Customer of the Month: Christopher Reyes
Food trucks have become the new craze and have steadily grown in popularity throughout the last decade. They are an innovative and cost-effective way to attract a crowd on the streets of your hometown or at any kind of event.
As more and more entrepreneurs are expanding or diversifying from their brick-and-mortar stores to the food truck industry, we are seeing a huge trend in unbelievable food available in fun food truck settings.
All over the country, you can research food truck venues. For example; Venice, California has a famous Abbot Kinney food night on the first Friday of every month.
In Phoenix, there is a whole schedule of weekly food truck hubs. Search to find out where the local food trucks are in your area.
Authentic Pizza Ovens is proud of becoming not just a household staple, but a well-known quality brand in commercial settings, catering, and the food truck setting nationwide.
Meet our Customer of the Month for November, Christopher Reyes, of Cafe PiXXa, and learn how he cashed in and gained success with his Maximus Prime Large Portable Pizza Oven.
Where are you from and a little background information about you?
My name is Christopher Reyes. I am from Phoenix, Arizona, born and raised. I started Café PiXXa in October of 2019 when I cashed in my 401K and bought a pizza trailer.
The very first time I ever cooked wood-fired pizza was with the pizza oven I bought from Authentic Pizza Ovens. I was a self-taught graduate from YouTube University and was using store-bought mass-produced dough.
My journey would eventually take me to become a VPN-certified Pizzeria Called La Piazza Al Forno. This is where I would learn all about Neapolitan pizza and wood-fired cooking, taking my newfound obsession for pizza back on the road for catering and retail pop-ups.
I am a family man and enjoy bringing my family along to participate and enjoy the experiences of my business endeavor, which has been incredibly rewarding and continues to flourish with new opportunities.
This year, we are very excited to be participating in the 7th annual Phoenix Pizza Festival in a few weeks!
Which oven did you choose and why did you choose an Authentic Pizza Oven?
With my business plan, I needed an oven with a large production capacity to serve pizza at events and for larger catering orders like weddings and corporate events. I also needed something that was mobile and light enough for a food cart that most vehicles could tow.
I chose the Maximus Prime Large Portable Pizza Oven because it fit the criteria needed for production capacity, and its lighter weight and the added versatility of being able to cook a variety of foods was an added bonus!
Also, the oven was already built ready-to-go and required very little modification for my food cart, which I appreciated considering the overall investment of my business.
FAQs: If you are planning to use this oven for a food truck or trailer, it MUST be modified in order to handle the suspension. Your vehicle must have satisfactory suspension and the face of the oven must be secured with added bolts from the dome into the face.
We have an instructional video that we can provide. This is an after-purchase modification. The warranty is voided if not properly modified.
Did you build your setup or have someone else do it?
I had a company locally in Phoenix build my setup but there are so many qualified companies around the country. Because the industry is expanding so much, simply Google food truck fabricators. Once you meet or speak with them, call some of the trucks for feedback and references.
What is your favorite thing to cook in your oven, and have you tried any recipes besides pizza?
I think the big square pizzas like the Roman and Sicilian styles are my favorite to make in the oven. To begin with, not many places do wood-fired pizza in these styles and even fewer do squares in their wood-fired oven.
I also cooked tri-tip which was really good. Now that Authentic Pizza Ovens offers a Prime Rotisserie Spit for the Maximus ovens, I am going to get one and try my hand at rotisserie meat and other rotisserie dishes.
Christopher's Food Truck Recipes
Sicilian Square Pizza
1. Prep your pizza dough accordingly in a generously oiled square/rectangular pan. You can use any kind of dough recipe you like.
2. Heat your wood-fired oven to approximately 250 degrees Celcius
3. Par-bake your dough in the pan, just be careful to not cook it all the way through
4. Once your dough is par-baked, then remove it from the oven and first sprinkle your cheese
5. Add your sauce
6. Add your toppings
7. Place your pan back into the oven and cook until the dough and toppings are sizzling with a nice color
8. Let your pizza rest for a minute, then remove it from the pan
9. Place your pizza, without the pan, back into the oven for just a minute to get the nice wood-fired/finish edges around your dough
Calzones
1. Heat your wood-fired oven to approximately 250 degrees Celcius
2. Stretch out your dough on a wooden pizza peel
3. Sprinkle your cheese on one half of the dough, then top with sauce and toppings
4. Fold the other half of your dough over your toppings and join the edges of the dough together until it is sealed well
5. Shape your calzone into a nice moon shape, or any way that you like it
6. Tip: Put a little hole on top of your calzone so that you can see it bubbling and know when it is almost done while cooking
7. Side note: I sprinkle a bit of parmesan and alfredo cheese on top of my calzone- It's tasty!
8. Place your calzone inside your oven and cook for approximately 4 to 5 minutes, turning it while cooking so that you evenly cook your dough and edges
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING FEATURED AS CUSTOMER OF THE MONTH - please email Amber@authenticpizzaovens.com
Related Reads:
- What Is the Best Oven Option for Commercial Use?
- Essential Tools and Accessories for Wood-Fired Pizza Oven Owners
- Wood Fire Pizza Ovens vs Gas Pizza Ovens: Which Should You Choose?
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