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LOVE, PIZZA & THE BAKER’S HEART: THE STORY BEHIND WORLD FOODS
“Love people and cook them exceptional food.”
— Al and Sharon DeFosche, World Foods Website
There’s a delicious little place on historic West End that predates nearly every modern Cookeville favorite — before Crawdaddy’s, before The French Cookie, before Cream City found new life, before Mauricio’s or 37 Cedar, before The Soup Kitchen, before Soul Craft coffee ever brewed a single cup.
Long before most of these culinary landmarks existed, there was World Foods, founded by Al and Sharon DeFosche.
But before there was World Foods…
there were pizza parties.
there were pizza parties.
The Pizza Parties That Started It All
“We started having pizza parties at our house,” Sharon said. “Just a couple of friends. Then people started asking if they could come. It started morphing. We’d make the pizzas and take them out to the dining room, but they’d be gone before they got to the table.”
The “couple of friends” quickly turned into twenty.
The DeFosches had moved to Jackson County in 1972 from the Northeast, where Al worked as a graphic artist for NBC News and Sharon was a sales assistant in ad sales. Baking wasn’t part of Al’s resume just yet, and Sharon — though the granddaughter of a family pita maker — didn’t consider herself a baker either.
When they later moved to a craftsman-style home on Dixie in Cookeville, the pizza parties began in earnest.
Al made pizzas the way he liked to eat them.
“No sauce — just chunks of tomatoes. Cheese, herbs… whatever toppings,” Sharon said. Her favorite? Pepperoni and black olives.
“No sauce — just chunks of tomatoes. Cheese, herbs… whatever toppings,” Sharon said. Her favorite? Pepperoni and black olives.
As the pizzas baked on a single pizza stone in their home oven, a dream began forming — a dream that would soon stretch far beyond their dining room.
A Storage Building Becomes a Storefront
In 1999, the DeFosches took a leap of faith. They turned a storage building holding supplies from a home renovation into a full restaurant.
“A friend in New England guided us on equipment,” Sharon said.
World Foods opened in 2000 — and with it, Sharon’s childhood dream of having her own storefront finally came true.
“I always wanted my little store front,” she said. “Suddenly, I had it — all because we opened our home, sat around the table, baked pizza, and cared for people.”
Every recipe on the original menu?
Straight from those legendary pizza parties on Dixie.
Straight from those legendary pizza parties on Dixie.
A Naples-Style Pizza Legacy
Al added Clam & Garlic Pizza and the Quattro Formaggio (four cheese) to the lineup.
“We didn’t have a huge repertoire of pizzas,” Sharon said. “People would ask for an ‘everything pizza,’ but we didn’t really do those. Al kind of got a reputation for being a pizza snob.”
Their pizza leaned Naples-style — fitting, since Al’s grandparents came from Amalfi and Naples. A photo of Queen Margherita still hangs inside the restaurant today.
More importantly, they brought their hospitality with them.
“When people came in,” Sharon said, “I felt like they were coming to my house. It felt that personal.”
It did feel personal — to regulars, to newcomers, to anyone who ever sat down and felt wrapped in the warmth of their welcome.
Closing, Reopening, and the Community That Called Them Back
They eventually sold the restaurant, and for a season, World Foods closed. But everywhere they went in town, former customers — now friends — would ask the same question:
“When are you reopening?”
Finally, they did.
By then, Sharon had retired from her career in sales and was fully immersed in the restaurant. She and Al introduced desserts representing their heritages — tiramisu for Al’s Italian roots and baklava for Sharon’s Middle Eastern family.
Their menu grew to include falafel, tabouli, shawarmas, dolma, fatya, kibbee, kefta, gyros, and spanakopita. Their kitchen buzzed with culture, diversity, and languages from around the world.
“Food is a great equalizer,” Sharon said. “A great way to bring people together.”
A Childhood Dream Begins With a Jewelry Box
Long before World Foods existed, Sharon was a preschool girl living with her Syrian grandparents while her parents worked.
Her grandmother had a jewelry box overflowing with gold. She would hand Sharon a smaller box, and little Sharon would sit on the bedroom floor and set up a pretend storefront.
“My grandmother was my biggest buyer,” Sharon said, laughing.
It was retail make-believe — the first spark of a dream.
Her grandfather, Giddo, barely spoke English but took her all over Los Angeles on the trolley and let her watch him bake fresh pita for the family. Every inch of the dining room covered in white sheets, dozens of dough balls rising in rows, the oven blazing hot.
“The smell was heavenly,” she said. “There is nothing like fresh pita.”
These are the memories that raised her — the smells, the joy, the heritage — and planted in her the love of food, culture, and the beauty of serving others.
A Baker’s Heart Recognizes a Baker’s Heart
Sharon never had her grandfather’s recipe — it wasn’t written down — but when she created her own, it tasted just like his.
And she didn’t need to bake bread forever.
She married a man who became the bread maker of their family.
She married a man who became the bread maker of their family.
Retirement and the Legacy That Lives On
Sharon and Al retired in 2016, selling World Foods to Jonathan McCauley and Bill Hedderick. McCauley now owns it solely, and Mason Sickles manages the restaurant.
They’re still serving food “Al’s way,” with a side of Sharon’s hospitality.
Today, Al and Sharon live in North Carolina near their daughter Autumn. Al still makes pizza at home — the pizza stone stays in the oven, always ready. Their daughter Meadow makes pizza now too.
“It was a dream come true,” Sharon said. She misses the people, loves the journey, and still loves Al’s pizza best.
SHARON’S PITA BREAD RECIPE
Ingredients:
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 tsp plus 1 Tbsp sugar
- 3 ¾ cups bread flour
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- ¾ cup warm water
- 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Whisk dry ingredients.
- Add water; mix until moistened.
- Add olive oil; work into a dough ball.
- Cover with plastic wrap; let rise.
- Form baseball-sized dough balls; let rise again.
- Repeat for three rises.
- Bake at 500°F until pitas puff and open.
Serve with: olive oil + za’atar. Heavenly.
THE HEART OF THE STORY
Before there was World Foods, there was a little girl selling treasures from her grandmother’s jewelry box.
Then a wife hosting friends around a small kitchen.
Then a beloved storefront in a revitalized district.
Then a wife hosting friends around a small kitchen.
Then a beloved storefront in a revitalized district.
Sharon learned to recognize the heart of a baker — first in her grandfather, then in her husband.
Some stories are too perfect for Hallmark.
Only God could write them.
Only God could write them.
