13 photos
When we show people how to put an egg on a pizza,” says Mark Bello, owner of Pizza a Casa Pizza School, “their minds are blown.” Pizza has always been a lunch or dinner meal, he admits, paired best with a craft brew or a nice glass of wine. Yet at his Manhattan pizza school, one of Bello’s recipes ditches red sauce for two eggs, resulting in a top-notch pancetta (or Italian bacon), egg and cheese breakfast sandwich — in pizza form.
Along with his wife, Jenny, and master pizza maker Neil, Bello teaches small classes (16 people max) at Pizza a Casa. The subject: how to make simple, yet incredible-tasting pizzas — in their own home oven. The school has earned a five-star rating on Yelp and TripAdvisor, along with being named one the best pizzas in NYC by The Village Voice. Basically, they know how to make damn delicious pizza. When asked about the key to making a good pie, Bello responds: “If there’s a mantra in cooking pizza, it’s less is more.”
At his school, Bello teaches students how to make pizzas in home ovens, on baking steel, in under ten minutes. They don’t need the best ingredients (even if that’s what they use at Pizza a Casa Pizza School), a high-tech oven or even a lot of sauce or cheese — they just need a little guidance. Most of their pizzas, according to Bello, have less than half the calories of a pie you’d get at a soulless chain pizzeria, but are twice as good. For the breakfast pizza, however, makers shouldn’t be worried about calories. “It’s delicious, but not cardiologist approved. But whatever,” says Bello. “It’s a breakfast pizza.”
About Pizza a Casa Pizza School
Located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, you won’t find any pre-made slices or casual dining tables in Pizza a Casa Pizza School. That’s because it’s not a pizzeria; it’s a school. The name Pizza a Casa translates to “pizza at home”, which is exactly what they teach people how to do. Co-owners and instructors Mark and Jenny Bello, along with master pizza maker Neil Lesneski, educate people on how to make great-tasting pizzas in their home oven. It’s simple and delicious, and for those who can’t make it out to the LES for a lesson, Bello offers an immersive (and humorous) app ($20) that educates people how to make the dough, a 60-second secret tomato sauce, what cookware to use, a number of recipes and a good deal more — all in your home oven.