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Sometimes the most important thing about a pizza is not what you can change. It is what you need to leave alone.

Tony Cerimele has won Pizza Maker of the Year at Pizza Expo, earned a Best of the Best title, and developed his skills with some of the finest pizza makers around. But back home in northeastern Pennsylvania, the Pizza that outsells everything else at his shop is still his grandmother’s Pizza.

It doesn’t follow all the rules he’s learned. It has American cheese on it. And the people who grew up eating it do not want him changing it.

That is what I love about Tony’s story. There are accomplishments worth celebrating, absolutely. But underneath those accomplishments are his mother and father, his grandmother, a basement kitchen, and a community that remembers. This is Pizza passion with roots.

A Family Pizza Tradition in Nesquehoning

Tony grew up in Nesquehoning, a small coal town near Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, between the Lehigh Valley and the Scranton area. The Italian section of town was called New Columbus. That name would eventually become the name of his pizza business.

His family’s food business began taking shape in the 1950s. His uncle Michael, known as Schmeck, was facing a layoff and approached his parents about starting a catering operation. They converted the basement of the family home into a full commercial kitchen.

This wasn’t a small operation for long. They catered weddings, funerals, clambakes, and all kinds of gatherings. At its busiest, Tony remembers roughly 25 to 30 catering jobs a week, including weddings for hundreds of people. His uncle also expanded into equipment and tent rentals.

The Pizza started simply. Tony’s grandmother made it to feed the people working in the kitchen, preparing food for those catering jobs. His uncles began taking slices to the fire company and the VFW, where they sold them.

Before long, his grandmother was making Pizza on Fridays specifically for people to buy. His parents helped carry that tradition forward.

Think about that. A Pizza made to feed family and workers became a neighborhood tradition. No grand plan was necessary. People liked it, and they came back.

As his uncle grew older, the catering business shifted to food people could pick up for their own parties. The Pizza remained. And the kitchen remained in the home where Tony grew up.

Old Forge Brought Tony Back to Pizza

Now, here is something you might not expect from a world Pizza champion: Tony was not always interested in Pizza.

By the time he went to college, he had eaten his family’s Pizza so often that he was tired of it. He and others would slip away to Pizza Como in Lehighton for New York-style Pizza. He wanted something different.

Then he met his wife, Maryanne, who was from Old Forge.

Old Forge was only about an hour north of Nesquehoning, but Tony’s family generally did not travel much beyond Hazleton in that direction. He had never tried Old Forge Pizza.

On their second date, they went to Cafe Rinaldi. Tony expected a big, round New York-style Pizza. What arrived was something else entirely.

He tasted it, looked around at the busy restaurant, and began making a connection. This Pizza was different from his family’s Pizza, but something about it felt familiar. For the first time in a while, he saw his own family’s tradition with fresh eyes.

At about 22, he started making Pizza again. And he kept making it, practically every day. He experimented with his family’s Pizza, tried to understand Old Forge Pizza, and worked through enough dough to wear out several KitchenAid mixers.

Tony still credits Old Forge and its pizza makers with bringing him back. He speaks just as warmly about the people as he does about the food. The makers help one another, and although their pizzas belong to the same regional tradition, each place has its own flavor.

What Makes Old Forge Pizza Different?

Tony describes Old Forge red Pizza as a rectangular pan Pizza, often made in a pan around 12 by 18 inches. Its thickness falls somewhere between a thicker grandma Pizza and a thinner Sicilian.

It is commonly baked twice. Bake the dough first into a shell, then finish with sauce and cheese.

• The crust: Thicker than a typical grandma Pizza, but not as thick as the Sicilian many people picture.
• The sauce: Different from shop to shop. Tony especially enjoys versions with onions and plenty of black pepper.
• The cheese: A house blend that may include brick, mozzarella, cheddar, or some American cheese.

Old Forge white Pizza is another favorite of his. This double-crust pizza has cheese enclosed inside the dough. Onions, rosemary, and black pepper go on top. Some versions include spinach or broccoli.

