Although not Italian, Jonathan Cowan, owner/founder of Wooden Paddle, has dedicated his career to artisan pizza.
A year after opening, Cowan was introduced to the Marra Forni team at the Vegas Pizza Expo.
At the National Restaurant Association Show, the couple brought 500 pizzas to bake in Marra Forni’s rotating deck oven. This was the first time the pizzas were baked using the wood and gas combination.
“We didn’t know it was possible,” Cowan says. “We were supremely impressed with the quality.”
Marra Forni’s Original Brick Neapolitan pizza ovens offer a variety of sizes and custom configurations, including free-standing and mobile solutions. The ovens feature a stationary cooking deck and produce a high volume of artisan pizzas. In addition to wood-fired, the oven comes in electric and gas versions.
Cowan switched to Marra Forni. The carryout location closed, and a sit-down restaurant opened.
Culinary director and chef Patrick Cassata, winner of Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen and a contestant on Hell’s Kitchen, was able to expand the menu. Because catering is a big part of the business, Cowan incorporated Marra Forni’s mobile Neapolitan oven.
When Wooden Paddle expanded its business, it added both a Marra Forni “Rotator” rotating deck oven and its Neapolitan static oven.
Cowan adds that the attention and assistance of Marra Forni and co-founder and CEO Francesco Marra have been invaluable. “Francesco has been so kind and answers questions; he treats us like family, which meant a lot to me as a young entrepreneur,” Cowan says.
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