If you’re Chef Rebecca Newell, you’ll whip up a mouthwatering bread pudding and clinch $10,000 in the process. Chef Newell created quite a buzz for Boston restaurant, The Beehive (at which Newell is the Executive Chef), when she bested three other chefs on the frantic Food Network culinary battle, Chopped. The cooking competition challenges participants to create three courses out of a basket full of random mystery ingredients, with sometimes decadent, sometimes disastrous results. In an historic all-female episode (the show’s first), Chef Newell way cool and smooth under pressure and exhibited some fine technique and incredible creativity. She took a break from kitchen duty to answer some questions for Purcell Murray.

There are so many fabulous ways to top a pizza but it’s also fun to go beyond the tried and true and experiment with new combinations. An amazing topping that we have been enjoying with our summer menus, has a combination of Feta cheese, Burrata (a creamy fresh Mozzarella cheese) and fresh mint, it’s a sensational flavor combo. Another favorite features a blend of Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese with Coppa salami and our house made Pesto, and of course just as important as great toppings is a perfect crisp crust and to achieve that, we to achieve that we find using a pizza stone is ideal.