Cover Meatlovers pizza (Photo: Courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
Meatlovers pizza (Photo: Courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
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The Wildflour Group is on the fast track to bringing good food to a wider audience with Pizza Sisters. Executive chef Allen Buhay shares how they plan to do this without compromising their brand’s commitment to quality and sustainability
“What kind of pizza is it?”, many would ask. There truly is no straightforward answer.
Pizza Sisters was launched when Pink’s and Hotel Bar reopened after renovating their Shangri-La the Fort location. The new look boasts more TV screens to give it that sports bar vibe, which goes with the American casual dining menu and the very pared-down selection of the new pizza concept. The newest brand coming out of the extremely popular Wildflour Group is not Neapolitan, not New York-style, and once you have tried it you will understand why it is difficult to peg down. It's what one would categorically call a really (really) good pizza.
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The sports bar (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
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The “sisters” are Wildflour co-founders Ana Lorenzana De Ocampo and James Beard awardee Margarita Lorenzana-Manzke, and pizza seemed like a natural progression for them considering their reputation for making excellent bread and pastries. In fact, their Wild Flour Italian’s pizza was recognised as one of the world’s best, and so pizza-making is nothing completely new to the group. The difference really is that Wildflour Italian cooks theirs in a wood-fired oven, while Pizza Sister’s bakes theirs at 600º in a deck oven. The Wildflour Group’s executive chef Allen Buhay explains that there really are very minimal differences, if only to make the Pizza Sisters pizza easier to replicate and scale for, fingers crossed, their imminent expansion. “Even the dough is pretty much the same, if not for a few minor tweaks,” he points out. “The point is really to take from WIldflour Italian— which has won many awards and so we would always want to somehow connect to that— and put it next to Pink’s. Make it more scaleable and make it accessible to a wider audience.”
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Above Margherita pizza (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
Above Mushroom pizza (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
Margherita pizza (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
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It had all the elements of a good pizza— a flavourful crust that even notorious crust-end throwers will finish to the last bite. San Marzano tomatoes make up the base sauce, its inherent sweetness and pleasant tang evident even when in contention with spicy pepperoni or fennel-y sausage. The toppings are only composed of the finest cured meats, fresh mozzarella, and locally sourced herbs and vegetables.
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Above Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters
Above Sausage pizza (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters
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While designed to be more “accessible,” Pizza Sisters cannot veer too far from the Wildflour model that is all about farm-to-table and quality ingredients, and of course, still very much about the people behind it. Their Farmer’s Market pizza changes every week depending on the fresh produce and the whim of their pizza chefs. While it is meant to give regulars something to be excited about, it is also characteristic of the brand to highlight the talent in their kitchens. “Many of our managers have been with us since we started 11 years ago,” chef Allen explains, “and also our kitchen staff. The ones that were displaced during the renovation and were scattered to the other branches are now back and working in the (shared) kitchen of Pizza Sisters and Pink’s. So, yes, these people have been with us for a long time and so menu items like the Farmer’s Pizza is something meant to break the monotony, and also still make it coincide with our ideals.” This week, it was a wink at one of Wildflour’s original salads which has arugula, parmesan, warm mushrooms, and dried cranberries over that signature thin crust which comes with an incredible crunch. The bestseller is their meat lovers with its abundance of savoury toppings, while the spice from their pepperoni gives the flavour focus many purists require.
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Above Pepperoni pizza (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
Pepperoni pizza (Photo: courtesy of Pizza Sisters)
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While it might not be easy to define Pizza Sisters’s pizza, it only takes a single bite for one to appreciate what they have achieved here. They accomplished what many have tried to do but cannot. They proudly present a thin crust crunch that the local market craves, then topping that with an arsenal of deliciousness the Wildflour group can readily provide. So simple, yet so good, and we should all hope that expansion will be swift.
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