Tony contributed his version of that white Pizza to The Pursuit of Pizza, the cookbook associated with the World Pizza Champions. It is a Pizza he loves deeply, even though a competition result did not always reflect that love.

After the cookbook photography, he entered an Old Forge double-crust white pizza in the pan division in Las Vegas. He felt it was the best version he had ever made. It finished 45th out of 48.

That is an important part of this story, too. A judging result and a Pizza’s meaning to its maker aren’t always the same.

Keeping New Columbus Pizza Co. Alive

Years into his renewed interest in Pizza, Tony’s uncle retired. Tony spoke with his father about keeping the family legacy going.

They renovated the basement kitchen and reopened it. Tony was around 32 by then, not 22. He was also working a full-time job.

New Columbus Pizza Co. continued in that same family location. At the time of our conversation, his mother still lived upstairs. His father had passed away several years earlier, but the work they had done together remained part of the shop.

Tony also wanted to explore beyond the family Pizza. As mobile wood-fired catering became more popular, he bought an oven and began taking Pizza to events. He described doing about 20 to 25 catering jobs a year.

That expansion gave him another reason to improve. He wanted to learn more styles, more dough processes, and what was possible.

Learning from Tony Gemignani

Tony connected with Tony Gemignani when Gemignani announced a visit to Old Forge during his The Pizza Bible tour. They met, visited Pizza places, and Gemignani encouraged him to attend Pizza Expo.

At first, Cerimele didn’t compete. Later, he entered competitions and attended Gemignani’s school. That education helped him develop the other pizzas he offered, particularly through a better understanding of preferments and fermentation.

We talked about the precision involved in artisan Pizza: weighing, measuring, and learning processes such as biga and poolish. These are preferments, portions of dough ingredients fermented before the final dough is mixed.

He also credited the ongoing exchange of ideas with fellow Pizza makers. There is something wonderful about that part of the Pizza community. You work on a problem, talk it through with someone who understands, and keep learning.

But one thing his expanding knowledge could not simply redesign: his grandmother’s.

Why His Grandmother’s Pizza Cannot Change

Tony explained that the way his grandmother made Pizza goes against much of what he has learned since. Yet even a small adjustment can make it taste different to the people who know it.

He tried doing some things differently when he first reopened. During COVID, he had time to revisit the original process and bring it back more faithfully.

He learned that this Pizza was not just a product. It was a memory.

People in the community had been eating the family’s Pizza since the 1960s. They knew how it should taste. And at his shop, it still outsells every other Pizza he makes, no matter what he accomplished in Las Vegas.

It is his grandmother’s Pizza, but that doesn’t mean it belongs in the New York grandma Pizza category. It is its own family style.

American Cheese Has a Family History

When Tony asked his father why American cheese was part of the recipe, his father explained that his grandmother had used the ration cheese available to her when she began making it.

She worked with what she had. That choice became the flavor people remembered.

I am no Pizza purist. If a Pizza tastes good to you and means something to you, I am not going to tell you it is wrong because of the cheese.

Tony does understand that someone arriving from New York or Philadelphia may expect something very different from a champion’s shop. He takes time to explain the history and the style. His family pizza is always the foundation, while other offerings depend on the time he and his small team have available.

Tony and his sister do most of the work, with occasional help from his niece or daughter. They can only do so much.

The Family Pizza Process

Tony outlined the method without turning it into a measured recipe:

1. Make the dough and let it rise.
2. Run it through a dough sheeter, then press it into the pans.
3. Add sauce and cheese before refrigeration.
4. Cover the prepared pizzas and refrigerate them overnight.
5. Take them out, let them rise, and bake.
6. Cut the pizza, then add the chosen toppings.

The cheese includes American cheese and some Locatelli Pecorino Romano. Toppings can include pepperoni, long hot peppers, and onions.

The onions get their own treatment: sautéed, drained, and seasoned with spices. And yes, Tony emphasized that the toppings go on after the pizza is cut.

This is not a complete home recipe with quantities, temperatures, or baking times. It explains a family method. That distinction matters. The process is part of the pizza’s identity, and preserving it is part of Tony’s job.

