I returned to SF to learn the much-lauded pizzaiolo at FLOUR + WATER, Jon Darsky, has left. We had a chance to talk, and the departure was amicable and respectful—he is leaving so he can start focusing on his own project, which is hard to do while working full-time in such a busy kitchen. He says of his departure, “Not to say the experience wasn’t great, but working all those hours wasn’t going to get me closer to building my dream.”
Darsky, a New Yorker whose background also includes Pizzaiolo and Pizzeria Delfina, is currently scouting neighborhoods where he can open a pizzeria with a wood oven, turning out Neapolitan-style pies made with American ingredients. (The dough-obsessed Darsky is proud to use American flour.) He would also like to offer sandwiches during the day, made on fresh-baked bread. He is going to be working with his brother on the project, who will be coming out from New York to work with him. As for Flour + Water, chef and partner Thomas McNaughton is running the show, with staffing adjustments being made in the kitchen as needed.
One of Darsky’s pizza margheritas.
