Patrick Kerzetski
Pizzeria Locale | Boulder
April 2017
Raised in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Patrick Kerzetski grew up working in the family restaurant. He begged to wash dishes at 12 and knew from the start he wanted to become a chef. A hasty change of heart had Kerzetski denouncing any interest in the restaurant industry and moving to Colorado to become a professional skier. Skiing was a difficult career to sustain, and, in 2009, Kerzetski enrolled in the Denver outpost of Johnson & Wales University.
After graduating, Kerzetski gained his footing as a baker at the Denver Bread Company, working for mentor Greg Bortz. After a batch of boules fell flat like pancakes, Kerzetski learned the most important lesson of his career: don’t forget the salt. He commemorated the lesson with a tattoo.
In 2012, Kerzetski went on to join the team at Frasca Food and Wine as pastry chef de partie and proceeded to climb the ranks—from head baker at Frasca to sous chef at neighboring Pizzeria Locale and finally to the executive chef position of the pizzeria. With a full heart and plenty of salt, Kerzetski crafts pizza with a next-level knowledge of fermentation, an unending zeal to make the next pie even better, and the soul of artisan who has put in his 10,000 hours.
