Passion for Pizza: A Journey Through Thick and Thin to Find the Pizza Elite

"The authors showcase their passion for pizza in this intimate, behind the scenes tale about great artisanal pizza makers in Italy and America." —Jonathan Goldsmith, owner, Spacca Napoli

Passion for Pizza celebrates the people, personalities, and stories behind one of the world's favorite foods. Not only a cookbook and a history book, it is also a tribute to the people and places that makes this dish a global favorite. It is a beautifully illustrated volume by a team of award-winning authors, photographers, and designers who diligently followed the smell of great pizza to wherever it led them. Passion for Pizza begins in Italy, introducing readers to pizzaioli in places such as Naples, Rome, and Palermo. Next up is the pizza of New York, Chicago, and California, where it's as essential as baseball and mom's apple pie. The authors visit the people who produce the cheeses, tomatoes, flour, and other ingredients used in pizza making, showing the global reach of locally sourced foods. This exuberant tour guide digs deep into pizza culture with interviews of oven-makers, consultants, professors, acrobats, and journalists.

With more than fifty easy-to-follow recipes for individual pizzas and crusts, over forty pizzeria profiles, and twenty profiles of the people behind the pizza, this book inspires home cooks and aficionados alike.

"Passion for Pizza reaches deep into the heart and soul of pizza makers from around the world. One of the finest, most groundbreaking books ever written about pizza and its industry." —Tony Gemignani, author of The Pizza Bible

"Can there be too much pizza? Or books about it? No and no. New on the pizza front is the gorgeously photographed Passion for Pizza." —The Sacramento Bee