Pan-Fried Sicilian and the Power of Regional Pizza

Old Forge is not the only distinctive Pizza in northeastern Pennsylvania. Tony also makes pan-fried Sicilian, which he described as one of his favorite pizzas.

The dough has similarities to Old Forge dough and his family’s dough. The difference is the generous amount of oil in the pan. The crust effectively fries as it bakes, developing a beautiful golden-brown bottom.

His version uses a cheese blend weighted heavily toward cheddar, with some mozzarella and a little brick cheese. The sauce is onion-forward rather than sweet.

That combination of crust, cheese, and sauce is what makes the style special to him. He makes it at the shop more often than he makes Old Forge Pizza.

We also talked about Jim Mirabelli of NEPA Pizza Review, whose work helps bring attention to these regional pizzas. Tony mentioned Nick Turco of Turco’s Pizza as another maker carrying pan-fried Sicilian beyond its home region, describing his work in the Pittsburgh area.

The loyalty surrounding these pizzas reminded me of New Haven. People who have been going to Sally’s or Pepe’s for decades are not simply comparing ingredients. They are remembering visits, family, and a taste that has become part of their lives.

Peter Reinhart once shared a way of thinking about Pizza that has stayed with me: great Pizza is the Pizza you cannot stop thinking about.

Tony and I both enjoy Pizza without turning every bite into an argument. A simple piece of bread with sauce and cheese can still bring pleasure. But the Pizza that stays with you has something more. Often, that something is memory.

Tony Cerimele’s Road to Pizza Maker of the Year

Tony’s competition accomplishments did not come in a straight line.

He had finished fifth with an Old Forge Pizza in an earlier Las Vegas competition. But later came two difficult results near the bottom of the field.

One was a round pizza in Atlantic City shortly after his father died. Tony was honest about it. He was not in the right frame of mind, and he did not feel he made a good pizza. Then came the disappointing result with the Old Forge white pizza.

He was ready to stop competing.

The Atlantic City Result That Changed His Mind

In the fall of 2023, Tony decided to try again. He thought about the advice his father would have given him: make the effort, and finish feeling good about what you did, regardless of the result.

He had been developing a Sicilian dough, separate from his pan-fried Sicilian. He entered a sl

ice competition with a well-fermented, three-day dough. The rules did not allow parbaking, so he baked it straight through.

He was happy with the pizza. Then he went home.

After driving about three hours back, he received a call telling him he had finished third. That result gave him a reason to reconsider. Maybe there was something worth continuing here.

Practice, a Pan Division Win, and the 2024 Title

For Pizza Expo in March 2024, Tony kept working on that Sicilian pizza. He described making it perhaps a thousand times. The point was the repetition: make it, evaluate it, and make it again.

His competition pizza featured honey-whipped ricotta and pepperoni jam. It might have looked simple, but the work behind it was anything but simple.

He was not pleased with the appearance of his first competition bake. Still, he finished third in the initial round and advanced.

While others were enjoying the evening party, Tony was in the competition area preparing and parbaking his shells. The next morning, the top five competed again.

He won his division.

That alone meant a great deal to him. After the discouraging results and all that preparation, he had accomplished something he could feel good about.

Then came the Pizza Maker of the Year round. Using the same dough and parbake approach, he made a sausage and pepper pizza.

He thought of his father, whose nickname was Zepy, and worked with Bruce Springsteen playing through his headphones. The ingredients brought him back to something familiar. He made the pizza, and he won.

Tony Cerimele became the 2024 Pizza Maker of the Year at Pizza Expo. He later competed in Best of the Best and won that title, too.

Those are substantial accomplishments. What impressed me just as much was his honesty about the pressure. Competing seriously is nerve-racking. After winning, part of him simply wanted to enjoy an Expo without carrying that burden.

The 2024 win also helped restore some of his love for pizza. His one wish was that his father could have been alive to see it. But Tony felt his father was with him.

I believe every time he makes that family pizza, his grandmother and father are there in a different way. Their work is still being carried forward.

