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Thisdad putsthe pizzazzintopizza WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHEDBYKARAVANDOOIJEWEERT
POV : You cook apizza for your buddies , snap avideo and go to bed .
And the next morning ? Youwake uptomillions of views , thousands of new followers and hundreds of hungry locals desperate to figure out where they can buy that elusive , sizzling pie .
Such is the case for Daniel Piasecki — aka , Instagram ’ shottest new pizzaiolo .
From humble home chef to “ Backyard Pizza Dad ,” here ’ sthe story of the dough-tossing , cheese-sprinkling father of two .
Yes . Of course . He ’ sfromWayne .
FROM HOME CHEF TO INTERNET SENSATION
Daniel “ Dan ” Piasecki first discovered his pizza-making passion during the COVID pandemic , when — bored — heinvested in abackyard , wood-fired pizza oven .
“ While everyone else was making sourdough bread ,” he says ,“ Istarted making pizzas .”
To document his journey , hebegan the Instagram account @ backyardpizzadad .
Months later , asstatewide health restrictions were lifted , family and friends following the page — enticed , of course , byPiasecki ’ smouthwatering home videos — convinced him to start throwing weekend pizza parties .
DINNER TIME Piasecki with his wife Victoria and daughters , Natalia and Alessia .
He agreed and , for years , that ’ sall that the account was ; atalking ( and rallying ) point for the cook and his peers .
Until recently , however , when everything changed .
A PEPPERONI SIZZLE GOESVIRAL
It was alate-December afternoon when Piasecki pulled a “ Jalapeno Roni ” pie from his outdoor wood-fired oven . His favorite flavor combination , the pizzaiolo planned to top it with hot honey — but not without photographing it first . As the warm pizza hit the cold winter air , steam danced from its surface . The pepperoni and jalapeno grease sizzled for the camera , and the cheese bubbled .
From avideo perspective ? The pie couldn ’ t have possibly looked any better .
Piasecki posted the crackling , colorful pizza on his Instagram page ( as he always did ), and the internet immediately loved it ; proclaiming it was one of the most delicious-looking pies they ’ d ever seen .
Random strangers commented , liked and shared , and — bythe end of the weekend — the three-second video had nearly five million views .
“ I think the video went viral because of its ASMR aspects ,” Piasecki says of the clip ’ sovernight success . “ That pepperoni sizzle was on another level . You can imagine taking that first bite and hearing that satisfying crunch .”
According to the comments section , Piasecki ’ shypothesis was correct , with Instagram users writing “ seriously nice and crispy pie ,” and “ that sizzle is everything .”
Riding the buzz around the clip , the @ backyardpizzadad account reached 30,000 followers within afew weeks , and still continues to climb . It ’ salso caught the attention oflarger social media accounts , including @ pizza ( who reposted the pepperoni video ), and various culinary sponsors .
We —@ northjerseyeats — visited Piasecki ’ s cozy Wayne home to try a
8 SPRING 2024 WAYNE MAGAZINE