Chef
Chris Decker
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Dana Point, California, United States
i. Biography
Chris Decker works pizza as a trade of dough, heat, and timing. In Dana Point, California, the material is Italian-American pie: flour brought into shape, fire aimed with intent, and a restaurant built around the focused hand of a pizzaiolo. At Truly Pizza, the work lands in clear forms and direct flavors, with enough theater to register the room but enough discipline to stay rooted in the craft.
Coming Up
University training at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and time under John Arena at Metro Pizza in Las Vegas, Nevada (until 2024) gave Chris Decker a base shaped by repetition and service. In that kind of apprenticeship, timing is not abstract; it is part of the product. Each pie becomes a test of rhythm, control, and consistency, and that is the ground from which his later work in Dana Point grows. Since 2024, Chris has been chef partner of Truly Pizza, carrying that same steady pressure into a new setting without losing the center of the work: pizza.
Where They Are Now
Founding pizzaiolo and partner are the roles that tie Chris Decker to Truly Pizza not just operationally, but at the level of identity. The restaurant’s voice is carried through the pies themselves, which have to speak quickly and plainly once they reach the table. That continuity is what defines the current work. The Las Vegas training and long Metro Pizza tenure remain legible in the Dana Point operation, where Italian-American pizza and show-stopping pies stay at the center. Rather than moving away from the form, Chris has stayed with it, using the same exacting approach to keep the work direct, considered, and grounded in the same craft across each stage of his career.
Signature
Chris's signature dishes include Umami Mushroom, Suprema, Smoky Vodka, and Crispy Pepperoni. Read together, they show how he builds within the pizza format: earthy, savory, rich, and crisp, each pie another way of organizing flavor without leaving the form behind.
Honors
Chris Decker has received The Best Pizza Awards, Top 100 Pizza Chefs in the World (2025). The major milestones in his career are role-based: managing partner at Metro Pizza in 1997 and chef partner, founding pizzaiolo, and partner at Truly Pizza. In sequence, those titles mark a career built through long service to one craft, with each step extending the same line of work into a new place and a new context.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Chris
What is Chris Decker's current role?
As of 2026, Chris Decker is Chef Partner.
Where did Chris Decker train or study?
Chris Decker trained at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
What is Chris Decker known for?
Italian-American pizza craftsmanship.
Explore
In the same rooms
