some of the top 100 pizzerias in the US (and some international trips as well), Derrick fell in love with woodfired pizza and Detroit style, both which he incorporated into his menu at the restaurant. As a firm believer in honoring tradition but evolving forward, he is constantly seeking new and interesting pizza experiences based on non-traditional ingredients.

Lars Smith is the chef and co-owner of state of Mind Public House and Pizzeria in Los Altos, California. He has been in the industry since 2002, but has had a love for food since he was a child, always cooking with his grandmothers. He always new that he would eventually open his own family run restaurant. In 2017, he won the international pizza challenge Non-Traditional division in Las Vegas and was featured on the Cooking channel’s “Food Wars”. In 2018, State of Mind Public House and Pizzeria officially opened it doors. That same year he won second place at the US Pizza team west coast trials pan division and first place at the US Pizza team Northeast pizza trails traditional competition.