Creating Vegetable-Infused Pizza Doughs

The catalyst for change is often born from a place of discomfort and need, especially when it comes to what we eat. Our chefs realize that when you change your dining habits, it can seem like there’s nothing you can eat. What a disappointment to feel like you can’t eat at the diner you grew up visiting or go to your favorite coffee shop on Saturday with friends, all because you need to follow a different diet. Lack of dining choices can leave people feeling excluded, different, and isolated, which is everything we work to avoid in being a foodservice management provider. As such, it was timely to hear a story from Thomas Cuisine’s Chef Vance who was reflecting on Thanksgiving meals with one of our clients; as a Vegan there was very little at the family dinner table during the holidays that our client could have, and as it turned out, she hadn’t been able to enjoy staple comfort foods in quite some time. In hearing this, Chef Vance looked around at the offerings in his café, and realized that artisan items like pizza were not readily available for Vegan diets, and honestly, it would be a nice treat to have those items available in his café. Vance started to brainstorm creative ways in which his culinary team could come up with a Vegan pizza that was scratch-made, locally sourced, flavorful, and nutritious.

Ultimately, Chef Vance and his team went above and beyond by creating three custom pizza dough recipes to set their vegan offerings apart in the café. These doughs are unmistakable because of their vegetable-infusions which result in striking colors, unparalleled flavor, and an extra boost of nutrients from the added vegetables. Additionally, these pizzas feature locally-sourced Vegan cheese and fresh, seasonal toppings to ensure a variety of flavors all year long. When questioned about the motivation and effort it took to create a non-conventional pizza rooted in real food, Vance opened up about his dedication to scratch-cooking because as a Father, he’s seen that eating real food has been a key factor in managing his son’s heart condition. It’s clear that being a chef and creating custom recipes at work is a natural extension of Vance’s lifestyle. We think Chef Vance has an extraordinary passion around cooking with real food, taking feedback, building teams, and continuously improving his craft in order to help customers feel heard and valued through the food we serve each day.