Back Burner: Meet Joshua Hedquist, Chef/Owner, OG Zaza Pizza in Minneapolis

Each issue, we ask our featured Back Burner chef 5 questions – because no one has time for more.

A three-time Guy’s Grocery Games champion, Chef Joshua Hedquist founded OG Zaza in 2022 with a focus on personal-size, New Haven-style pies. He operates three locations, plus a spot at the Mall of America opening this fall, and the OG Zaza Pizza Trailer for parties and events. A self-taught chef with over 25 years in the industry, Hedquist is known for bold flavors, ‘90s nostalgia, and a commitment to scratch cooking and clean ingredients. Passionate about giving back, he also shares his journey of sobriety and redemption to inspire others.

Go-to kitchen gear. What and why?
My pizza peel. Or maybe my mandolin – we call it knuckles – because if you’re not careful, it will take your finger off and leave you with nothing but knuckles. We use it for making pickles, slicing garlic and making other ingredients uniform. It’s also fun to have an element of danger in the kitchen.

What’s your love/hate ingredient?
Flour. It’s a pain in the butt to work with because it’s so inconsistent. People don’t realize a bag of flour is like a sponge – if it’s humid out, it will be moist; if it’s dry out, it will be dry, and all that will change your dough recipe. We have to stick a probe in the bag to see how much moisture is in there already to adjust the hydration levels. It also gets everywhere – even after a shower, I’ll still have f$@king flour in my nose. But it also makes the best f$@king thing in the world, which is pizza.

Best R&D advice?
Food is more than flavor; it’s also about texture. When you put something in your mouth and there’s no texture, it’s boring and missing something. Our Big Dilly pizza does so well, I think, because of the crispiness of the homemade pickles.

How do you keep your staff happy?
Give them the opportunity to make a lot of f$@king money. Everyone talks about culture and being nice. That’s important, but money talks. We have tip prompts on our kiosks, and a decent amount of people tip. We’ve implemented tip sharing through our POS system, so our cooks get tips during the hours they work. Some make $30 an hour. Now they’ll come to work even if they’ve lost a leg. In fact, I can’t get them to leave.

What are you doing when you’re not on the clock?
I can’t answer that.