Why Chef's Table Creator David Gelb Won't Make His Own Pizza At Home - Exclusive
Between running his production company Supper Club and spearheading the creative process behind "Chef's Table," David Gelb is a creative visionary who is constantly on the go. During an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, he talked about everything from the recently premiered "Chef's Table: Pizza" to what it was like working with Wolfgang Puck.
Despite the fact that pizza is traditionally seen as a simple combination of a few basic ingredients, "Chef's Table: Pizza" proves that there is so much more to this universally-loved meal. "We thought it'd be interesting to tell the stories of chefs [who] use pizza — which on its surface is generally considered to be just tomato sauce, dough, and cheese — as a canvas to express themselves," Gelb explained. "[We wanted to] find a way to tell stories about pizza chefs that can approach pizza in these very different ways, and the stories that took them there."
David Gelb's favorite style of pizza
Nearly everyone has a favorite kind of pizza. When it comes to toppings, some of the most obvious and classic ones are cheese, tomatoes, and cured meats — but there is also a lot of personal preference when it comes to the style of a pizza. Some people prefer a heavy deep-dish pizza like the ones that are famous in Chicago, while others enjoy the traditional Neapolitan style that Italy is known for. David Gelb, however, likes to keep things simple.
"I grew up in New York City, so I love a cheese pie. In our show 'Street Food,' we did do a New York slice shop. I like the simple execution of a margherita. That's one of my favorite things," Gelb told us. "My go-to, whenever I go to a pizza place, I always get the margherita or the simple tomato pie as a baseline. Then I like to also get the more experimental stuff."
David Gelb leaves pizza to the professionals
Despite being a huge pizza-lover, David Gelb prefers to leave the pizza-making up to the masters. "I don't even attempt it at home, because it's this mastery of a simple thing," said Gelb. "I have too much respect for the pizza makers out there that are good to ruin it in my own home."
His admiration for pizza chefs doesn't limit him from trying a partially homemade pie, though. "The most I'll do is I'll buy some pre-made dough from Italy and do a little pizza party. My son's three and he loves pizza, so we do that," Gelb said. "I love how these chefs have mastered this seemingly simple thing. It reminds me of sushi in a way, because I can't make sushi rice like the great sushi chefs. I don't try to make sushi at home, and I don't really try to make pizza at home either. It's the same thing."
That said, those looking to brave the threshold and make pizza at home can learn a thing or two from watching the latest "Chef's Table: Pizza" series. From innovative toppings to fried pizza, the show covers the endless possibilities of pizza while giving viewers an inside look at the personal lives of the renowned chefs behind them.
All episodes of "Chef's Table: Pizza" are now available to watch on Netflix.