JULY 2026 16 In the Kitchen with Head Chef Jesus Rodriguez at My Slice of the Pie Pizzeria 3724 E. Indian School Road • mysliceofthepiepizzeria.com In the Kitchen B orn in Mexico and shaped by kitchens across New York, San Francisco, New Orleans, Europe, and Australia, Jesus Rodriguez’s culinary journey has taken him around the world before landing in Phoenix in 2023. Now the head chef at My Slice of the Pie Pizzeria, Rodriguez blends fine-dining discipline, global technique, and personal inspiration into every slice he creates. Where are you from originally? I was born in Mexico but lived a good chunk in New York and San Francisco. I lived in New Orleans before I moved to Arizona in 2023. I also lived in Australia, where I had the privilege of studying the business part of the restaurants. During my time there, I learned basically the 360 of the restaurant business, because I was studying during the day and working for a Spanish restaurant in the evening. What industries were your parents in? My father has always worked in the food industry, either at soda companies or within the restaurant realm. My mother has always been involved with kitchens and food. I used to work with my father in the operations part of the restaurant. Other than the kitchen itself, that was one part of the industry that made me fall in love with it. Where else have you worked? A lot of places; I’ve been privileged to work in some of the best kitchens. I worked in New York, in Napa Valley, Houston, in Europe – Barcelona and Madrid, Mexico City. If you have a passion for cooking, those are definitely some of the places you want to be. I’ve been around the world, basically. In Napa, I worked with French cuisine and French techniques. In New York, I had my first encounter with pizza in basically getting to know everything about it. Did you work in fine dining, or mom and pops? Well, pizza has always been a passion of mine but I did a lot of work in fine dining. It’s a lot of pressure; a lot of hours. In fine dining, everything is time consuming and everything has to be perfect. There’s not much space for creativity. It all has to be done by the book, so you can learn a lot but you can’t really create anything for yourself. I did work for a couple mom and pops and a ghost kitchen or two during the pandemic. When we first arrived in Arizona, it was a little hectic just trying to find a place to set down roots. In 2024 I found My Slice and I’ve been here since. Which cuisine is your favorite? Mexican food is much more than just one country’s cuisine, because the food can change so dramatically from one region to another. That’s what makes Mexican food so special. You can basically find a whole country’s food identity in just one region. It’s one of the best cuisines in the world. Did you always know you wanted to be a chef? Yes! Food and kitchens are something I’ve grown up with. My grandparents loved to cook and were always trying to get the family together on Saturdays. My mom studied in culinary school and my dad worked in restaurants so it’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing. When you find something you’re passionate about, you can put in as many hours as you want and you may be physically tired but it won’t feel like work. Y ou’ll wake up with a smile, wanting to go to work, wanting to learn as much as you can. Food is so special. It’s how we survive, how we come together. Kitchens are hectic and if you don’t have the stomach for it, this industry is not for you. If you don’t mind burning your hands and getting your hands dirty and getting your apron wet, you’ll be okay [ laughs ]. What’s the first thing you remember cooking? Tomato sauce with my mom. Mexico has a super-traditional dish called entomatadas that’s basically a quesadilla with tomato sauce on top of it. It’s one of my father’s favorite dishes. I remember starting to want to get to know the kitchen and remember my mom was always there – she cracked open a can of tomatoes and the rest is history. Who are some of your favorite chefs? Being around pizza, the greatest is Chris Bianco. I think what he’s done for the pizza industry is amazing. He’s given the world a chance to see the human part of the kitchen by telling people the stories from those employees that aren’t necessarily in the customer’s view. Those that “run the show.” I think Chris has been doing amazing work. He’s the greatest to do ever do it in creating pizzas, the dough, sauces, etc. I got to talk to him a couple times and what a great human being. His personality and the way he does things is what I think the restaurant industry has been lacking a little bit, lately. Letting people hear the voice of the people in the kitchen. It’s more than just a dish. It’s a story. Everyone in the restaurant is important to that restaurant. In other cuisines, I think what Thomas Keller has been doing with technique is amazing. What Massimo Bottura did with

17 JULY 2026 Osteria Francescana is amazing. We of course cannot forget about Anthony Bourdain and all the things he did for the industry. If you want to go way back, the technique of Paul Bocuse – we still use those sauces today. What is the inspiration behind the menu at My Slice? Everything starts with our dough. We’re really proud of it. The sauces, the dough, everything is made in house. We’ve got your classic pep and cheese, but we also have pizzas with a southwest spin – the al pastor, the carne asada… Arizonans might be used to those flavors but maybe they want to try something new, and they can find that at My Slice. But there’s definitely something for everyone. The most popular is our cheese slices but the al pastor is a surprise. People try it and come back for more. What do you use for inspiration? I try to keep up with trends. I read, and keep an eye out on the new things or the ‘latest’ things. Not everything popular is good. Just because someone posts something on social media doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for everyone. Just because everyone is making or eating a spicy vodka rigatoni doesn’t make it the best pasta ever, right? I use my family’s recipes. My grandmother made a recipe book and I read it from time to time, especially when I feel stuck in the kitchen. I don’t know what those recipes have, but somehow they always feel like home. I always go back to the basics. The first rule is to never copy what someone else has done. You can get inspiration, or create your own flavors, but use what you have and make your own thing. The freshest ingredients will always be the best inspiration because you can always rely on them. If something doesn’t work, the customers will tell us [ laughs ]. Besides being in the food industry, we’re also in the emotions industry. We can create an emotion with a dish. You can be amazed by a great dish. If you feel something, we did our job right. This is not a one person show – the team, the owners, the customers, we’re all part of it. How do you keep yourself calm when things get crazy? It’s something you learn over time. Being in a kitchen, sometimes things get really hectic and it’ll continue until the end of the night. I remind myself that we’re all in the same boat, we’re all crazy at the same time, but it’s that rush that keeps us going. I’m always seeking that feeling. One ticket at a time. What’s one lesson or technique you learned elsewhere that you bring to My Slice every day? The sauces by Auguste Escoffier – we make all our sauces from scratch, so that’s one technique that I use every day. And most important, the dough, because measure-wise, not every batch is going to be the same as others. That’s where technique comes in, because you need to be able to make small changes here and there so you can get to the final result. When you’re not working, what are you doing? I’m working [ laughs ]. When you work in a kitchen, you’re always working. You might not be in the kitchen, but mentally you might be trying to come up with new concepts, reading up on things. I always tell the team, when we have a chance to relax and be out of the kitchen, go out and be creative in another way. Play games, get outside. What is one pizza on the menu that you think deserves more attention from customers? The tomato pie. When you rely on the best and freshest ingredients, everything is going to come out to perfection. And it’s amazing how something as simple as a tomato pie can be so delicious. If you could create a dream pizza with no limitations, what would be on it? A steak au poivre pizza. Whenever it’s my turn to cook family meal, steak au poivre is always something I go for. There’s something magical in cooking the perfect sauce. What would you like readers to know about the restaurant industry? In today’s world, where so much of our daily lives feels rushed and automated, I believe it’s more important to remember the people behind every meal. Every dish represents someone’s time, effort, sacrifice, and passion. When we cook, we’re not just preparing food. We’re sharing a piece of ourselves. Every ingredient, recipe, detail reflects the dedication of the people behind it. I think we need to bring more attention back to the human side of hospitality. We are all human beings serving other human beings. That perspective matters. It encourages appreciation for the people who show up every day with the goal of making someone else’s day a little better. When we cook, we’re not just preparing food. We’re sharing a piece of ourselves. Every ingredient, recipe, detail reflects the dedication of the people behind it.