Have you ever held a pizza class at your pizzeria? What’s stopping you? It can’t be that you’re afraid someone will steal your recipe. Look at all of the cooking shows and cookbooks out there. There are millions of recipes for people to “steal.”

The truth is, most of the people who watch how to make something will never actually attempt it on their own; they just enjoy watching how it’s done.

However, inviting your customers–new and seasoned–into the restaurant to be a part of what you do every day is a priceless experience.

Not only will you get to know your customers better, but they will get to know you. And once they do, they will tell all of their friends, who will then want to come in and try your pizza! See how that works?

When you search online for pizza classes, you’ll find some great ones such as Pizza a Casa and an online course by Peter Reinhart. It becomes more challenging to find ones that are held inside a pizzeria, which is where you come in. Imagine if you were the only pizzeria for miles that held a monthly class that explained how to make dough and tomato sauce, and how to bake the perfect pizza at home? Stop worrying about all of your customers suddenly making their pizzas at home; it’s not going to happen.

Curious about pizzeria operators who’ve had success with pizza classes? Check out the ones below.

Wild in NYC and Las Vegas
Serious Pie in Seattle
AOA Bar & Grill in NYC
Whole Foods Bakery in Los Gatos, CA
Geppetto’s Pizzeria in Providence, RI

Have you held a pizza-making class in your pizzeria? Let’s hear about it!

–Liz Barrett

Author, Pizza: A Slice of American History
Editor at Large, PMQ Pizza Magazine