At The Pizza Weekly, we love pizza makers who blend craft, grit, and playfulness—and few do it better than Jeff Taylor. He’s the guy who will parbake a Detroit to a glassy crunch, chase fermentation nuance for days, then crack a joke about “shrinking parbake bottoms” while his line stretches 30 deep. Fresh off a 29th-place world finish at Pizza Expo in a field of 103, Jeff talks process, frico edges, crabby melts, gluten-free breakthroughs, and why the classic Margherita still rules his heart. This is an operator who respects tradition, loves the creative left turn, and keeps it fun. Here are 20 questions with Jeff Taylor—ready for your next bake, pop-up, or scroll.
- You finished 29th in the world at Pizza Expo — what went through your head the moment you found out your ranking?
As this was my first competition at Pizza Expo, I had no expectations or goals going in, other than to gain competition experience and to simply not finish last! When I found out I finished 29th out of 103, I was so excited. I remember it vividly, I was out on a run, and besides screaming for joy, calling my wife, I also seemed to get some additional adrenaline as I finished with a personal best time! - You’ve competed in Neapolitan divisions but also make Detroit frico pizzas — what does each style teach you about pizza?
Although each style still contains just four major ingredients, they are handled a bit differently through the mix and fermentation process. Pan pizza dough is a little more forgiving in the process before baking. With Neapolitan, the hydration (water amount) will impact how easily you can work with it on the bench, and even more important in the summer heat, you’re looking for tight dough balls and very meticulous time and temperature control. With a panned dough such as Detroit style, I push the hydration higher, but in a pan it’s easier to handle. I also push the fermentation time—an extra few hours proofing in the pan won’t impact your handling like a Neapolitan dough, so it’s more forgiving that way. I parbake my Detroits for an extra crispy bottom, and it helps with service times at events. In addition, a Detroit pizza allows you to carry more toppings, so they are typically more creative in terms of toppings. - Your dough method has a 3-day fermentation minimum — what magic happens in those extra days?
This is where all the goodness and activity happens. During these 3 days, yeast breaks down the starches and proteins, resulting in a more complex flavor. The yeast produces carbon dioxide, which gets trapped in the dough, causing it to rise and be light and airy during the bake. I have found the flavors created during a 3-day process are improved, and it improves the shelf life of the dough, making it stay fresh for longer. When baked, all these pockets of gas expand, and the strengthened gluten stretches to create an airy crust. - What’s been your most unforgettable fail while cooking pizza on camera?
There are many worse things in life than a pizza fail. But I think like most pizza makers, a hole in a pizza during cooking or a pizza being dropped as it comes out of the oven will happen to all of us at one point in our pizza making journey. You laugh, learn and move on, and just hope it wasn’t in a competition or in front of a large crowd. - Everyone freaks out over your crispy frico crusts — can you walk us through how you perfected that edge?
Lot’s of practice! But seriously, this industry is all about helping each other. I like to say that a rising tide lifts all ships. There’s no secrets, and as long as the pizza community continues to embrace that, we will all be better for it. I must give credit to my good pal Jim Henry for giving me some great tips and pointers. From there, it’s just making as many pizzas as possible, working on the amount of cheese, type of cheese blend, the pan, cook time, temperature, resting time, and the list goes on. This isn’t a bad thing, because you get to eat your test bakes. After making countless frico edges, it becomes second nature. However, you always scratch your head when you think you’ve nailed it, but the frico was not cooperating. In the end, frico is good for the wow factor and Instagram, but not really a thing in mass service. - The Crabby Melt pizza is such a wild concept — was that always planned or more of a happy accident?
This was definitely planned. Living in Maryland, we are known for delicious Blue Crabs from the Chesapeake Bay. Summer here consists of sitting around a table with friends eating steamed crabs loaded with Old Bay Seasoning, drinking beer and sharing stories. The inspiration came from a crabby melt, which is a crab meat mixture on an open faced toasted English muffin, topped with a slice of tomato and melted cheese. To me, this translates to a pizza extremely well. So I started playing around with these main ingredients and unveiled this pizza at the Pizza Expo Slice Out Hunger event 2 years ago and it was extremely well received. When I offer it at local pop-ups here, it’s always a huge hit. - Do you prefer competing with pizza chefs or throwing pop-ups for everyday people? Why?
