About

In 1978 my parents moved to a little farm just South of Van Dyne, WI, where they raised pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese, heifer calves, and four children. Then in 1989, when I was 6 ½, they transitioned their little place into a small dairy farm, now called Pollack Dairy.

My siblings were naturals when it came to farming, but farm chores were far less appealing to me than watching endless reruns of Julia Child and The Galloping Gourmet on Public Television. I just wanted to move to Sesame Street where there were streetlights and sidewalks and no chores.

Me at 6. Riding my bike in the barn.

Time moves on, and eventually so did I. I left for college and made my way to Boston to work in public relations, and then on to San Diego where I enjoyed a thrilling career in television production.

In 2011 I finally embraced my passion for food. I moved back to Wisconsin, and back to the farm, so that I could attend culinary school. I discovered that cooking starts long before I pick my produce, and over the last 6 years I’ve been working to coax old and new flavors out of the soil. In the process I finally uncovered a genuine love for farming. I help care for nearly an acre of fresh produce grown here, two small apple orchards, and a small herd of critically endangered American Mulefoot hogs. Our family also takes great pride in raising beef cattle on our pastures.

Pollack Dairy is still a family farm, with my parents and brother now milking over 400 cows here. Their primary focus is on the well-being and comfort of these awesome animals. 

My parents and brother have allowed me to put a licensed commercial kitchen right here on their dairy farm. It's nothing fancy; just the bare essentials to produce a line of frozen pizzas made with toppings from our farm, neighboring farms, and local small businesses. I grow or find the ingredients with the best flavor, to produce the highest quality pizza I can. 

The name, Poco Pizza, came from a recent trip to Italy, where ingredients are celebrated and allowed to shine on their own. 'Poco' preparation -- a little, not much. When you start with the best ingredients, you don't need to do much to help them shine.

Fattoria Poggio Alloro - San Gimignano Italy

My pizzas are a way to help people reconnect with the full flavors from their childhood. Reconnect with the variety of wholesome, delicious, flavorful foods that we all miss. And hopefully try some totally new local flavors for the first time.

Thank you for coming on this journey with me, and please don’t hesitate to contact me directly with any comments or ideas.

 

 

Shawn Pollack
shawn@pocopizza.com