For some, pizza is a means to an end — a late-night slice to satisfy, a convenient and uncomplicated meal delivered to your door. For Dan Richer, it’s alchemy. As the author of “The Joy of Pizza,” James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef finalist, 50 Top Pizza’s 2023 Pizza Maker of the Year runner-up, and owner of Razza, which was named Best Pizza in North America in 2019, and recently earned a spot on The New York Times’s “22 of the Best Pizza Places in the United States” list, Richer knows a little something about the power of the pie.
More than dough, sauce, and toppings, it’s the perfect blend of art and science. It’s a way to communicate, to bring people together. Plus, it’s freaking delicious, especially when enjoyed with a glass of wine like Francis Ford Coppola Winery’s Sauvignon Blanc.
From celebrating local ingredients to pairing food and wine with abandon, Richer talked us through his recipe for success. So get your napkins and red pepper flakes ready.
It’s time to eat.
Skipping College Graduation for Italy
“The older I get, the longer the story is,” Richer says when asked how pizza came into his life. He grew up in New Jersey and worked as a busboy at an Italian-American restaurant. Bussing tables turned into waiting tables, and in college, he managed his first restaurant.
He studied agriculture and science at Rutgers, which, at the time, he couldn’t quite see a use for before transferring to
