Meet Chef Thomas
Get familiar with the heart and soul of Fire & Wood Catering, Chef Thomas.
Introducing
Chef Thomas
Growing up in a traditional Italian American home in New York, Sunday dinners were one of the things I looked forward to as a kid. Holidays? Well, this is where you could say the magic happened. We would all sit around my Nonna’s table and eat without limits for hours, because she spent 3 days cooking prior to the eating marathon…and saying you were full wasn’t an option. Imagine what it was like to sit at a table with 17 Italians with arancini balls, meatballs, chicken parmesan, pasta, eggplant, homemade pizza and lots of bread dipped in hot marinara sauce. Let me say, it was food Nirvana!
In 1998 my family and I moved from New York to South Florida, where I got my first job at a Coal-Fired Pizzeria as a bus boy. As much as my mom opposed my working in the food business, I quickly learned that this is where I belonged. Before long, I hand-stretched dough and made my first pizza in a coal-fired oven…. the rest is history.
I moved Back to New York for college, unaware that this is where my true culinary journey would begin. During college, I had your typical college job, a server at a family-owned pizza and pasta restaurant. When it was slow, I was in the kitchen asking questions and learning. The fast-paced environment really intrigued me but so did the energy; this was a place where I was able to imagine, create, and bring people together. For the next six years, I cooked everything I possibly could. I took a job as a Kitchen Operations Director at the first large scale ghost kitchen in NYC, cooking nine different cuisines in one kitchen. After too many long NY cold winters, it was time to take my talents elsewhere, so my college roommate and I packed up and made the trek cross country; excited to live the California dream.
After arriving in LA, I started working with a local wood-fired pizza restaurant in DTLA, as Head Chef and General Manager. We developed a 100% homemade, locally sourced Italian menu. Before long, this little restaurant became a downtown staple, bringing family, friends and coworkers together in a ‘Nonna’s kitchen table’ kind of way. This was the final step before bringing forth what I’d dreamed of for years; my own, handcrafted, from-the-heart catering company.
Allow me introduce to you: Fire & Wood Catering!
Fire & Wood Catering in the News
Fire & Wood Catering has been featured in various culinary publications and local news outlets, showcasing our dedication to delivering exceptional wood-fired dining experiences. Our unique approach to catering, combined with our commitment to using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, has made us a standout choice for events across Southern California and beyond.
VoyageLA
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Shoutout LA
Meet Thomas Desantis | Chef & Business Owner
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Fire & Wood Catering
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Frequently Asked Questions
We do it all! From weddings to Studio events to private dinners…and everything in between. We also cater corporate events, and team building events, as well as facilitating hands-on pizza making classes.
We bring one of our wood-fired oven on wheels, two folding prep tables , black linens, as well as a table with lien for serving. We also have options for centerpieces, serving utensils, party rentals, and options for specific linen colors. Feel free to check out “Ovens” highlights on Instagram @fireandwoodcatering
We will travel anywhere in California, as well as to Nevada and Arizona, so don’t be afraid to ask! Travel fees are based on distance and time to destination.
Unlike other mobile food establishments, we utilize a customized food trailer, which is simply our wood fired oven on wheels. Once we arrive at your event, we set up a stand-alone, outdoor restaurant experience. This gives us the capability of providing a much more intimate atmosphere in which your guests can view the entire process of hand-creating their food. It also gives us the capability of setting up anywhere on your property, since we have such a small foot print, as compared to a big, traditional food truck. Lastly, it gives us the ability to cook at high capacity and serve large events.
We usually require a 20x20 working area which includes space for the oven, As well as our “kitchen” set up.
We’ve typically been able to maneuver our ovens anywhere they need to go. A good rule of thumb is, if you are able to fit a car in your yard, then we can get our oven back there. We require access at least 10 feet wide to get the oven in place. In the event you don’t have access to your guest area, we also provide options for running food and remote set ups. We even have smaller ovens that we can carry through regular entry doors which enables us to still execute the entire process near the guest area.