In Valentine, 20 minutes after its 2 o'clock lunch closing time on Monday, Gonzalez was still sweeping up his station and wiping down the counters after a hectic lunch session, evidence of his diligence and determination to get things right.
That morning Gonzalez had unveiled his wildly popular bean quesadillas and chicken and cheese quesadillas, and had been forced to make more than he had expected due to high demand. It was Gonzalez's idea to introduce quesadillas to the College after noticing the tortillas lying around the kitchen and realizing he had the ingredients and the means to make it happen. The students loved Gonzalez's creativity. Luckily, as Gonzelez hints, we'll definitely see quesadillas again. "Don't worry," he said.
Gonzalez immigrated to the United States from Puerto Rico this past October, living and working in Springfield, Mass. before moving to Northampton to assume responsibilities as Amherst's pizza chef shortly after the start of second semester. Gonzalez originally applied to be a custodian at the College, but after learning of his experience in the kitchen of a variety of restaurants and cafeterias in Puerto Rico, Amherst decided to employ him as a chef instead.
The former pizza chef's decision to leave the College for family obligations made finding Gonzalez one of those right-place, right-time moments. Gonzalez lives with his wife Miriam and daughter Mirtza (age 14). His son Misael (known as Nuni, age 15) arrives from Puerto Rico today. "I want to have him with me. He's a very good kid. When I'm not home, he's the man of the house," he said.
And pizza? "I'm a pizza lover myself," explained Gonzalez. "I like it myself, my whole family loves pizza."
Gonzalez's first experience with pizza-making was when he was 18, working at a pizza shop in Puerto Rico while putting himself through college. While he has had the opportunity to dabble in pizza-making at other jobs, this is his first complete return to pizza since he left the shop at age 20.
"The basic ingredient for all the pizzas is caring," said Gonzalez with his quintessentially warm smile. "If you like what you're doing, it will come out right." Gonzalez explained that he only serves people what he likes. "If I eat it, you're going to eat it because I know it's going to be good."
While Gonzalez is a pepperoni man himself, his personal favorite pizza is a pie he calls "Seven Potency" or "Seven Powers" because it uses seven different kind of seafood, primarily shrimps, mixed with black olives, peppers, mozzarella and a clam sauce.
Although Gonzalez has not introduced Seven Potency to the College yet, he has exposed students to the Florentine pie of spinach, ricotta, seasonings and mozzarella: a white pizza of ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan and a basil pesto and seasoned tomato pie. Students have also enjoyed Gonzalez's buffalo chicken pizza, with ranch dressing sauce instead of red sauce, and the chicken and bacon pie. The veggie pie, with olive oil instead of sauce, also earned Gonzalez favorable reviews.
Feta cheese is a common ingredient used to spice up Gonzalez's pies and he enjoys experimenting with non-traditional sauces such as salad dressings in place of marinara.
Gonzalez's innovative flavor combinations can put Antonio's to the test. "After so much time you get to know so much about so many different flavors. It's all about the mix of the different spices, oils and ingredients to get things right. It's the same as a good perfume."
Gonzalez prepares the toppings himself the day before serving. But he considers sauce the most vital ingredient, adding his own seasonings to enhance the flavor of the tomato paste he is given. "If you don't like the sauce, you ain't gonna eat the pizza."
Students are more than satisfied with Mr. Gonzalez's work. "It's not only the taste of the plain pizza [that I love], but the variety of flavors being offered," explained an enthusiastic Michael Neff '09. "It's just a whole different kind of experience."
Andrew Harrison '10, an avid pizza-eater who downs each of the three to four slices he eats a day with a smile on his face, is a man after Gonzalez's own heart. He said, "I especially like the thin crust pizza with pepperoni," he said. Harrison also cited the improved variety as a reason he's thrilled with Valentine's new pizza chef.
Amherst foodie, Leigh Rivlin '07, author of The Student's "Eating Out with Leigh Rivlin," agrees with the popular opinion. "The pizzas seem cheesier and have the melt in your mouth quality I think the old ones lacked. And I bet the taste is probably about as close to pizzeria-style as Val could get. His innovative combinations are welcomed with open arms ... or mouths." Gonzalez loves the complements. "It gets to me because it makes me work even harder," he explained. "It's good when you feel appreciated."
Furthermore, Gonzalez is happy at his new job. "I like Amherst. You kids make me feel good. Every time you guys tell me you like what I'm doing I feel proud," he said, comparing the complements to a romantic love song inspiring him to love his work even more and put extra care into his job. As Valentine's Operations Manager Jonathan Olson noted, "[Gonzalez's] putting a lot more heart into the job than people we've had in the past." And the students are tasting the difference.