Stephen Lanzalotta

Portland, Maine — A remarkable man, a remarkable life well lived ... With our deepest sorrow, our family announces the passing of Stephen Joseph “Steve” Lanzalotta. Stephen, formerly of Waterford, moved to Blue Hill, Maine, in 1991, and eventually settled in Portland in 2000. Stephen was the loving son of Vincent and Ellen Lanzalotta and “Big Brother” to Nancy Shelburn (Tim), Karen Bartelli (Jim) and Kathy Friedman (David). He was an amazing Papa to his pride and joys, his three children, Seth, Shaia and Jari; and his two loving grandsons, Angel and Gabriel. He will be greatly missed by all his nieces and nephews, loving cousins, Larry and Judy, many close relatives and lifelong friends.

Steve’s decision to move to Maine, was inspired by his profound love of the land and open waters. As a naturalist and homesteader, he hewed a log home and furniture from spruce trees. When building his family home, Steve discovered while burning branches, he was able to bake bread using the heat from the ash. That is how his bread-baking story began.

Steve was a brilliant artist in every sense of the word: a master baker, chef, woodcarver, builder, painter, musician and author. He was a man of many talents with a truly multifaceted approach to life itself. He was a model of integrity, loyalty, politeness, strength and honor. As an accomplished baker, chef and craftsman, Steve applied the mathematical principle of the Golden Ratio to his life, which further inspired him to write and publish, “The Diet Code,” a book that links eating proper proportions of everyday foods to boosting metabolism, a key to losing weight.

With a sense of purpose for creating Old World style bread in modern times, Steve opened Sophia’s, a quaint bakery cafe and art gallery. His authentic technique was mastered by hand mixing the dough. His Polish and Italian heritage was always very important to him, and the knowledge, handson learning and traditions taught to him by his parents and immigrant grandparents influenced his lifestyle. After the closing of Sophia’s, his next chapter led him to be the bakery manager of Micucci’s Italian Market, where he first developed his Sicilian Style Slab Pizza.

Eight years ago, Steve embarked on a business venture with four other investors and successfully opened “Slab,” the renowned Sicilian Style Street Food Restaurant in Portland, Maine. It was here his legacy was brought to new heights. Steve’s passions came together from his architectural ideas to mural paintings to creating the menu. The “slab,” as the pizza squares are called, have significantly influenced the culinary culture in Portland today due to the pillowy light dough and exceptional flavor.

In Stephen’s memory, please do something kind for someone you may not know, pause and take notice of the small wonders in nature, try something that may seem difficult, love one another and be thankful for what you have. ♥