Take a walk outside and chances are you will find yourself thinking, “Where is S & J's Woodfired Pizza?”

Well we are going to be all around town for the next couple of weeks.

S & J's Woodfired Pizza just finished up the last Brookwood Farmer’s Market of the year and it was great. Other than the wind causing havoc with our tent and everyone else, last night was great. The people of Brookwood have been great and we can’t wait to come back in the spring.

If you missed us at the market come check us out on the campus of Emory University this Friday, October 22nd, starting at 11am. We will be located on the road directly behind Emory University Hospital right next to the student dining hall. We will be serving our regular festival menu and donating part of the proceeds to the Emory Emergency Department Heart Walk team.

We’re also scheduled to do a private event the following Friday (October 29th) in Roswell. We’re serving during the lunch hour at a private school, and workers from the nearby office park are invited, too!

Then we’ll be at Chastain Park on November 6-7 for the Chastain Park Arts Festival. The weather has been great and nothing beats a delish pie on a sunny afternoon so come check us out and see what all the rave is about.

For those of you who want us all to yourselves, give us a call or shoot us an email to make your next party the hit of the season.

S & J's Woodfired Pizza is now off and running.  I now refer to it as “The Machine”, as I feel like we have created an experience and product that people want and we wouldn’t stop even if we wanted to.  We have now successfully completed two farmers markets and one festival.  We have brought “The Machine” to the Lilburn Farmer’s Market, the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival and the Brookwood Farmer’s Market.  All three venues have been great.  Rain hit us in Lilburn and slowed us down some but we still were able to give the people what they wanted, a delish pizza.

The Grant Park Summer Shade Festival was just what the doctor ordered for S & J's Woodfired Pizza.   We were feeling a little beaten down with all the expenses and hard work and not seeing a lot of results but man were our eyes opened.  The SJP Experience was in full force and the crowds loved it.  Lots of thanks to the coordinators from the festival who allowed us the extra space we needed and to the “volunteers” for S & J's Woodfired Pizza Rachel, Jake and JT.  Once that first pizza left the oven I don’t think we went a minute the whole festival without someone waiting to experience what someone called the “best pizza I have ever eaten”.  Granted that is a bold statement but the repeat customers that we had throughout the festival gave me as a cook and “chef” the confidence I needed.  The dough turned out great and the toppings really finished off the experience.  Atlanta isn’t used to having fresh, hot wood-fired pizza at their fingertips but now with “The Machine” rolling we won’t ever be too far away.

The Brookwood Farmer’s Market was Friday 9/3/10 at Brookwood Elementary in John’s Creek.  Without a ready to eat vendor present at the market we hit our stride early and didn’t stop until the last dough ball left the oven.  It didn’t take long to sell out and what a cool feeling to have.  I’m not sure what is better to sellout all of our doughs or see the jaws drop of those who heard about the pizza and couldn’t get them.  I could just see the disappointment.  Not that I want customers to be disappointed but to know that our food is being that well received is just such a great feeling.  A little advice to all those followers of S & J's Woodfired Pizza: Come early and Come often if you want to experience “The Machine”.

To all those who have helped us accomplish the dream of owning our own business, thank you so much.  For all those who helped us pull off our first 2 events your help was invaluable.  S and J’s Kickoff Party went off without a hitch due to the hardwork of Sarah, Jake, JT, Jeff, Margie, Matt, Natalie, Lois, The Drayton Woods Recreation Club, and Rachel. Of course we have no money or time to give you but maybe y’all will settle for having a cold beer with us.  Please know that when we reach the top we won’t have just stepped on your shoulders to get their but instead step on your shoulders and then pull you up right with us.  SJP never forgets.

Side Note: If you are interested in joining the S & J's Woodfired Pizza team and are willing to work hard for very little money but have a good time in the process let us know by giving us a call or shooting us an email.

The first pizza has been sold.  What an awesome feeling.  It has been about 9 months since the inception of S & J's Woodfired Pizza and the hard work and stress has finally paid off.  Our first farmers market went well on Friday.  We got going about 1 hour late due to the weather and then lost about an hour or so due to rain during the market but we still sold 22 pizzas and had a good time.  The business is so much more work and complicated than I originally thought but our concept is still present and the heart behind S & J's Woodfired Pizza is still beating strong.  The food that came out of the oven on Thursday at the kickoff party was well received and the paying customers that we finally met were all very pleased with both our pizzas and our pretzels.  We still have some kinks to workout but our end product is really good.  Looking forward to chillaxing at the Grant Park festival this weekend selling some ‘za and having a good time.  ‘Cause in the end, we are working for ourselves and for the time being the Man has inched his boot off our necks.

Lets just say the first attempt at baking bread did not go as planned. The bread was doughy and tough. #2 just about the same. But #3 was great. Homemade sourdough bread baked in the oven the morning after our first pizza. I ran the oven to a floor temperature around 650 degrees and ceiling temp was well over 1000. After spreading out the coals and closing the door the oven regulated and stayed warm until the morning. Approximately 10 hours after the last pizza, the oven was still 400 degrees and produced some great sourdough bread. Crispy on the outside and light on the inside with a pat of butter and bliss was achieved. For my 3rd attempt at focaccia, I changed up recipes and tweaked some things here and there and just crossed my fingers. The result was good. Not great but good. The oven was a little hot so the top got done a little soon but the taste was there. I figure if perfection was so easy to be achieved more people would seek it. Trust me, there will be more to follow.