'It's been life-changing': How a woman left her corporate 9-5 to make pizza in Battle Creek

BATTLE CREEK — One book changed it all for Angelique Rickhoff.

She doesn't exactly remember how she found out about it, maybe it was through a Reddit post, but the book "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was" proved to be eye-opening, compelling Rickhoff to leave her corporate 9-to-5 job behind in search of something more fulfilling.

That fulfillment has come in the form of making pizzas at Handmap Brewing in downtown Battle Creek.

"It was no small thing," Rickhoff said of her career change. "It was a big leap jumping back into a kitchen after being in an office. But, there’s just something really peaceful about making pizza."

The transition has also led to new and exciting opportunities for Rickhoff. In March, she was one of just five women to receive a scholarship to attend a multi-day seminar at Pizza University in Baltimore, Maryland. The scholarship, aimed at supporting the next generation of women pizza makers, was made possible through a partnership between Corto Olive Co., Stanislaus Tomatoes, Pizza University and Christy Alia.

Alia and a panel of industry judges selected the winners based on their "ambition and inspiration, quality of craft, and support of women in the pizza industry."

"Seeing how different people approach pizza, to me, was the coolest part," Rickhoff said of the multi-day seminar, which she attended in June. "I came back and I’m like, everything we’re doing at Handmap is great because we’re getting the output and feedback that we want. Everything was super validating."

Rickhoff's pizza journey actually began when she was just 15 years old as she secured her first job at a pizzeria in a Chicago suburb.

"I got the job because the owner played guitar and so did I, so we had a bonding moment," Rickhoff laughed. "He brought me on board and really throughout my teenhood and college, I used pizza to raise money."

Rickhoff worked at pizzerias throughout the Chicagoland area for about a decade, falling in love with the process as she learned a variety of pizza-making techniques. Ultimately, she moved on to the corporate world, building up a career as a digital consultant.

Twenty years later, as she read "I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was," the fond memories of pizza came flooding back.

"(The book) has you go through different activities, like, at the end of your life, what are people saying about you, what do they remember you by? In your lifetime, what were some of the things that made you happy?" Rickhoff explained. "I started seeing my pizza moments showing up on that timeline, some of those happy memories."

A few weeks removed from leaving her corporate job last spring, Rickhoff saw a post from Handmap Brewing, which had just started offering pizza. She decided to reach out, tweaking her resume to lead with her prior decade of pizza-making experience.

Handmap co-owners Chris McCleary and Jennifer Brown happily welcomed her into the Handmap family.

"I really liked her story on what she was doing, she was getting out of the corporate world and wanted to make pizzas," Brown said. "We brought her on and she’s been amazing."

For Rickhoff, making pizzas at Handmap just feels like it was meant to be.

"Handmap happened to be at a good moment where a 20-year gap didn’t matter," she said. "I love Jen and Chris’ creativity with food ... Come in with an idea and they’re like, 'Let’s try it!'"

A culinary creation Rickhoff is particularly proud of is the Ricotta Margherita pizza, which features mushroom, tomato, ricotta and fresh basil.

What makes a good pie, she says, is "really the thought and the care that goes into it."

"I think it’s the person behind the pizza more than the ingredients," Rickhoff said.

"To see things that I’ve created on the menu has been just really cool, to have that freedom and flexibility," she continued. "And to see people eat and order those pizzas, to me, it’s special."

Rickhoff will be traveling to California in August to do olive and tomato harvesting, once again courtesy of Stanislaus Tomatoes. Reflecting on where pizza has taken her in the past year, Rickhoff is filled with gratitude.

"It’s everything I could have hoped for and more," she said. "I was like, I’ll just get some part-time work, cover the bills. I didn’t know that I’d have a whole new family, a whole new community.

"It’s been life-changing," Rickhoff continued. "I’m a lot closer to what I want my life to be and how I want to be defined. I guess if it’s pizza on my gravestone, I guess that’s OK."

For more information about Handmap Brewing, visit handmapbrewing.com or facebook.com/handmapbrewing.

Contact reporter Greyson Steele at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: How a woman left her corporate 9-5 to make pizza in Battle Creek