The upper crust of pizzerias

Rick Nixon's pizzas are popular among Nelson residents—and now they have the approval of pizza industry experts, too

Rick Nixon's fine fare won accolades in the Canadian Pizza magazine's Chef of the Year contest. — Photo courtesy Annick Sirois

Rick Nixon knows his pizza is delicious, and isn't hesitant to tell you so:

"I don’t mean to sound arrogant but our pizza’s awesome," he said. "(I'm) not going to put a pizza out there that doesn’t taste good."

Nixon needn't worry about sounding presumptuous, though, as there are many people who agree with him. Nixon co-owns Itza Ristorante & Pizzeria in Nelson with his partner Annick Sirois. The restaurant is a longstanding staple in the Nelson dining scene; it opened in 1969 as Mediterranean 57 Pizza.

Though an experienced cook who has worked across the globe in the food industry, Nixon had never owned a restaurant before purchasing the Mediterranean in 2005. After getting established, he set about renovating the restaurant, bringing the modern pizzeria to Nelson and giving the business a new name.

Nixon's favourite place to be is in the kitchen, experimenting with different recipes and ensuring that everything is running smoothly. He describes himself as a lover of simple pizzas with just a few basic toppings. However, his desire to produce only the best pizza—and some encouragement from Sirois—prompted Nixon to enter one of his recipes, the Italian Garden, in this year's Canadian Pizza magazine Chef of the Year contest.

Nixon knew he'd be going up against heavy-hitters, as past winners have generally come from large cities. Still, the Italian Garden—with its walnut and pesto sauce, variety of fresh vegetables and three types of cheese—caught the eyes of the judges, who contacted Nixon to tell him he was a finalist in the contest. The judges arranged a way for them to try the pizza themselves.

"I had to send all the prepared goods by freight to Toronto overnight . . . (with) all the ingredients prepped and packaged on ice in a thermos cooler," said Nixon. "When they got it in Toronto they followed my instructions for making it and baked it off in the contest."

Though Nixon's pizza was ultimately bested by another recipe, Nixon said the successful showing generated much excitement in both staff and Nelson residents. Though he was enthusiastic about the good showing, having selected the Italian Garden based on positive feedback from taste-testers, the accomplishment is a reflection of respectable business sense.     

"Our food speaks for itself—that’s really what it comes down to," said Nixon. "We’re in a really competitive market here, and we have three aspects to our business that are our keystones to the success that we’ve had so far. It’s providing the ultimate guest service, impeccable food, and doing it all in a clean and vibrant ambiance. That’s what we stick to every day, and if we can't pull those three off we’re not going to open the doors in the morning."