Thomas Woudwyk

The Climb

Today, Thomas Woudwyk is co-founder and co-owner of Crosta. The title carries two jobs at once: keeping the business in order and keeping the pizza worth returning for. It points to a path built from making pies for friends first, then carrying that same hands-on discipline into a shared operation. The climb here is measured in repetition rather than spectacle. Thomas’s route to Crosta reads as the accumulation of practice and judgment, moving from informal batches to a name now attached to a venue. He appears to work from both sides of the counter: close enough to the slice to judge the result, and close enough to the books to keep the place running.

Today

At Crosta, that split remains part of the job. Thomas is described not as a distant front person, but as someone still tied to the core decisions that shape the product. His own phrase, “chief taste testing expert and the finance guy,” names the two responsibilities plainly: tasting what the kitchen sends out and handling the numbers that support it.

Signature

Thomas's signature dishes include Cherry Culatello, Shroomed Out, Stuffed AF, and Morty and Ella. The names do useful work on their own: they mark a menu with distinct items rather than interchangeable variants. As a set, they suggest a kitchen that knows the value of clear identity, where each pizza has a place in the lineup and helps define Crosta’s voice.

In Their Words “I'm more the chief taste testing expert and the finance guy.” The line is direct and telling. It places Thomas Woudwyk between tasting and accounting, which is often where small food businesses are actually managed. There is humor in it, but also a clear division of labor: what is good on the plate, and what keeps the operation viable.

Recognition

Thomas's honors include 50 Top Pizza of the Year 2023 Award (2023). For a business that began with pizzas made for friends, the award gives public weight to work that was already being refined at close range. It recognizes that the same practical habits that serve a private table can also carry into broader notice.