HANNMANN

Alastair Hannmann is the founder of Pizza Buddha Consulting — an international pizza consulting firm that brings 20 years of experience in owning & operating pizzerias, back-end documentation, process flow & lean manufacturing and dough science to the many people in pizza.

His journey in pizza began when he was 19 years old, working at a local pizzeria in Honolulu, HI. Love for the art of pizza led him to open his own shop, Pacifico Pizza Napolitana, where he expanded to 3 locations and was featured in local media as Oahu’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

He later moved to San Francisco to expand his pizza knowledge, apprenticing with Tony Gemignani at Tony’s Pizza Napolitana. After years working as the Culinary Director for a robot pizza tech company, where he honed his skills in high-volume pizza manufacturing and baking science, he became drawn once again to artisan pizza making. His journey then led him to create the brand Acre Pizza with Steven DiCosse. It’s there he integrated all he had learned, pairing traditional pizza & culinary skills with technology to launch a Sonoma County award-winning favorite.

Shortly after the launch of Acre, Alastair decided to combine his pizza knowledge and BSBA in Entrepreneurial Studies by offering consulting services to pizzeria owners and founded Pizza Buddha Consulting – working to help owners and operators not only improve their technique, but optimize their pizzeria from the inside out, empowering both themselves and their teams to bring the best pizza they have to offer for their guests.

Since then, Alastair continues to consult both domestically and internationally with his Wife, Carly Hannmann to share the knowledge of great pizza and smart business management. He has the ability to consult multiple regional styles of pizza as well as provide procedural, equipment, and workflow guidance to accommodate them. When he’s not consulting, he’s highly active on his social media platform with the goal to educate, empower, and inspire pizza enthusiasts & chefs everywhere.

Alastair has received certifications from the Artisan Baking Center and Scuola Italiana. Pizzaioli, competed and placed 3rd in his regional division in the International Pizza Challenge and was one of the many helping hands that created the Guinness World’s Longest Pizza. 

A partnering contributor for Somerset Industries, Alastair advocates for industry needs as a focal point in automation development. He’s spoken in podcasts on What’s Good Dough, Smart Pizza Marketing, and Pie 2 Pie. Alastair’s work has also been featured in multiple news outlets, including Eater, Sonoma Magazine, PMQ Pizza, Honolulu Magazine, and SFGATE.