Forza Forni, a global leader and supplier of authentic Italian ovens for commercial, mobile and residential use, announced the appointment of world-renowned executive chef Mark Hopper as Culinary Director.

Mark has a diverse background in fine and casual dining, predominantly with the Thomas Keller restaurant group (TKRG) as Executive Chef of Casual Dining, Chef de Cuisine of Bouchon Bistro and Sous Chef of the famed French Laundry.  Mark also founded and owned Pizzeria Vignette, recognized as one of most popular Neapolitan pizzerias in California’s Bay Area.  

Mark’s role at Forza Forni was created to support all its clients by:

Establishing a full-service consulting program for commercial clients worldwide.

Establishing an Authentic Education program hosted at the HQ test kitchen offering classes and demonstrations for our commercial, entrepreneurial and residential clientele from all over the world.

Supporting the Forza Forni sales team in the planning and design to meet each clients needs, attend and present trade show classes and demonstrations

And finally creating an exclusive Forza Forni recipe database. 

On March 27 and 28th Mark will be leading their first Authentic Education class of 2021 at the Forza Forni HQ and Test Kitchen in Brewster, New York.  This exclusive class will focus on starting a mobile pizza operation from concept and cooking with fire to menu development and launch.  For more information on this class please visit the course description landing page here.  

Forza Forni founder and CEO Peter de Jong states “just having Mark walk the halls of our headquarters brings a level of culinary knowledge that is unrivaled. His expertise and vision will bring our clients much more than just pizza recipes, he’ll bring them opportunity”. Chef Mark adds “As the industry leader it is our responsibility to inspire chefs to think about pizza in a whole new way.  Our goal is to get new ingredients in our ovens that enable chefs to tell their story with their food”.