I really enjoy both. I think the common thread is that I like to push and challenge myself, and both do that. I thrive in stressful situations. Competing against World Champions, and great pizza makers from all over the world is fun. You like to see where you stack up against them. You have one shot at making the best pizza of your life. Then there’s a bit of luck involved also. With pop-ups, sometimes I look at the line of people waiting to buy one of my pizzas, and it’s 30 people deep—with a backlog of 30 pizzas in front of them. To me, that’s fun. Pushing myself to the limit allows me to learn new ways, perfect my craft, and simply have fun. But quite honestly, when it comes down to it, hearing customers tell me that was the best pizza they’ve ever had makes doing pop-ups and cooking for people all worth it. - You’re known for humor in your posts (like “shrinking parbake bottoms”) — how important is keeping pizza fun online?
I think you have to know your niche. I don’t have a social media or filming background. I also think there are enough accounts that offer a more serious take on pizza. If anyone knows me, I don’t take myself very seriously; I’m a prankster and jokester under this “Pizza Angel” surface. I’ll get more reactions and engagements from a humorous post, and I enjoy that, so it’s worked well for me and I’ll continue that path for now. - If you could only eat one pizza type for the rest of your life, would it be Neapolitan, New York, Sicilian, or Detroit?
Like many of us, I love all styles of pizza. That’s what is so great about eating pizza or making it; you can choose your specific style based on your mood or cravings that day. Nothing beats a great NY slice—nothing fancy, just brings back great childhood memories. And Detroit style—what can I say? My family loves this style best, and I could eat it every day. But if anyone knows me, I’m a Neapolitan guy at heart. The classic Margherita is simple yet complex. The colors and simplicity of top quality ingredients such as cheese and tomatoes, combined with a light and airy crust, cooked for 60–90 seconds, finished with fresh basil and good olive oil—to me, that’s pizza heaven and I could spend eternity there. - You cook salmon and veggies in your Ooni oven too — what’s one non-pizza dish fans should try in theirs?
These ovens are so versatile, you can cook virtually anything in them—from fish, chicken, veggies, steak, potatoes, casseroles and breads. But I think it’s super fun (and delicious) to cook something sweet in the Ooni. What beats a cast iron Chocolate Chip Cookie? Or a Peach Cobbler pie? Cinnamon Rolls or an Apple Strudel? And you can’t turn down a Baked S’mores dip! - Detroit pizzas, Neapolitans, seafood pies… is there any recipe project you’re currently working on that you haven’t shown yet?
I recently went down a deep rabbit hole in perfecting a Gluten Free recipe for my recent competition in Columbus, Ohio. It’s amazing from where I started, to 16 test recipes and bakes later, that I created a delicious, soft and airy dough, with a crunchy bottom that would have any Gluten Free person craving more. Yes, I’m currently restarting my sourdough journey and want to jump into the Pinsa Romana and Roman style. These are two styles that are not available in my area and I think people would love them. - Who’s the GOAT of pizza in your eyes — a chef or a pizzeria you always respect?
There are so many, I don’t think I could call out just one. I’m going to name 3 people who I deeply respect, have forgotten more about pizza than I will ever know, and who I feel are the most generous with their time. They are in no particular order, Tony Gemignani, Chef Leo Spizzirri and Chef Gregorio Fierro. All 3 have personally taken lots of time to talk to me, give advice, tips and answer questions anytime of the day. I can listen to all 3 of them talk about dough, pizza, fermentation or process all day long. They are all so generous with their knowledge and giving back that I respect them immensely. - What’s your favorite pizza shop anywhere in the world that isn’t your own kitchen?
I’ve yet to travel to Italy (although I’m in the early planning stages), or even the most famous pizza restaurants in New York, or elsewhere for that matter. I had fantastic pizza in New Haven, Connecticut. I’ve had unbelievable pizza in Vegas. We even have great pizza here locally in Baltimore. If I can’t pick my kitchen, then I’m picking my pop-up events until I can do a more formal world pizza tour! - Everyone has a dream collab — if you could team up with one pizza influencer or chef, who would it be and why?
There are so many amazing and dynamic pizza makers around the world, each offering their own style or special touch on a particular style. Many of these have influenced me in how I make dough, approach fermentation, work with toppings, or even how to cook a pizza. It would be awesome to collab with Chris Decker, Dan Richer, Laura Meyer, John Arena, Anthony Mangieri, or Chris Bianco. And these are just icons here in the US. Across the world I would be honored to collab with Daniel Gigi, Roberto Susta, Davide Civitiello, Vincenzo Capuano, Vincenzo Abbate, Enzo Coccia or Raffaele Bonetta. This latter group are primarily Neapolitan pizza makers who I watched hundreds of hours of videos on and studied from when I started my pizza journey, so a collab with any of these would be an amazing experience. - On a bad day, what’s your comfort pizza topping combo?
