HOW I GOT STARTED IN THE BUSINESS

Twenty and a half years ago, I got a part time job as a pizza delivery driver while going to University for computer programming. That is where I met my future husband, it’s also were I realized that we both shared a love for pizza and for the business. From the beginning, we wanted to make a great pizza, with simple wholesome ingredients. In 1996 we took over a tiny little pick up & delivery pizzeria on St. Mary’s road and opened our doors a month later.

We made a lot of mistakes in the beginning, but we kept at it and learned valuable business and life lessons on the journey. Our little pizzeria was gaining popularity and earning a reputation for excellence in pizza. In 2005 I was awarded “Canada’s Best Pizza Chef of the Year 2005” by Canadian Pizza magazine and represented Canada at the International Pizza Expo’s “Italian Chef Wars” in Las Vegas. Shortly afterwards, we outgrew our little pizzeria and needed a larger location.

Since then I have been awarded several more awards for Canada’s Best Pizza in pizza games in Las Vegas, Italy and New York and recipe contests here in Canada. In addition to doing well for Canada these past five years, we also made great friendships with pizza guys from around the world. We hold honourary positions on the Australian Pizza Team, the French Pizza Team and also on the World Pizza Champions Team, as seen on the Food Network, NBC, ABC and affiliates. We’ve gone to visit a few of our friends in their home towns, and one of our goals is to someday visit everyone.

In December 2007 we permanently shut down our St. Mary’s location, and opened our bigger, better, ultimate kick-butt twenty first century pizzeria on St. Anne’s Road, (about 5 minutes away) and have been growing ever since. I enjoy continuing to develop my pizziolo skills, completing an Italian pizza certification course in 2008. My husband Pierre and I still enjoy travelling for pizza games; in Las Vegas March 2009, I was the top scoring Canadian at the International Pizza Challenge. And I had the honour of being a judge at the 2009 World Pizza Championship Games in Salsomaggiore, Italy, and also for a French pizza contest. In 2009, I also saw my first cookbook “Passionate About Pizza” published.

In 2009 I decided to retire from pizza baking competitions and focus on developing an apprentice who represented our pizzeria and Canada at the 2010 International Pizza Challenge. It was great to mentor one of our talented young pizziolos for a pizza baking competition. This also coincided with my first pregnancy. Originally the plan was to accompany our apprentice, Kelson to Las Vegas, but my due date was the same date the competition so we stayed close to home. We welcomed our first son on February 17th, 2010. Two of our talented pizziolos (my apprentice and an assistant) went on to Las Vegas in March 2010 and did very well in an extremely competitive setting.

I spent much of 2010 at home taking care of my newborn son and myself. I taught about a dozen pizza classes for the home pizza chef, which is nice to share my passion with like minded individuals. To say the least, motherhood has been a transformation. Lessons learned in the past proved invaluable and I gained new insights as I discovered the joys of being a mother. While nothing quite prepares you for the sleep deprivation that a new parent experiences, having lost beaucoup sleep while building our company, I knew that it was only temporary. Included in these insights, the importance of taking care of yourself first; good nutrition, decent sleep and a great sense of humour, in order to be able to take care of the ones you love. Pierre also saw the importance of this as in addition to all of his responsibilities at the pizzeria he took over some of mine, and also stepped into the role of being a new dad.

We look forward to an exciting 2011; Celebrating our 14th year in business on January 19th, continuing our pursuit of excellence in pizza, continuing to create unique and delicious pizzas, more pizza classes for the home pizza chef, fulfilling my responsibilities as a director for the Canadian Restaurant & Food Association and Pierre and I will be judges at the 2011 International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas, this March.

We’re thrilled to share our big news: Diana's Dine In Restaurant Opening Summer 2011! It’s been a long time dream of ours to have a dine in space and it’s a good sign that even after 13 years in business, every week we still have people asking when we’ll open a dine in restaurant & patio. We’re excited to finally be able to say THIS SUMMER! C’mon down and enjoy one of our specialty pizzas hot & fresh out of the oven with a pint of Moosehead or a glass of wine. Bring your little ones and let them make their own pizza in our dedicated kids pizza making area — they’re sure to have a blast! Also coming soon, pizza making parties for kids 3-103, pizza making classes, sample-til-you-need-a-nap nights and more!