Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivan Patrick Oliveros.
Hi Ivan Patrick, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I attended CCA in San Francisco, did my internship at Roy’s Maui. Worked at Roy’s La Jolla for 9 years. Until I made the move to north county to work at West Steak until the pandemic shut the restaurant down. That’s when my adventure with pizza started. Dang Brother in camp Pendleton introduced me to pizza, where I learned to use a wood fire oven and mass produce pizza. An opportunity came up to open up the Camp Store where I managed the kitchen and influenced the menu. Last year in May through the knowledge gained at both places I got the confidence to venture off on my own and Pizza Sensei was created. This wasn’t a solo mission though Kyle Cheung and I have worked together on and off since our Roy’s La Jolla days. We collaborated to make Pizza Sensei a reality. Kyle and I developed the dough recipe and are constantly evolving our menu with our varied culinary and cultural backgrounds. Today Kyle and I have a standard/routine/coordinated effort where we pop up a few times a week and introduce people of north county to our concept. We are anime-themed with a Jolly Roger of a pizza cutter and pizza peel as our “bones”. One look at our pizza oven and true anime fans will easily recognize the yellow dome with the red stripe as Monkey D. Luffy’s hat from our favorite show, ONE PIECE.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There’s isn’t a blueprint to follow or a video on YouTube to watch we have struggled. I’ve managed a kitchen but having my own business is a completely different beast. The biggest struggle for us was the administrative work, the permits, licenses. We had no experience with that and it took a bit to figure out what we needed to do and who we needed to contact but we got through it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
We are a wood fired pizza pop up. We put a lot of effort into developing our pizza crust, our dough recipe is unique, a hybrid between classic Napoli and a New York-style pizza. Inspired by Neo-Napoli flavors we incorporated our culinary background to infuse Asian influences, Polynesian flair, and classic Italian flavors into our pizzas. With the diversity in San Diego and all the great produce and toppings available locally, we created a pizza menu that does not rely heavily on tradition. We’re proud to produce a pizza that is unique and representative of our cultures.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I have a growing tortoise collection. Currently I have 7 tortoises, 1 sulcata, 3 red foots, and 3 russian tortoises.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: pizza_sensei_oside
Image Credits
Ivan Oliveros
Lerma Pryatel
Delia Felix Oliveros
