Seaview Business Centre might be best known for the collection of food trucks in its parking lot, backdropped by a picturesque view of the Olympic Mountains. This year they’ll welcome some new competition – enter Josh Wydler and his new food trailer: Give Pizza Chance.
“It's something that I've always wanted to do. I was trained as a chef, did my apprenticeship, then I did a bunch of other things in life,” said Wydler.
“I decided to go back to cooking because that was a huge passion of mine.”
Wylder grew up all over B.C. After high school, he enrolled in an Okanagan culinary program. He worked in many kitchens, but eventually left cooking and pursued other work. He didn’t begin slinging pies until departing Shaw Cable, when the company offered some employees a package to leave. He took the money and ran – all the way to Mayne Island where he opened the inaugural Give Pizza Chance trailer.
Now Wylder is bringing his wood-fired trailer's pizzas to Sooke, with Give Pizza Chance, which celebrated its grand opening on March 19.
“We were looking for a new groove, a new place to live. I always wanted to move to Sooke but never did. It just seemed to fit,” Wydler said.
With just a few hours of work in Sooke under his belt, people already seemed to be loving the pies, as a steady crowd rolled through during the shops' opening hours.
“It was so good. The crust was amazing,” said one customer.
Music aficionados will have caught the John Lennon homage in the name of Wylder's business, but the references don’t stop there – from Elvis Lives to the Page and Plant, to the Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (last week's feature), Wylder's menu is a love letter to rock and roll.
“I’m a musician. I’ve been in lots of bands before and always loved music. So, I figured why not combine the two passions of mine and make something awesome,” he said.
“People seem to love it. It brings back a lot of nostalgic feelings for them when they come up and order the Ozzy and there happens to be Ozzy playing on the stereo. It’s cool. It brings out some good feelings.”
But the pies are more than just an excuse to refer to his favourite bands, and ingredients always come first.
“More often than not, I create the ingredients first before likening it to a band,” he said.
“I feel it’s the same process of creating a pizza as writing a song; you come up with a couple things, then it goes off somewhere else.”
Whatever his process, the result is delicious and clearly the work of someone who has mastered their craft.
Wylder's pizzas are made entirely from scratch, from the dough to the house-made Italian sausage. The result is a pizza that tastes fresh and unique. Wylder uses well-balanced classic ingredients with some adventurous choices thrown in – the Ravi features tandoori chicken with mango chutney and cashews, and is one of his favourites. For the plant-based, lactose-averse and dietary-conscious diners, there are vegan and gluten-free options available.
Naturally, some challenges come with operating a pizza joint with a wood fire oven in a trailer.
“The thing about a food truck is it's quite small, and pizza takes quite a bit of room, especially with all the dough and making the dough,” said Wylder.
“So, the challenging part might be expanding my offerings because you’re limited in what you can work with.”
The limited space might make it harder to try new things, but it's allowed Wylder to refine his work and certainly created a unique opportunity to interact with customers. When one customer asked where to recycle their pizza box, Wylder pointed to a white F-150.
“Just for today, you can throw it in the back of that truck,” he said chuckling.
“Garbage and recycling bins are the only thing I forgot.”
Wylder says he might one day expand to a brick-and-mortar, but for now, he’s just focused on bringing his signature blend of pizza and rock to the people of Sooke.
Give Pizza Chance 6631 Sooke Rd, Sooke.
