Edward Rinaldi puts the creativity in creating pizzas
By: Seth Brokalis
Jr. Layout Editor
If you’ve ever wondered who comes up with the wild pizza ideas at Mazzone’s, look no further than Chef Edward Rinaldi.
As the key chef at Mazzone’s, Rinaldi said he was grateful to Mazzone’s for putting him in a position that he gets to work with his hands and his creativity.
“[I’m thankful] they found a good person to work the pizza area because I enjoy it,” Rinaldi said.
To Rinaldi, making pizzas isn’t just about making money, it’s an art.
“If you’re making pizzas, it’s just you, the dough, the canvas, then the toppings and bam there you go,” said Rinaldi.
Rinaldi comes up with the pizza ideas by seeing the variety of ingredients available, then putting it into practice. He has even tried making the pizzas at home first, to make sure that they’re of the highest caliber. He also does this to figure out the correct ratio of ingredients.
Rinaldi said he received his resourcefulness and creativity from his upbringing.
“My grandmother would make what we called ‘monday pies’, they were like pot pies,” he said.
However, Rinaldi wasn’t always an amazing cook and only started when he began cooking for his family.
“Monday pies” contained all the leftovers from the weekend. They became a delicious and resourceful way to use the leftovers that would otherwise go to waste.
“I was the oldest of three, and dad wasn’t around,” Rinaldi said.
Because of this, he took on the responsibility of cooking.
“I wasn’t good at first, but with practice I became better,” he continued.
To say he’s gotten better can be described as an understatement, seeing how far he’s come.
“I have worked all manner of food service jobs, from washing dishes all the way to doing those fancy plates you would see on ‘Master Chef,’” Rinaldi said.
Rinaldi grew up locally in Troy, NY. After that, he moved all over the country following different food service jobs. However, He eventually returned to his roots.
“As most stories go, I met a woman out there [and] she was from this area.” Rinaldi said. “[I] was looking for something in which I could travel in the summer, but still maintain a position in food service.”
Speaking of travel, Rinaldi certainly has his fair share, all over the world in fact. According to him, it all began with a trip in 1987.
“I travelled from Dover, England into Amsterdam down through Spain, Portugal and Morocco across Northern Africa and then up into the Middle East then back into Europe.”
The trip inspired a lifelong passion for travel.
Rinaldi said some of his favorite places for travel included Venice, Rome, Greece and the Island of Santorini. Rinaldi always takes into account the food culture, as well as the entire travel experience.
Rinaldi himself also graduated from Hudson Valley Community College, and has received two associates degrees. He received his first degree in the 1980s, but obtained his second recently.
“When you get enough time and distance from this institution, you realize that the facility and the faculty and the staff and the students themselves… there’s a sense of pride.”
He also has a theatre background.
“I only went back really to participate in the plays,” Rinaldi said.
He even participated in the Hudson Valley Community College production called “Moon Children.” He helps out to this day at the theatre club and is great friends with the advisor.
Outside of food service, Rinaldi is also an active writer.
“I write every day, I used to publish but now I don’t so much.” he said.
Rinaldi mentors other people who are trying to get into writing in a recreational manner. He focuses mainly on poetry and creative writing, which he has published through Twitter as well as his own blog.
Rinaldi said learning is very important to him.
“You have to learn to learn every day, and once you get that process down, it doesn’t matter what you don’t know,” he said.
At Mazzone’s, Rinaldi takes that into pizza making. He sometimes just sees what comes to him and doesn’t worry about coming up with the perfect idea.