Pizza Mania!: Baozza Co-Founder Talks Serving Up Steamed and Filling Treats

Ahead of this year's Pizza Cup Festival, we are serving up tasty details about all the participating restaurants in a series we call Pizza Mania. This segment features an interview with buzzy newcomers Baozza.

The shīfù (师傅) lifts the top off the steamer, revealing the steamed treasures within, each glistening ever so slightly from the condensation. You order one of those delectable orbs, and lift it to your nose to inhale the bāozi’s intoxicating aroma. Purchasing and munching on such doughy steamed dumplings is a comforting but all too ordinary part of most foodies’ routines in China, be they local or expat. But as you sink your teeth into this bāozi’s cushioned casing, a flavor that's familiar for entirely different reasons spills out over your tastebuds. Yes, instead of minced pork, cabbage of other conventional bāozi fillings, this dumpling is instead stuffed with cheese and marinara, thus becoming an Italian-Chinese fusion food that its creators have dubbed the "Baozza."

This pizza-esque steamed dumplings has earned serious buzz in Beijing’s F&B scene since it started as a pop-up in the CBD early this past summer, before going on to be served from booths at various events like World Baijiu Day and TBJ’s very own Foodie Weekend. After those initial successes, the Baozza team are planning to turn up the heat and let their prospects truly rise like fragrant air in a bamboo steamer, by offering official delivery services for those looking to devour their fusion dumplings. More exciting still: they're also planning to open one or two Baozza retail outlets in Beijing soon.

Below, co-founder Loren Heinold tells us more about what inspired Baozza and his team’s plans for the future.

How did you get the idea to combine pizza with bāozi?
Baozza was born from a play on words that (co-founder) Alex (Cree) made while traveling with clients in southern China last summer. Someone had been complaining that most bāozi found on the street lacked flavor and used low-quality fillings. A discussion ensued about how to make bāozi more amenable to the Western palate, and Alex suggested pizza bāozi, then blurted out “Baozza!” It was a Eureka moment. After that came the shocking realization that nobody had done pizza bāozi before … or at least done it well. Alex went right to work experimenting, at which point it became clear the two would go together amazingly, and that there was an opportunity to be had in bringing this to market.

At first the homemade Baozza were not pretty, but they tasted great. Then, once our team was formed and we went into more serious test cooking, that changed quickly. Our aim has been to create awesome food that truly unites East and West; something interesting, fun, honest, and satisfying. The results have been fantastic.

To perfect the recipes, you have worked with local bāozi proprietors, correct? Tell us what that experience has been like.
Going into this summer, we had a great team of Chinese cooks well versed in western food, but we quickly realized we’d need to tap some real bāozi master-level talent to take it to the next level. Luckily, being in Beijing, we were able to quickly recruit some awesome masters (all of whom are addressed shīfù/) to come in and work with us to help shape our product. Perhaps the most hilarious part of this has been watching the looks in these masters’ eyes when we first walk them through the Baozza recipes, and explain what we are doing. The first guy we hired, Master Wang, had never cooked western food and could only laugh at us at first when we showed him photos. The first few sessions in the kitchen with him were like a scene from a sitcom; crazed westerners on a mission, a puzzled bāozi master, a dozen other line cooks laughing their asses off.

But Master Wang was a great sport, and was quickly wrapping and steaming beautiful – and delicious – Baozza. But, believe it or not, he’s not a big western food fan and was not super interested in sampling his own work. Between him and the others who had laughed at us like we were Jamaican bobsledders, it was hard finding any takers when we offered up free samples in the kitchen. Slowly a few brave souls ventured a taste, then more. Then, in a surprising incident a week later, Master Wang came running out of the kitchen to tell us that the rest of the kitchen staff were helping themselves to the Baozza without permission. They were stealing Baozza and stuffing their faces in secret. And who could blame them?

What kind of feedback have you gotten from Chinese customers?
When people first lay eyes on us, almost everyone is shocked. At Woodstock of Eating, when people walked by the point at which they could first see our sign, almost all said something to the effect of “WTF” at the same exact spot. But then most people quickly get it and are intrigued. A few are too scared to try a Baozza, but that almost always changes when they see other people eating them or even just standing in line for them. Most take their first bite and turn to their friends with their eyes lit up saying “哇，好吃!” (Wa, hào chī!) or “哇，是比萨馅的包子!” (Wa, shì bǐsà xiàn de bāozi!). We have a lot of people who only order one or two Baozzas, and are worried that it might not be so good, who then turn around and ask immediately for more. At our first event, we had one girl come back three times. Several guys have asked for larger boxes so they can take some home to their girlfriends. One fellow was definitely thinking “Baozza and chill” … very smart guy.

Tell us about your plans to open a restaurant.
We are currently moving into a new kitchen space and are getting very close to a launch. While originally purposed as a delivery-only kitchen – delivery will be our main focus – it is looking like we will indeed be able to service walk-up customers. More on this to come …very soon. We are already taking bulk delivery and catering orders for corporate events large and small. We will also continue doing pop-up events, including the Pizza Cup. Then, this coming winter we will be opening our first one or two flagship retail locations in Beijing, with plans to grow very quickly throughout China. Beyond what we’ve sold at pop-up events, we plan to expand the Baozza line-up and add fresh salads, soups, as well as a range of killer dipping sauces, as part of lunch sets or Baozza party platters to share.

Anything else you'd like to add?
Our aim is to become a mainstay all across China and beyond. We’re truly humbled at the reception we’ve had in Beijing throughout our initial launch this summer. We’re growing fast and open to great talent and great partnerships.

Aside from those Italian-Chinese fusion steamed buns, the Baozza team are also serving up delicious sides of dipping sauce (the coconut cream of Shiitake mushroom Soup being a clear standout) and salads (like the quail egg garden salad with roasted sesame ginger vinagrette dressing). Feast your eyes on both below.

The Baozza team can be reached at hello@baozza.com.

Did that whet your appetite? Then click here to continue nibbling all of our tasty Pizza Cup coverage.

Tickets are now on sale for our October 15-16 Pizza Fest at the Zaha Hadid-designed Wangjing Soho ... Tickets are limited so buy ahead to make sure you don't miss out! Click here to purchase!

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
WeChat: 13263495040

Photos courtesy of Baozza