Business

Work We Do: Irene Pleitez, La Capricciosa

My name is Irene Pleitez. I work here at the pizzeria La Capricciosa in Greenport.

My day basically starts around 9:45, 10 a.m. I come in and turn on the ovens, make sure they’re nice and hot because we wait for the school kids to come in. Usually that’s my first rush. 

I start all the specials. I make all the specialty pizzas we have — all the chicken, and cheese, and pepperoni — and basically just get creative throughout the day and keep the case nice and full with pizza to attract the eye of the people. I work all day pretty much.

We prepare everything here on premises. I do not make the dough but I help sometimes because I’m into pizza now. The dough is super important. Sometimes it’s a little harder or softer than usual, but with time I learned how to deal with the different types.

For me, everything matters, from the start to the last little bit of cheese I put.

The shape of the dough, the flour, to put enough sauce, enough cheese.

Make it nice, make it even. Every bite counts.

I just liked watching the guys and then I got more into it I asked questions and after like three years, I started practicing, like playing around, playing with the dough. They would let me make pizza. My co-workers were encouraging me to do it; that’s a big part of how I started. I was a little nervous the first time, but after the first day I think I got confidence.

I like that I can get creative. I like when I get the reaction of people, like, “Wow, what is that?” I try new recipes and try them myself and let my co-workers try them. I like that I can experiment with what I think would be good on a pizza.

I love it. I wouldn’t go back to any other job.

“The Work We Do” is a Suffolk Times multimedia project profiling workers on the North Fork. It is made possible by Peconic Landing. See more photos on Instagram @thesuffolktimes.