Bruce travels all over for ….

Bruce travels all over for parties and he especially likes wedding barns; in fact, his first gig was at the Barn on Stoney Hill, between Cadott and Cornell, for a wedding. The couple wanted a snack for guests after the meal.

“That’s kind of a new concept,” said Bruce. “People were eating them up like crazy.”

Of course, Bruce had to discover how to price out a meal.

“From there, it’s been a learning curve,” he said.

As their business expanded and Bruce continued to try to learn from those with more experience, he even took his nephews with him to New York, for a convention, where they turned 15 years old with their uncle on Times Square. The twins, while having moved on from Cadott, now work at a pizza place in the city they call home.

“So, I have some legacy now in the family,” said Bruce.

Bruce also took the twins to Chicago, Ill., to test a new oven. While they were extremely impressed with the new oven, what really stuck in Bruce’s mind, was when Bruce told Adam and Isaiah to grab their bags, and follow him. Turns out, they didn’t bring any overnight bags, which still makes Bruce laugh out loud.

“I have to add these stories, because that’s part of the pizza making…the stories I find,” he said.

Although he is generally a shy sort, when Bruce dons his big, floppy, straw hat and gold neck chains, he becomes 100 percent Italian, right down to the accent, even though he doesn’t have any of that heritage in his lineage to speak of.

“It’s almost an entertainment thing I go into,” said Bruce. “It isn’t just serving food, it’s bringing an attitude, a liveliness to the street vendor feel.”

Before Bruce can head out to make his much-sought after pizzas, he first has to prepare the dough, which he’s developed on his own. Using a three-day cold-rise, he imports one flour, along with one from the U.S., mixing them together, and uses a pre-ferment, known as Poolish, to start the dough, as a shortcut to sourdough, which enhances the flavor.

“It takes a lot of trial and error to get something to work,” said Bruce. “It has character, is what I’ve learned. I’m quite confident in my dough now. It’s taken a long time.”

Bruce readies his dough, then makes the pizzas on demand where his venue is that day. Rather than being in a food truck, up above the crowd, Bruce is on an eye level while the pizza is built to the patron’s choice. The pizza is considered a Neapolitan-style, which Bruce calls Cadottopolitan. Adults, but especially kids, love the excitement of picking their own ingredients.

Purchasing the high-end ingredients from local sources as much as possible, Bruce sprinkles Semolina over the pizza board, as it doesn’t give a burnt taste when put in the oven. He then covers the bottom of the dough with Stanislaus pizza sauce. He’s been told he should make his own, but time is a factor, since he has a full-time job with Rural Mutual Insurance and is the rec director with the Town of Lafayette.

Next up, is whole-milk mozzarella, or, as Bruce calls it, “mootzarella.”

“It’s part of the humor,” he said. Bruce does offer a Korean barbecue short rib option, but has found that pepperoni, sausage, onion, mushroom and peppers are still the preferred ingredients.

“People are not comfortable stepping out on the food platform,” said Bruce.

His wife, Marcia, preps food for him and one of his two daughters, Sarah, helps out when she’s able, but Bruce hires local help when he can. If he’s alone, Bruce can make about 25 pizzas an hour, on demand, but if he has help, that increases to 50 or 60, per hour.

He’s also added grilled Mexican street corn on the cob, called eloté, to the menu, in which the corn is slathered with a lime-flavored mayo, and rolled in Cotija cheese and spices. Bruce says many people haven’t heard of it, but really have embraced the street corn.

“It’s a traditional food,” said Bruce. “Learning different foods is a lot of fun.”

Now that he has a new truck, with a new oven built in, it’s been a little easier to get out the door, but his time is still limited, so those who want catering, should book him well in advance, by emailing bkyes@charter.net or calling 715-225-9912.

“It’s a hell of an adventure,” said Bruce. “This is who I am and how I do it.”