YELLOWKNIFE - As Papa Jim, also known as Jim Hudym, flips dough into the air, his passion for pizza making is obvious.

He opened Papa Jim's Pizzeria in February and has been working 16-hour days ever since.

Jim Hudym throws dough into the air to stretch it into an 18-inch extra large pizza. - Stephanie McDonald/NNSL photo

The pizzeria is located between Magic Touch Dry Cleaners and Originals by T-Bo on Franklin Avenue.

Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Hudym moved to Yellowknife 13 years ago.

"I wanted to try it out for five years. I loved it, and I'm still here," Hudym said.

He grew up in the food and beverage industry in Saskatchewan and worked at a variety of jobs in Yellowknife.

Hudym has always had an interest in owning his own business, and a pizzeria seemed the perfect fit.

Before opening the restaurant, he had never cooked a pizza from scratch. Not to be deterred, Hudym learned the tricks of the trade from Bruno Biajio, former owner of Napoli's Pizza.

"He was my teacher, my mentor. He was the one behind the learning process," Hudym said.

Hudym arrives at work each morning at 8 a.m. and begins a batch of dough. He does prep work, chops pizza toppings, and makes the pizza sauce from scratch, before his day staff arrives at 11a.m.

The store is busy during the noon hour and throughout the evening.

"I got lucky with the location," said Hudym, who draws customers from two high schools that are close to his pizzeria.

Perfect pizza making is all in the details, according to Hudym.

"Everything matters from making the dough to putting it in the oven. Every detail is important," he said.

Once the dough is ready for cooking, it is pounded to get the bubbles out. The toppings are layered in a certain order, depending on how the ingredients play off each other.

When it's time to put the pizza in the oven, Hudym lifts an edge of the pizza and blows, creating a saucer shape. This helps to move the pizza from the wooden paddle into the oven.

"You have to babysit it the whole time it is in the oven," Hudym said. If not, it can burn.

PaPa Jim's pizza has Italian-style stone cooked crust, something new to most pizza eaters. Educating customers on this type of crust is a challenge, Hudym said.

Jim Hudym's niece was in town for a week to help out at the store.

Fifteen year-old Kalyna Hudym had travelled up from Regina.

"I got off the plane and right into an apron," she said.

Her uncle's passion is infectious, and the younger Hudym plans to return home and research pizza ideas on the Internet and at pizzerias.

"It's exhilarating," she said, describing the noon-hour rush, with the phone ringing, customers lining up, and her uncle flipping dough.

She's exactly the type of worker Hudym needs in his new shop. On a busy day, he makes up to 100 pizzas.

"Business is really good," he said.