Bella's Pizzeria, Nov. 23rd at LAS PALMAS

1. Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is David Montoya and I've always had an affinity for cooking. I graduated 2nd in my class from Le Cordon Bleu and spent a decade in professional kitchens. I've worked in: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and I've completed 26 stages (pronounced stahj- essentially you work for free in a professional kitchen. You pay the restaurant with free labor and they pay you with knowledge), the majority were in San Francisco and NYC.

2. How did Bella's Pizzeria come to be?
Bella's Pizzeria was born during the pandemic. I had just been hired in NYC and was getting ready to relocate when the chef called me and said that NYC was shutting down. I turned an incredibly terrible situtation into an opportunity. I was able to work 3 jobs, pay off my student loans and create a business. When asked "how did you make it happen?" For 18 months I did nothing but: work, study, read, research and practice making dough every single week. Once I had a solid grasp on what I was doing I did a few pizza parties, pop-ups, events and Bella's Pizzeria, Inc. was born.

3. How do you describe and hope people feel when eating your food?
I want them to be reminded of Italy. At Bella's we pride ourselves on sourcing 90 percent of our ingredients from Italy. We have some usual suspects on the menu, and we also feature some ingredients that are ubiquitous in Italy, but less known in the States. I always strive to offer a unique experience that's approachable, educational and DELICIOUS.

4. When you’re not in the kitchen, what can the people find you doing?

On my days off I fine tune my pizza dough, I'm constantly researching and pushing for a better product. I'm very much an advocate for pushing myself beyond what I believe my limits are.

5. Anything you wanna add or share with the reader.

Stay focused, stay curious and never turn down an opportunity to learn.