Enormous, 70-piece Pizza Served at El Paseo Restaurant, in Vega Alta

Source: El Nuevo Día

Vega Alta.- It seems that no one has been able to beat the record set by Freddy Uriel Torres Santiago; on 2012, he managed to cook the largest pizza in Puerto Rico, which measures 30''x36'' and is cut in 70 pieces.

It can feed up to 20 people and, up to now, it hasn't been eaten by a single person completely, according to the creator of this recipe, who is also the owner of El Paseo Restaurant and Sport Bar, in Vega Alta.

Torres Santiago began his career in the foodservice industry before becoming of age. Since then, he has continued to push himself, creating amazing food alternatives for his customers.

Originally from Ponce, Freddy Uriel arrived at the so-called 'town of the ñangotaos' at the tender age of three. That is why he considers himself "vegalteño with Ponce roots."

"My mother was a victim of domestic violence, and we came to Vega Alta through Hogar Ruth. I grew up downtown and I've always liked sports. I was always involved in sports, whether it was basketball, baseball, anything," said Torres Santiago.

He started working at a fast food restaurant when he was 16. He then kept climbing the ranks until he reached a high management position, until he turned 21 in 2009, when he decided to open his own business.

"The business comes from knowing that I could do something bigger. I'm always trying to challenge myself with things other people find impossible. I like doing different and innovative things. Having my own business was one of the biggest challenges because I made it without any money; just what I had already earned," he confessed.

Another self-imposed challenge was to put pizza on the menu, although "I didn't know how to make pizza."

"My older brother, Wilfredo, had a father-in-law, René González who knew how to make pizzas and I used to watch him. So I opened the business, and we started making Puerto Rican food, which has always been my forte. One day, I decided to ask my brother's father-in-law to teach me. It was something simple for a birthday party we had," he revealed.

"I had to learn by watching YouTube. I made many mistakes, but little by little I changed it until I perfected it, and so I put it on the menu," he added.

Not only that, but he began flirting with the idea of making the biggest pizza in Puerto Rico, "at a ridiculous price because it's super affordable. Until I finally made it."

"I was already making a 24-piece round pizza, which is unusual too. I invented everything, including the mold where the pizza is made, the board where it's served, the quantities, and the weight. Everything is measured to be exact every single time. It measures 30 x 36 (inches) and it's cut into 70 pieces," he explained.

Then, he called on "all the pizzerias in Puerto Rico" to surpass his feat. However, none could achieve it, according to Torres Santiago.

"There were many challenges from different pizzerias that already made that 24-piece pizza, because we began to appear on TV a lot, and then they claimed that they had the largest pizza. That's where it came from. We're gonna be the only ones to create a commercial pizza that's always available," he stated.

"It was on El Show de Raymond where we did 'Plinia Guinness.' We challenged all the pizzerias in Puerto Rico. Nobody challenged me; we won the biggest pizza contest. We have held contests for whoever dares to eat the whole pizza themselves. No one has managed because it's huge," he insisted.

According to Freddy Uriel, his pizza can serve around 16 to 20 people, "depending on the family," and it comes with traditional ingredients, such as pepperoni, sausage, and bacon. There are other seasonal options available, such as la criolla, which has ground beef and fried ripe plantains as toppings.

"It is made 100% by hand; not an easy dish to make. It can take me from 12 to 15 minutes to make it. It takes the same time to bake as a regular pizza, but it takes up the entire oven and it leaves no room for any other pizzas," he said.

"We never get by with cheap products. We use only the best, even if it is more expensive. Even if product prices go up, we maintain the price and quality of our product," he noted, highlighting that his business generates up to 12 jobs, in a space that accommodates about 120 customers.

Likewise, the restaurant has other options on their menu, such as "more than 20 unique products: pizza calzone, pizza burger, pizza sampler, pizza taco, pizza hot dog, and others. We also have seasonal options."

In addition, they sell lunch featuring the best of Puerto Rican cuisine.

"I try to do something different every day. For example, chicken breast in guava sauce flavored with champagne cola, or porkchops stuffed with mofongo (fried plantain mash) and fried ripe plantains. I always have a range of eight protein options available daily; one of these is a daily spontaneous dish," he stressed.