PZ - April - May 2017

PIZZA INNOVATOR

Chef of the Year Carlo Raillo tackles the gluten-free challenge

CANADIAN PIZZA SHOW OCT. 16, 2017

Volume 23 Issue 2 April/May 2017

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16 PIZZA INNOVATOR

Chef of the Year Carlo Raillo tackles the gluten-free challenge, sharing his recipe and explaining why he keeps his eye on trends

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SMOKE SIGNALS

DEPARTMENTS

to add flavour and it’s not just for protein anymore. Learn how your pizzeria can tap into this hot trend.

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editor’s desk

8

pizza bites

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the pizza chef

18

making dough

26

Giorgio’s corner

20 Food smoking is an artful way

22 GAINING AN EDGE AT EXPO 20

ONLINE

ABOVE: Chef of the Year Carlo Raillo re-created his winning gluten-free, vegetarian Lifestyle Pizza at Expo in Las Vegas. See page 16.

Pizza operators found inspiration in new products, creative demos and sage advice from industry veterans at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas

ANCIENT GRAINS Are you interested in incorporating ancient grains into your pizza crust? In a Canadian Pizza exclusive, we turn to experts with nutritional insight and baking experience to explore the benefits and potential pitfalls of working with such grains as buckwheat, sorghum and millet.

CANADIAN PIZZA EXTRAS | Anticipatory customer service; Local restaurants shine as OpenTable lists 150 ‘Neighbourhood Gems’; Digital restaurant ordering grows …plus, the latest industry news and new products. www.canadianpizzamag.com

APRIL/MAY 2017 pizza 3

from the editor’s desk April/May, Vol. 23, No. 2

Pineapple potential A

s editor of Canadian Pizza, I must address the pineapple-on-pizza debate – not to take sides but to consider what it says about this remarkable product our industry purveys.

For those unfamiliar with the lighthearted controversy, in February, Iceland’s president, Gudni Johannesson, told an audience of high school students he was opposed to putting pineapple on top of a pizza, going so far as to say he would ban pineapple as a pizza topping if he had the power to pass laws on his own. He later softened his stance (he is a politician after all) by invoking freedom of choice and revealing his preference of fish on pizza.

Sam Panopoulos, now 83, who made pizza at his Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ont., in the late 1950s and early 1960s, is widely credited as the inventor of Hawaiian pizza. In an interview with CBC Radio, Panopoulos – amused by the pineapple furor – said of the pineapple-hating politician, “He should know better.”

The Internet fell in love with this debate, with many people weighing in, joking or creating Internet memes on the topic.

Whether you and your customers are for or against the tropical fruit as a topping, our industry shouldn’t simply dismiss the debate as silly. The strong reactions it evokes remind us what a perfect, polarizing and personal dish pizza is: it is a food with builtin and seemingly endless marketability.

There is so much potential here to engage the public and gain customers. Some pizzerias used the occasion to poll their customers, voice their opinion, rail against the fruit. Last year, Brooklyn Pizzeria in Toronto brilliantly showed how to take advantage of a moment when it asked customers to weigh in on the heated U.S. election by choosing between Clinton and Trump pizzas. We need to seize such opportunities – not to mention special occasions like July 1 – to promote and draw attention to pizza a fun,

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Managing Editor Laura Aiken laiken@annexweb.com 416-522-1595 Editor Colleen Cross ccross@annexweb.com 519-428-3471 ext. 261

shareable, discussable meal or snack option.

When searching for information on holiday pizzas, I noticed several people polling cyberspace on where they could find a Christmas or Halloween pizza. It’s lowhanging fruit (pun intended) for pizzeria marketers to grab.

Canada loves pizza and Hawaiian pizza is one of this country’s gifts to the world. Our 150th birthday year seems a good time to reflect on this country’s spirit of innovation and diversity.

At the Canadian Pizza Show on Oct. 16 we will follow the Chef of the Year competition with a relaxed session on regional pizzas where pizza makers can share their techniques and their customers’ preferences, be they classic, Napoletana, thin-crust, Chicago-style, Detroit-style, Windsor-style, Western Greek, donair or Hawaiian.

Where do you and your customers stand on pineapple? Do you enjoy the sweet contrast of ham and pineapple? Do you think pineapple is too heavy and wet to go on a pizza?

The recent fracas has got us wondering, if Canada had an official pizza what would it be? Is Hawaiian pizza Canada’s perfect representative pie in the Olympics of pizza?

Let the debate begin! ...

