Pizzaiolo Jordan Wallace, Pizzeria Locale, Boulder

After culinary school in Torino, Italy, Wallace returned to Colorado and landed his first job in the states with Frasca Food and Wine. After working there for more than five years and rising to sous chef, the owners sent him to Naples for four months to study pizza, then brought him back to help them open Pizzeria Locale.

Kitchen tool you couldn’t live without

The one thing I freak out about is the specific spoon I use to put sauce on the pizzas.

Favorite hangover remedy

Ginger is something that helps—or more beer.

Strongest food memory

When I was working at the restaurant near Torino, Italy, after culinary school. Of course, in the beginning it was all about learning the language—they’d say, “Go get a potato,” and that was hard. But eventually I started making all the handmade pastas. And then the new interns from the culinary school came in. I remember teaching a guy from Japan how to make agnolotti, and he said I was such a professional. That really stuck with me, because the Japanese are so professional, it was a huge compliment.

Ingredient you’re obsessed with right now

Right now, because it’s in season, it’s local peppers of all sorts. We’re doing a salad with Anaheim peppers with melon and cucumber; we’re doing them roasted for a pizza, and we’re going to do something with pickled peppers.

Most memorable meal

At a vineyard in Slovenia. I was over there with Frasca, and we went there for lunch and the vintner had two huge woks—one was full of whole octopus and the other was full of eel, and they were buried in the ground and smoking. It was amazing.