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The International Italian Sandwich Competition may be having a moment, but for Jim Serpico stepping into the arena at Pizza Expo wasn’t about chasing trends or even taking home a title.
It was something more personal, a test of whether he belonged. Just five years removed from baking bread as a hobby, he found himself finishing just fractions of a point shy of the finals. We spoke to Serpico about the comp; his food truck that seamlessly shifts between pizza, sandwiches and bread; and catering events designed around specific dough styles. With tools like LloydPans shaping both his workflow and menu possibilities, he’s not just building a business, he’s finding his place in an ever-evolving community.
What made you take the leap into the Italian Sandwich Comp? You were so close to the final!
This was really about an internal discussion to prove whether I belong in the arena. It wasn’t about winning. Out of all the competitions, I felt the most confident about the sandwich one, because the bread was the vessel. I wanted to see where I stacked up against people who do this full-time around the world on a global stage. It’s the first time I’ve ever competed in anything, and I was pretty happy with the end result. They said within a couple of months we could get the judges’ rubric back and get a little more detail, but I was very confident in my bread and in terms of what the sandwich was, I spent about two months researching the best combinations of protein, fat, acid and salt. I made last-minute tweaks even up to the last 12 hours.
There’s a good number of people like you who have turned a COVID ‘hobby’ into a full-fledged business.
I was kind of nearing the end of my other career anyway mentally, and when everything shut down I had the opportunity to play with this hobby. Then it went from baking bread at home and putting it on Instagram to doing farmers markets and gaining visibility. That’s what made it all take off, and one thing led to another. It wasn’t really planned out, but hey, it worked!
You mentioned that there’s a camaraderie in the pizza community that you didn’t necessarily see in bread. Do you think having a sandwich comp at Pizza Expo has bridged that gap a little?
Without a doubt. Everyone is truly rooting for each other, and I feel the support from other bread makers, and I feel like we're all happy for each other. I took a class in pizza three or four years ago with 25 other students, and at least 20 of them were at Pizza Expo; we all stay in touch and we’re all rooting for each other even though we live around the world.
Switching to your business: Serpico’s Bread Co. You serve bread, pizza and sandwiches. Do you make that mix feel intentional and how do you keep the menu focused on the food truck?
That’s a good question. I’m intentional about individual events and experiences. My favorite event is a pizza tasting that I do once a month with eight regional styles of dough in one sitting. There’s about 50 people per seating, and I get to showcase the different dough techniques I’ve been working on for the past five years. When I do private events, it’s really up to the customer. I also do a pay as you go, so if that’s a lunch seating I’ll often do Tuscan-style sandwiches combined with pizza.
You’re a New Yorker, but you don’t really make that style often.
I was trained in neapolitan first, and then I went deep into focaccia and Tuscan schiacciata bread. I would say my favorite style is Roman pizza. But I also love making Chicago deep dish, especially here on Long Island because it’s not offered anywhere else. I like to think I make a pretty authentic one with cornmeal.
How do our pans impact what you’re able to execute consistently, especially on the truck?
The class I took was when I first learned about pan pizza and Roman pizza, and world renowned, famous pizzaiolos were using LloydPans. After that I started experimenting with them here. When I was doing only bread I was able to sell foccacia out of the pans. The other thing about pan pizza—and this might be controversial and some people will think it’s not true—the mixture of the dough is one thing in the science. But, in terms of shaping, I do think pan is a little bit easier to train others to make. So as I’m scaling up, I like to do pan for the workflow.
Any challenges in scaling up that you weren’t expecting, and has anything gotten unexpectedly easier?
What’s gotten easier as I offer more pan-style pizzas in a mobile unit is the fact that a lot of these pizza styles benefit from par baking, so that’s a whole other thing. I could do par baking in my shop and then what has to be done by whoever’s there is the topping and then placing whatever percentage baking dough into the oven. So once again, it comes down to production schedule, but also it just lends itself to an amazing, tasteful, great pizza.
I don’t love to do slices on my truck, but when I do pan slices this way, we’re not tossing and making fresh pies to order. I’ve got a stack of par baked doughs that I put in as needed.
Is it too soon to ask about next year’s Pizza Expo? Will you compete again?
Too soon—way too soon! I don’t know about the same one; I’ll have to think hard about that. I do love the sandwich idea. And, I’m not just saying this because we’re talking to each other, but I’m very interested in pan. With that being said, they’re all tough and you have such great pizza makers at these things. I saw unbelievable pan pizzas being made in that competition and so many varied styles. I might actually go for the neapolitan one, even though that’s a tough one.
In terms of sandwich, I’m looking at these guys next to me from like Puglia, Italy, right? They’ve lived this thing and I’m literally shaking in my boots. But, I did awesome! I came in sixth. It’s wild, just wild.