Pete’s proud of his top 10 pizza

PETE Kaye dove into the pizza world more than 10 years ago and has gone from strength to strength since.

The owner of Pete’s Wood Fired Pizza started making pizzas at home, and when a friend suggested he sell them at local caravan parks, he sold out on his first night.

The business then evolved and began catering for weddings, parties, and functions.

Kaye started doing weddings about five years ago and was nominated in the Australian Wedding Industry Awards in 2022 and 2023.

The pizza maker came second in the caravans, trucks, carts, and bars category in 2022 and 2023 for the Geelong region.

“I was blown away. I couldn’t believe that a little pizza catering business could do so well,” he said.

Kaye also made the top 10 in Australia in the category, finishing sixth in the country.

“I still can’t fathom the whole idea, that’s the truth of it, and everyone that works for me, if it wasn’t for them it wouldn’t happen,” he said.

Kaye attended the awards night on the Gold Coast in January, after debating if he should go, and said with all the excitement he did not remember the 10 minutes after his name was announced in the top 10.

He loves the way his staff interact and watching them become more comfortable with the public has been a highlight for him.

“Seeing the staff grow and become more confident people, that’s probably the best thing,” he said.

Like many businesses during COVID, Kaye had to change the way he operated, making pizzas from home and delivering them to people around Aireys Inlet and Fairhaven.

“It was the funniest thing of all time – we’d put 10 pizzas in the car, I went and got the delivery bags, and then you’d go and knock on people’s doors. It was actually a lot of fun,” he said.

Along with weddings and functions, Kaye also provides lunches at the Bellbrae Estate on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year.

His partnership with the estate started about three years ago, and he has been doing lunches ever since.

The portable pizza ovens have been a huge success and show no signs of slowing down with wedding season in full swing.

To find out more about Pete’s Wood Fired Pizza, head to peteswoodfiredpizzas.com.au