Ed LaDou, Legend of Pizza
Ed LaDou, A Pizza Hero I went to lunch with some friends the other day. We ended up at California Pizza Kitchen . Certainly not my first choice, but I was out voted. Not that I have anything against CPK , the pizza there is OK. It's just that when I see the sign, I think it should be called "Ed LaDou's California Pizza Kitchen". Let me explain. Ed LaDou is one of the true unsung heroes of pizza. When CPK was slated to open, the chef quit at the 11th hour. That left a brand new restaurant, without a menu. In a panic, the owner's contacted Ed to put a menu together. He was able to create an extraordinary menu of pizza, pasta and salads. Ed LaDou created the whole CPK concept. He also is credited with creating Wolfgang Puck's pizza menu. Nobody really talks about the fact that Ed is a pizza genius. You can read the whole story by Joan Nathan , right here. It is a fasciating tale of pizza wonderment and adventure. You can see Ed in Pizza, The Movie . This m...