Improvisation and creativity are among the key ingredients of Mike Carter’s journey to becoming a pizza maker, writes Sydney Page for The Washington Post.  

While spending a total of 12 years behind bars, pizza making was Carter’s specialty. With limited ingredients available at the prison commissary, Carter experimented with ingredients like ramen noodles, Cheez-It crackers, barbecue sauce, and pre-cooked sausage.  

Despite the unorthodox ingredients, Carter’s pizzas were very well-liked. 

As a child, he developed a love for food while cooking with his grandmother. He always wanted to be a chef.  

Even while incarcerated, cooking has always been his muse. 

“The kitchen was always the place where I could survive in,” said Carter.  

Today, Carter is the executive chef at Down North Pizza, one of Philadelphia’s most popular pizza shops. 

As a way to give back, Down North Pizza only employs formerly incarcerated people at the pizzeria.  

“There’s a big stigma. They’ve been dehumanized for so long,” said Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, the founder of Down North Pizza. 

His mission is to help minimize that stigma and reduce recidivism in the surrounding Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. 

Striving to grow his culinary career, Carter recently launched his own side catering company and trains and mentors every cook that steps into Down North Pizza. 

Learn more about Mike Carter’s unique journey in The Washington Post. 

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At Down North Pizza in Philadelphia, not only do Muhammad Abdul-Hadi and his team serve some of the city’s best pizza, but they are also providing jobs, housing, and legal representation to formerly incarcerated individuals.