Zalat Pizza, a rapidly expanding pizza concept with a priority on its company culture and creating the best handmade pizza possible, announced Tricia Sims as its new Vice President of Research & Development and Marketing Support.
Among her most notable accomplishments with the company, Sims was responsible for leading the development of the Pepperoni Masterclass, Pesto Veggie Pizza, The Sweet Revenge and the Nashville Hot Chicken & Pickles Pizza. These pizzas have since become permanent fixtures on Zalat’s menu, and the Pepperoni Masterclass has become Zalat’s top selling pizza.
“Since joining our team in 2019, Tricia has been indispensable as we’ve continued our rapid growth. Her two decades of experience as a chef are a huge asset to us,” says Zalat Pizza Founder and CEO, Khanh Nguyen. “Tricia’s ideas are a perfect fit for the Zalat Pizza brand, but most importantly, she executes them well and our customers love the results.”
As a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America with a stint at The Hotel Telluride as Executive Chef, Sims’ foundation is firmly rooted in culinary tradition with a focus on food first. Additionally, Sims has served as Bakery Supervisor at Whole Foods Market’s flagship store in Austin, TX where she was responsible for developing and testing dessert programs for the entire Southwest region.
Prior to joining Zalat, Sims founded Gourmaleo, LLC in Dallas, TX – Texas’ first paleo meal delivery company. Gourmaleo was a pioneer for the trend of prepared meal home delivery in 2013, and expanded Sims’ interest into the business, R&D, and marketing side of the culinary world.
In 2019, she joined Zalat Pizza as the Executive Assistant to the CEO, and was later promoted to CEO’s Chief of Staff in 2021.
“Aside from getting to eat the best pizza in the Universe all the time, I love Zalat because I can take my 20 years of culinary experience out of the kitchen and into a company where non-traditional ideas are embraced,” says Sims. “The benefits that our front-line Zealots receive are unheard of in the restaurant industry and it’s inspiring to be a part of a restaurant group that cares as much about our employees as the product.”
She continues, “Diversity is celebrated here, and I am honored to be Zalat Pizza’s first female promoted to an Officer position.
In her new role, Sims will continue to push the envelope on creating unique new pizza recipes, improve on existing recipes to make them even better, and develop new products and menu items as the brand grows. Additionally, she is responsible for managing Zalat’s external PR & Marketing teams, social media, and coordinating the marketing efforts for new product roll outs.
