James Beard Award Winner Chef Wylie Dufresne of NYC’s Stretch Pizza to kick off Pizza Expo 2026 with inspiring keynote tackle
Chef Wylie Dufresne, well-known for effective eating at wd-50 and Alder, is now all about pizza together with his in style New York Metropolis (NYC) spot Stretch Pizza, and he’s going to be our opening keynote speaker on Tuesday, March 24 at Worldwide Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. In line with Chef Wylie, chef and accomplice of Stretch Pizza, a scientific understanding of cooking can elevate dishes to new heights. He believes that an understanding of the organic and chemical processes at play permits cooks to make extra knowledgeable choices within the kitchen. Cooking, in response to Dufresne, will not be certain by a single “proper” approach; as an alternative, it’s about reaching the specified outcomes by way of an intensive grasp of those processes and scientific rules.
He was working at 71 Clinton Contemporary Meals in 2001 when he was named Meals & Wine’s Finest New Chef after which went on to open the trailblazing wd-50, which earned a Michelin star. He additionally received the 2013 James Beard Basis’s Finest Chef: New York Metropolis award. His work there cemented his status for modernist ingenuity and was the idea of his 2017 wd-50: The Cookbook.
Stretch Pizza opened in 2023 and at the moment has two places, Gramercy (Manhattan) and Brooklyn, that concentrate on inventive, umami-rich pies which might be impressed by NYC with distinctive twists like “Shallots Three Methods”, “Oldtown (mushroom grilled cheese), or an “All the things Bagel”, utilizing a meticulously developed, ethereal dough, which he spent years perfecting that makes use of a fermented starter. Chef Wylie utilized his revolutionary spirit to pizza, making Stretch Pizza a must-try for each basic and adventurous NYC pizza lovers. He emphasizes pizza’s common attraction by way of daring flavors and textures, serving it alongside whimsical gadgets like tiny cookies and delicate serve ice cream. They’ve lately began promoting slices on weekdays, making their distinctive choices extra accessible. He’s persistently innovating, with current options on distinctive dessert pizzas and an expanded bar menu.
He encourages different pizzeria homeowners and operators to attract inspiration from on a regular basis life, similar to your favourite grocery or specialty retailer, to find new flavors and developments. By tuning into what excites your prospects, you’ll have the ability to craft dishes that resonate together with your prospects, creating memorable eating experiences that preserve them coming again.
Attending Worldwide Pizza Expo 2026 is a tax-deductible enterprise trip — and you may write off the price of the occasion itself, together with associated journey bills, if they’re thought of atypical and obligatory on your career. So, there’s actually no motive to not attend the “Tremendous Bowl” occasion for the pizzeria trade. Particularly designed for pizzeria homeowners and operators, there’s one thing for everybody at Pizza Expo, whether or not you’re an trade veteran or simply excited about opening your first pizzeria. On the present flooring or within the school rooms, you’ll discover actual options and alternatives to deliver house to your restaurant.
That is your once-a-year alternative to fulfill face-to-face with greater than 500 trade producers and suppliers, high trade specialists and thought leaders, in addition to 1000’s of tremendous profitable pizzeria homeowners and operators all beneath one roof. The underside line is there’s all the time one thing new at Pizza Expo that may enhance your operation. As all the time, our dedication to you, our companions, is to provide the most important and finest present ever!
It’s All Pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Invoice Oakley
Present Director