Tony’s Advice for Making Pizza at Home

After talking about competition, I asked Tony for advice for someone just getting started at home. His answer was wonderfully practical.

Start simply. Make pizza in a pan in your home oven.

You do not need to begin with starters, complicated preferments, an outdoor oven, or a collection of expensive equipment. First, find out whether you enjoy making pizza and want to keep doing it.

Build Your Skills with Basic Ingredients

• Use a straightforward dough recipe. Leave advanced fermentation projects for later.
• Choose good flour. Tony suggested King Arthur bread flour as one accessible option, depending on the pizza you want to make.
• Keep the sauce simple. He recommended Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, with salt and basil, plus garlic if you like it.
• Shred your own mozzarella. Start with a block from the grocery store.
• Mix by hand at first. A mixer can come later, once you know you want to invest.

That advice brought back my own early pizza-making days. I used an oiled cookie sheet. That was where I stretched the dough and baked the pizza, long before I knew much about stones or steels.

Tony also remembered Anthony Mangieri recommending pan pizza in a home oven. There is something satisfying about using the oven and pan you already have.

Give the Dough Time, Then Upgrade When You Are Ready

Tony suggested making the dough, portioning it, forming dough balls, and refrigerating them at least overnight, depending on the style and recipe. Make sure the dough is properly proofed before baking.

For greasing the pan, he mentioned several possibilities, including butter, shortening, and beef tallow. The choice can fit the pizza you are making and your preferences.

Once you can make a pizza you enjoy with basic equipment, then consider upgrades. Tony prefers a baking steel over a pizza stone. He also likes portable ovens such as the Roccbox, while pointing out that a different oven changes the kind of pizza you are making.

Even with his titles, he still sees himself as a learner in some areas. At the time we spoke, he had only recently begun offering larger, 16- or 18-inch New York style pizzas occasionally. Stretching those larger rounds was a skill he was still developing.

Pan pizza is his foundation. He knows it, loves it, and continues to work at it. There is a good lesson there: becoming accomplished does not mean you stop learning.

The Next Chapter Requires the Right Location

Tony’s success does not remove the ordinary realities of running a small pizza business.

At the time of our conversation, he was facing a layoff from his full-time job and interviewing for other positions within the company. At the same time, he was looking at possible locations for a full-time pizzeria.

That had long been a goal. But he was not interested in opening a place just to say he had opened one. He wanted the right location and the right circumstances.

His existing shop serves an important purpose: keeping the family legacy alive. But its neighborhood does not have the population or foot traffic needed for the volume a full-time operation would require.

He illustrated that clearly. Selling 150 pizzas on a Saturday would not necessarily become 450 pizzas simply by opening Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. He might sell only 200 across those days.

A championship cannot create local demand that is not there. Tony understands that, and he is being thoughtful about what comes next.

Meanwhile, the part-time pizza operation still takes roughly 30 hours a week, on top of other responsibilities and life with two teenage daughters.

And sometimes the oven breaks. Tony recalled a recent service when it failed after about 25 pizzas. That is the side of pizza making people do not always think about: equipment, preparation, storage, and solving problems when orders are already waiting.

A Small Shop, a Lasting Family Legacy

New Columbus Pizza Co. operates by preorder. Tony explained that the kitchen is small, and there is a limit to how many pizzas the team can prepare and store.

The menu changes weekly, with variety added when time and capacity allow. The shop’s Instagram page shares menu updates, so checking the current offerings and preorder arrangements is important before planning a visit.

Our conversation also reminded me why pizza has meant so much in my own life. My father inspired my interest in making it. Later, during my years as a special education teacher, I had access to a full kitchen and could make pizza with my students once or twice a month. That was a blessing.

Pizza gives us a way to work together, share something, and create memories. Tony’s story brings that home.

He has earned recognition on a world-class competition stage. He has contributed to a cookbook, developed new styles, and continued learning. Yet when he explained what drives him, it came back to making his mother and father proud.

That is what stays with me. The awards matter. The effort matters. And so does the pizza made in a family basement, the same way people remember it.

Thank you, Tony, for keeping that pizza and that family story alive.

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