Pizzata Pizza Apprenticeship | 5-Day Intensive

Five days behind the scenes at Pizzata

Spend five intensive days working alongside the Pizzata team and learning what it takes to make great pizza in a professional environment. From dough preparation and fermentation through to ingredients, stretching, topping, baking and real pizza service, this is a hands-on apprenticeship designed to take your skills beyond the home kitchen.

The programme is tailored to your goals, with a briefing at the end of Day 1 to identify the areas you want to focus on during the rest of the apprenticeship.

Day 1: Dough Master Workshop & Apprenticeship Briefing

Sunday 21 February | 10am–3pm

Your apprenticeship begins with our Dough Master Workshop, running from 10am to 2pm, where you will learn the fundamentals of traditional Neapolitan pizza dough.

You will make dough by hand, explore the role of flour, water, yeast, salt and fermentation, and see a demonstration of high-hydration dough being made in a mixer. You will also learn the fundamentals of stretching, topping and baking.

2pm–3pm: Apprenticeship Briefing

After the workshop, we will sit down with you to discuss what you want to achieve during the apprenticeship. This is your opportunity to ask questions, talk through your goals and identify particular areas you would like to explore. We will use this briefing to tailor your time working alongside the Pizzata team over the following four days.

Day 2: Dough, Ingredients & Neapolitan Pizza

Monday 22 February | 9.30am–4.30pm

The focus moves into the Pizzata deli, where you will put your dough knowledge into practice.

You will prepare a large batch of our tried and tested direct dough recipe using a Sunmix professional mixer, then practise balling the dough by hand. We will demonstrate several different techniques and you will have the opportunity to try them and find the method that works best for you.

You will explore the ingredients that make a great pizza, including tomato tasting, cheese comparison and learning about traditional Neapolitan toppings. We will look at flavour, balance and texture, as well as how different ingredients behave in the intense heat of a pizza oven.

There will be plenty of hands-on practice stretching, topping and baking pizzas, building your confidence and consistency.

Day 3: Experimentation & Your Signature Pizza

Tuesday 23 February | 9.30am–4.30pm

You'll make another batch of dough, this time using a Sunmix Moon, giving you experience with a different approach to dough preparation and balling.

You'll also work with the dough you made on Sunday and Monday, seeing how each batch has developed through fermentation and how that affects handling and the finished pizza.

With the fundamentals established, we'll start experimenting. You'll explore non-traditional toppings, creative sauces and different flavour combinations, looking at what works on a pizza and why.

You'll then develop your own signature pizza, experimenting with ingredients and techniques before refining the recipe ready to serve at the Tuscan Wine Dinner.

Day 4: Tuscan Wine Dinner & Signature Pizza

Wednesday 24 February | 11.30am–8.30pm

Your fourth day brings everything together as you prepare for and take part in our Tuscan Wine Dinner.

You'll spend the afternoon preparing for service, continuing to develop your pizza-making skills and putting the finishing touches to your signature pizza.

That evening, you'll work alongside the Pizzata team making and serving pizzas in a real service environment. You'll have the opportunity to make your own signature pizza for the dinner and see how it performs with feedback from the guests.

Day 5: Pizza Service & The Pizzata Kitchen

Thursday 25 February | 11.30am–8.30pm

Your final day takes you into a different type of service environment: a Pizzata evening takeaway service.

You'll spend the day preparing for service, making more dough, getting ingredients and toppings ready and learning how we organise the pizza station before the orders start coming through.

You'll then work alongside the team during real pizza service, preparing takeaway pizzas to order and learning how to run a pizza line. You'll practise managing multiple orders, working efficiently, communicating with the team, maintaining consistency and keeping pizzas moving from order to oven to customer.

You'll also have the opportunity to learn how to make traditional Italian tiramisu from scratch. This is optional, but a lovely opportunity to learn another classic Italian recipe while you're in the Pizzata kitchen.

It's a final evening of putting everything you've learned into practice and experiencing the pace and rhythm of a working pizza business.

What you'll take away

By the end of the apprenticeship, you will have practical experience choosing the right flour, working with Neapolitan dough, a deeper understanding of ingredients and fermentation, and experience using professional pizza equipment.

You will also have developed your own signature pizza and worked in real Pizzata service environments, giving you an insight into the pace, organisation and teamwork involved in running a professional pizza operation.

Most importantly, you'll leave with a much better understanding of how to consistently make great pizza and how to put those skills to work in a real business.

Who is this for?

The Pizzata Pizza Apprenticeship is an opportunity to spend four days immersed in the craft of Neapolitan pizza. The opportunity is designed for anyone:

• planning to open a pizzeria, food truck or pizza business
• already running a café, restaurant or catering business and want to add pizza
• serious home pizza makers who want professional-level skills
• chefs and hospitality people wanting to specialise in pizza
• people considering a career change into food
• pizza enthusiasts who have reached the point where ordinary classes aren't enough

Investment: $2,400 per person

Limited Places: We only offer this twice a year with just 2 places available on each apprenticeship.

This is a small, personal training experience designed around hands-on learning rather than classroom observation. You will spend five days working directly with the Pizzata team, asking questions, experimenting, making pizza and experiencing what it is really like to work in a professional pizza operation.