Does anything really beat a pepperoni pizza? Our most popular pizza by far. Who doesn’t like a good pepperoni pizza, right? Using those wonderful cup ’n’ char pepperonis, capturing that tasty oil. Maybe some whipped ricotta and finished with hot honey. How can that not turn any bad day into a good day? Now if you want to kick that up another notch, and make things right for the entire week, add onions, green peppers, sausage, and finish it with a heavy dose of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. - You’ve got over 11k loyal followers — what’s the wildest DM you’ve ever gotten about pizza?
From a legit follower or not haha? I don’t think you can publish the DM’s we get from non followers, if you know what I mean. But, from legitimate followers, it was “do you add milk or eggs in your dough?” - Which is harder: competing in front of judges at Pizza Expo or making content for social media that doesn’t flop?
Competing in front of judges at Pizza Expo is definitely harder. They have such a critical eye. The bake has to be perfect, sauce to cheese ratio just right, just the right taste, the dough needs to be properly fermented, and the pizza needs to be visually appealing. And you only get one shot at it, to make everything just right. Content for social media is a dime a dozen. You can reshoot bad takes, hide mistakes, and edit out parts you don’t want a viewer to see. Every influencer has had flops. And you know what? You get to make another post tomorrow. Posts that we spend hours shooting and editing, thinking this is the one that goes viral, flops. Quite frankly, my most popular and viral posts are those I quickly throw together in a matter of minutes. - If you were forced to give up either cheese or sauce for a whole year, which one could you survive without?
Man, I love both cheese and sauce. Why couldn’t my choice be Cheese and anchovies? Or Sauce and Capers? I’m known for eating just sauce in a bowl with a big spoon. No pasta, meatballs or anything else. A good sauce is both hearty and fresh. It symbolizes what simple, fresh and even homegrown ingredients can be. A sauce can be both simple and complex. And who doesn’t like cheese? I can snack on cheese all day. Hard cheese, smoked cheese, soft cheese, melted cheese, creamy cheese, or spicy cheese—it doesn’t matter, I’m eating it. But if I had to give up one, in a very close call it would be cheese. - Can you share your ultimate “Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Ranch” recipe secret with us?
Certainly! The secret is a balance of flavors between a creamy homemade ranch, a tangy and spicy buffalo sauce (also homemade), tender chicken, creamy melted cheese and balanced with fresh crunchy celery. Add in a light and airy dough with a crispy and crunchy bottom, and you have heaven on a plate. You want that ranch dressing to be a cool relief to the spicy buffalo sauce. But to me, the real secret is in the homemade ranch dressing. I’ve made so many ranch dressings and performed so many taste tests with friends and family that I’ve got a trusted recipe that is second to none. - Last one — if pizza had a Hall of Fame, which of your own creations would you nominate first?
My pizza Hall of Fame is pretty easy. They are all Detroit style pizzas that I’ve made, again, because this style can support the amount of toppings it takes to create them. But starting with #4 I’m going with my Crabby Melt. The MD Lump Crab mix, Old Bay Seasoning and sweet tomatoes is MD summers on a plate. Coming in at #3 would be my Chili Dog pizza. Yes, this works incredibly well on pizza. A base of chili, topped with cheddar cheese, diced onions, slices of hot dog, and finished with a drizzle of yellow mustard, is comfort food at its best. #2 would be my Peach Harvest, sort of a hybrid dessert, sweet & savory pizza. This pizza took 7th place out of 32 in the recent Pizza Expo Columbus competition. Sitting on top of a bed of a warm brown sugar, cinnamon and butter mix is grilled peaches and smoked mozzarella and provolone. On top of that is a whipped ricotta mixed with lemon zest and peach juice, sitting on top of thinly sliced prosciutto, then finished with a peach infused balsamic glaze. This is a flavor explosion like no other. And finally, my #1 is simply my Big Mac pizza. I’m a sucker for a Big Mac a few times a year. Again, the perfectionist in me has developed a Big Mac Sauce that is identical to the real thing. Sing it with me, you know the iconic jingle: ground beef, special sauce, lettuce, cheese all on a sesame seed Detroit pizza dough. This is spot on and fulfills my craving a few times a year.
Jeff Taylor is a reminder that pizza rewards curiosity and repetition—three-day ferments, parbakes for service, laughter in the process, and a willingness to test 16 versions until it clicks. From his Maryland-born Crabby Melt to a hall-of-fame Big Mac Detroit, he’s building craveable ideas on a craft-first foundation. If you’re chasing your own next great pie, take a page from Jeff: keep it rigorous, keep it joyful, and keep the ovens hot.
