KCAA: Let's Dine Out with Allan Borgen (Sat, 21 Jun, 2025)

·1 hr·5 clips

Leah Scurto lost her luggage for four days in Italy but carried only pizza dough ingredients in her carry-on.

This episode of "Let's Dine Out With Allan Borgen" features host Allan Borgen and co-host Izzy in conversation with award-winning pizzaiola Leah Scurto. Leah is a celebrated pizza maker from Windsor, California, known for her creativity and competition success. The hosts highlight her role as an influential figure in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Leah explains she began her career in 1997 at Pizza My Heart in Santa Cruz, where she worked for over two decades. She details the challenges of pizza competitions, like adapting to unfamiliar ovens and the risk of airlines losing ingredient-filled luggage. Leah opened her own restaurant, Pizzalia, in March 2020, just before pandemic lockdowns. She recently won the grand prize at the Real California Milk Advisory Board's Tournament of Champions, earning a WWE-style belt and a trip to compete in Naples. A memorable insight is Leah's story of prioritizing pizza ingredients over personal luggage, carrying dough supplies in her carry-on for a Naples competition. She describes finding inspiration for new pizzas by deconstructing favorite dishes or hosting ingredient-based pizza parties. The camaraderie among competitors is noted, with rivals often sharing ingredients during contests. Leah emphasizes that pizza-making involves a deep, intuitive connection to the dough, which she says "just clicked" for her. The tone is casual, friendly, and enthusiastic, reflecting a long-standing admiration between the host and guest. The style is a conversational interview punctuated by personal anecdotes and lighthearted banter between Allan and Izzy. This episode is ideal for food enthusiasts, aspiring pizza makers, or anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes world of culinary competitions. Listeners with no interest in food culture or entrepreneurial restaurant stories might find it less engaging.

As heard by us

A pizza conversation with real craft, repetition, and appetite.

The episode stays close to pizza craft and restaurant instinct, and the host sounds genuinely keyed up by the subject. The guest keeps pulling the discussion back to basics: fresh ingredients, no shortcuts, and the simple satisfaction of seeing people enjoy something she made.

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Why you'd press play

You want to hear a pizza maker explain why dough just clicks.

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