JAVIERA CONTARDO

While Javiera has always loved food, she always thought she’d come to the food industry professionally later in life. “I have an Italian family (my Nonna comes from Naples and my Nonno comes from the north coast), and we’ve been making pasta and pizza forever. It was the reason we came together. All my cousins and family have studied things related to food and hotels except for me. I’ve loved it since I was very young, but I thought I would be in the food industry when I was very old.”

It seems like kismet that Javiera found her way to it earlier in life. “Before, I had a few companies with a partner, but they ended when the pandemic hit. I told my family, ‘I don’t know what do now.’ I had worked as a tele-producer for companies like Live Nation and Cirque du Soleil from the time I was 18. It was fun to work on concerts and be a producer. My job was to make the talent’s life easy in Chile. I’d handle passports, dinners, hotels, documentation at the airport for their private flights, coordination, logistics, etc. I worked in TV for a lot of years, but emotionally, it was a lot. When you begin very young, you get to a point where you want to change your life.”

For Javiera, this desire for change led her to start 4 companies in 2015. “One was focused on agriculture, one was around real estate, one was for logistics, and one was about selling healthy food to retailers. But on the side, I always made bread and pizza for fun. I did a lot of courses just to prepare a good product at home. In 2020, when the pandemic hit and I had to close my companies, my family said to me, ‘you should do what you’ve always done for fun!’”

Javiera took their advice and studied with an AVPN instructor. “I did a 10-day class with him online during the pandemic. The pandemic gave me that time to study and I really fell in love with pizza and the history, the industry, the world, the capacity to get to know a lot of people, and the fun. You can really collaborate online. Last year, I took it more seriously and created a brand called DOU Pizza (pronounced ‘dough’). We make pizza, pasta – it really gives us no limit. I wanted to make it a brand and not use my name so that it doesn’t depend and center only on me. Now, we are 6 girls making pizza and running a catering service. We teach classes for fun to people and companies. That’s our business here. I’m happy doing what I do right now which is service and making people have an experience.”

Pizza has always been a popular food in Chile, but the styles have evolved thanks to the pandemic. “The Santiago pizza scene is really big since the pandemic. There was explosive growth. The pandemic helped the Neapolitan style a lot. Everyone has Oonis here, so they began to have their own little business, or their pizzeria changed to Neapolitan. Now, Neapolitan is the most popular style. Before, there were a lot of pizzerias, but we only ate pizzas that were American. Chile has a lot of big chains like Little Ceasar’s, but we don’t have New York style. Now, Pizza in Teglia is getting a little famous. People really like it because it’s crunchy and different.”

Javiera is focused on bringing other styles and cultures to Chile. “I want to have a lot of options. I want to bring this Neapolitan culture in general – not just the pizza but the stories and information. The part that opens people’s eyes in class is when you talk about the history or some piece of information they didn’t know. I went to AVPN in Naples last year. I had been trained online and I thought, ‘now I have to go there.’ I stopped in Miami on my way to Naples and visited some Neapolitan pizzerias and recorded my visits to make a little interview for YouTube. I just studied online with Massimo Saieva and more than the recipe, I asked him the when and where of Roman style pizza. It’s a story to tell and what I’d really like is to bring that history here and get together with people who didn’t get together before. I went to Buenos Aires where there’s a big industry in pizza and made videos to show people where they can go. I just went to AVPN in Atlanta in June and afterwards, to NYC to make this “pizza tour” that I did and recorded in each place. I went to Las Vegas last year, competed, got 15th in Neapolitan S.T.G., and learned a lot. I took Tony Gemignani‘s Master Class, I admire him a lot, and want to bring Sicilian, Grandma, and NY style pizza here. I took the master class to have information from him, and now I’m cooking some pizzas to make videos and add to catering. The videos are another side for the brand. I’m a producer in my profession. I know how to record and edit. I’ve always done it, so I thought, ‘how can I combine this with pizza?’”

Javiera’s travels have made her aware of cultural preferences. “At DOU, we offer very traditional Italian toppings and some that are very suited to Chile. We have gotten very used to Pizza Hut and American toppings, so we try to offer the best of both worlds. In Chile, we love pepperoni, so we couldn’t not offer pepperoni on our pizza. In the catering service, we think the client is the most important person and want to make them happy with the pizzas they like. But you adapt depending on what country or culture you are in and what the people love.”

In Chile, the pizza industry is not collaborative…yet. “Making a really cool team is the most important part for me right now. I’m trying to create a team that goes and competes in other places. We have had more than 500 students in Napoletana. I have a WhatsApp group where we talk a lot and help beyond the class. I’m making another type of class where I help them learn how to make dough balls really fast and I teach them how to put pizzas in the oven fast, how to stretch in a more professional way, how to turn the pizza in the oven – all the critical parts of the pizza process to make them better and prepare for a future Chilean team.”

As a woman, Javiera has found that she has been highly respected in Chile. “Being a woman has a had a very big effect in a positive way. They don’t have any problems with me because I don’t have any problems with anyone…or because I’m a girl. It’s helped. In some funny ways, when I went to Naples with a little camera, they’d see me and be like, ‘you can come here.’ When there are too many guys there, they come and are nice to me. Now, when I went to Naples after Las Vegas, I saw a big change. ‘She’s a girl but she’s also good. She can make a good pizza.’ The attitude is absolutely different, but I won it because of my work and not because of my gender.”

Javiera’s advice for others is “to be true to yourself. Don’t try to adapt to their world. Just be you. Study a lot. Learn a lot. I’m never going to stop learning. Even in a basic class you might still learn something. Just keep learning and share information. That makes us different and makes a difference. I think at the end of the day I see that there is a big community that wants to have a good relationship and share information. I’m making this whole team and now I’m not always going to the catering service because I’m teaching classes. I’m making this so they can be by themselves at DOU. I need time to keep learning and if you try to do everything at some point you will fail. I want to create a team so we can keep growing. I’m learning right now because I made the mistake years ago not delegating. I got very sick in 2015 and my body just collapsed because I thought I could do everything. Now, I’m taking another position on delegating, so I don’t repeat the same thing I did before.”

As for the future, Javiera would love to continue teaching. “I would really love to have an academy on Italian food – pasta, pastries, pizza… I’d love to have AVPN classes in Latin America and a place where they can make a connection and bring the real Naples to Chile. I would like to be on the side of a teaching academy and maybe a pizzeria someday. I don’t see myself doing the same thing every day, so I love the dynamic of working with different people and pizzerias. I want to be a part of the community and be free and in other countries.”

Javiera is proof that following your passion can lead to the most wonderful and unexpected results. “In general, the life I had before, in the business world with my companies, or with the lights of television and concerts, this was very different from where I am right now, and I couldn’t be happier.” Spirited, driven, and forward thinking, Javiera is creating a community that previously didn’t exist. She’s the first to share what she’s learned and eager to learn even more. Next time you’re in Santiago, make sure you reach out to Javiera to grab a slice and talk all things pizza!