Brandon Pettit

Chef-owner, Delancey Seattle, Washington

Perfection is a lofty goal for any artist, whether a painter, a

dancer, a musician, or a chef.

What defines perfection? Technical precision? Yes, partly; but

in art, as in cooking, there has to be something else too. Thomas

Keller, in his writings, calls it “finesse.” Carrie Bradshaw, in her

writings, calls it the “za za zu.” Whatever it’s called, Brandon

Pettit, chef and owner of Delancey in Seattle, Washington, strives

for it every day.

“A musician can spend eight hours a day on one paragraph of

music,” says Pettit, who knows something about music, having

pursued his Ph.D. on the subject. “The attention to detail required

in music is greater than what you find in most restaurants.”

As if to prove his point, Pettit applies a musician’s dedication

and focus to each of the pizzas he makes in the wood-burning

oven at Delancey. When I eat there, the night before we cook

together, he joins me at my table to chat; but any time an order

comes in for another pizza, he leaps to his feet. He cooks every

pizza at Delancey himself.

“Time slows down when I make a pizza,” says Pettit. “It takes

three minutes to make a pizza, but for me, it feels like ten.”

How did this obsession begin? When Pettit first moved to