Delpha John - Grilled pizza the right way: the best technique for cooking incredible tasting pizza & flatbread on your barbecue perfectly chewy & crispy every time

I was fortunate enough to land my first professional cooking job at Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1992. That is where I learned to grill pizza under the direct tutelage of George Germon and Johanne Killeen. George invented grilled pizza in the early 1980s. George wanted to bring the flavors of Italy to the table but didnt have room for a wood-burning oven, so he was inspired to come up with a way to make pizza on the wood-fired open grill at Al Forno. Surprisingly, the dough did not sag through the grill grates and within a few attempts, George had a delicious pizza with all the flavors of authentic Italian pizza and more. The smoke curls around the dough, flavoring the pizza with a haunting light smoky taste. George taught me, and legions of men and women who have trained at Al Forno, how to make those fabulous grilled pizzas. Since then I have gone on to cook in some of the best kitchens in Boston such as Mistral and Clio. I gained my first Executive Chef position at the newly designed and reopened Harvest in Harvard Square; from there I went on to run the kitchen at Gourmet Caterers, which at the time was the largest independent caterer in New England. I moved on to Woodland Golf Club, from there to Executive Chef at Sorellina, which was named one of the best new restaurants by Esquire magazine. Then I went on to lead the kitchen at La Campania in Waltham, one of the highest rated Italian restaurants in Boston and the nation. Along the way, I joined the professional competition barbecue cooking team iQue and then opened a restaurant with my wife in Essex, Vermont, called the Belted Cow, which we closed while I was writing this book. During that time I was fortunate enough to have cooked alongside Pitmaster Chris Hart, and in 2009 iQue won the Jack Daniels World Invitational Barbecue Cooking Championship. I have won the I Know Jack About Grillin! contest twice, as well as the Cooks Choice Category twice and two perfect dessert scores at the Jack Daniels World Invitational Barbecue Cooking Championship. I have also been lucky enough to win a number of New England Barbecue Society grilling contests. I think I know how to get my grillin on and wanted to share the knowledge and experience that I have gained with more people.

I am very passionate about open-fire cooking and deeply so of grilled pizza, which is such a unique way to make pizza. The pizzas in this book will have a taste, texture and brightness to them that very few oven-cooked pizzas can replicate. I am a huge fan of wood-oven-cooked pizza, and you probably are too. I want to turn you on to how to properly prepare one of the greatest foods you can easily make for yourself with very few tools, simple ingredients and a grill. Simply put, the right way to grill pizza. When you master the art of grilling pizza, you will amaze and astonish your friends when they first try these pizzas. You instantly have the potential to be the hit at any party with your newly acquired skills.

In this book you will find recipes for savory, sweet and classic pizzas and flatbreads. There are tips to help you succeed. The first pizza in the book, The Anything But Basic Tomato and Cheese Grilled Pizza is a definitive step-by-step instruction that will lead you to grilled-pizza-making nirvana. That is the master recipe that will open the door to endless combinations of toppings for pizza. Once you master how to stretch and grill the crust, feel free to mix up your own ingredients. If I can stress one thing, understanding how to make the crust is the key to the grilled pizza game. Read the first recipe over and over, look at the pictures that will provide you with a visual reference to the words and practice, practice, practice.

Now get started and most of all, have fun!