Does your pizzeria have a perfect Canadian pie featuring poutine, maple syrup, back bacon or moose? Why not enter our Seasonal Pizza Challenge, designed to showcase holiday pizzas of all sortst? See page 8 and watch our Canadian Pizza Show website at www.canadianpizzamag.com/ pizzashow for details. •

Publisher Christine Livingstone clivingstone@annexweb.com 519-429-5173 888-599-2228 ext. 239 Account Coordinator Shannon Drumm sdrumm@annexweb.com 888-599-2228, ext. 219 Media Designer Curtis Martin Circulation Manager Anita Madden amadden@annexbizmedia.com 416-442-5600 ext 3596 Group Publisher Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexweb.com COO Ted Markle tmarkle@annexweb.com President & CEO Mike Fredericks Mailing Address P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 PUBLICATION MAIL AGREEMENT #40065710 Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 Published seven times per year (Jan/Feb, Apr/May, Jun, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec) by Annex Business Media Circulation email: lmalicdem@annexbizmedia.com Tel: 416-442-5600 ext. 3547 • Fax: 416-510-5170 Mail: 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Subscription Rates Canada – 1 Year $ 19.00 (+ applicable tax) Best pricing (Can/USA/foreign) available online at www.canadianpizzamag.com Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.

Annex Privacy Officer privacy@annexbizmedia.com • Tel: 800-668-2374 No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2017 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianpizzamag.com

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pizzabites BRIEFLY | Company accused of passing off U.S. tomatoes as Canadian; Pizza Pizza adds dairy-free, vegan cheese to menu. | FOR MORE pizza news, check out our website, www.canadianpizzamag.com

Saskatchewan’s meal tax draws criticism estaurants Canada says the Saskatchewan government has created an unfair playing field for the province’s struggling restaurant industry by adding an increased PST to food purchased from restaurants, while the same or similar food items at grocery stores remain tax-free.

Restaurants Canada estimates this will cost Saskatchewan’s hospitality industry $140 million in lost sales and says this tax will have a devastating impact on restaurants at a time when they are already facing declining sales due to the economic downturn.

“We’re extremely disappointed with this unfair tax policy that creates winners and losers in the food industry,” said Restaurants Canada vice-president Mark von Schellwitz in a news release. “Our members are perplexed the government has ignored our advice, and is instead punishing the sector of the food industry that creates the most jobs and economic activity. Clearly this policy benefits large corporate grocery stores at the expense of thousands of labourintensive small businesses that make up the hospitality industry.”

The government is also increasing liquor markups by between 4.0 and 6.8 per cent. Both the new meal tax and liquor price increases are effective April 1, providing restaurants with little time to adjust to the new taxes.

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Maurizio Mascioli of Maurizio’s Inc. in Parry Sound, Ont., recently won gold, silver and bronze medals at the International Pizza Championship held in March in Bucharest, Romania, the Canadian Culinary Federation said in a news release.

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Seasonal challenge new for Canadian Pizza Show he countdown to the Canadian Pizza Show is on! The trade show and competitions are set for Monday, Oct. 16, at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont. Once again Canadian Pizza will host the Chef of the Year competitions and booths featuring suppliers and services focused on helping Canadian pizza operators improve their pizza, streamline their businesses and increase sales.

New this year is the Chef of the Year Traditional division: Traditional and Open division winners will compete in an exciting Chef of the Year showdown.

Be sure to be centre stage at noon for our new Seasonal Pizza Challenge. Looking for ideas for promoting your pizza? Interested in what others are doing to create and market their holiday and seasonally themed pies? Join us as we take a break from Chef of the Year competitions to highlight themed pizzas from across Canada.

A marketing expert will be on hand to share strategies for playing up your own specialty pizza. Enter this friendly contest or sample mouthwatering themed pies and cast your vote for the best. The prize is 5,000 custom-designed, printed flyers for your pizzeria!

Throughout the day we’ll also have two quick-hit sessions on the show floor. A morning session called Boost Your Average Cheque will give you solid tips for encouraging your customers to spend more money in your pizzeria.

In an informal afternoon rap session called Exploring Regional Pizza, we’ll chat with Canadian pizza makers to see what’s popular in their neck of the woods, be it thin-crust, deep-dish, Western Greek, Windsor-style, Neapolitan, donair pizza or the muchdiscussed Hawaiian.

Check www.canadianpizzamag.com/pizzashow for show updates. Registration for Chef of the Year, the Seasonal Pizza Challenge and the Great Pizza Box Fold-off opens at 9 a.m. EST on Monday, June 12. Sign up now to receive a registration reminder. (See page 15 for showgoers’ comments on past shows.)

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pizzabites Conference Board foodservice outlook predicts growth in breakfast visits rowth in breakfast restaurant visits, a shift from full-service to limited-service and shrinking disposable income are among the takeaways from the Conference Board of Canada’s latest forecast for the food-service industry.

The March Canadian Industrial Outlook for Food Services report predicts both competitive times ahead and room for growth in such areas as breakfast service and street vending. The report provided several insights into the restaurant and food-service industry:

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• The industry is highly fragmented: three-quarters of establishments have fewer than 20 employees.

• There has been a permanent shift from full-service to limited-service restaurants since the end of the 2009 recession.

• While street vendor operations are still a minor part of the restaurant industry, they are projected to grow to

Association’s campaign highlights Canadian restaurant experiences he Restaurants Canada Show kicked off a yearlong “Making Moments” campaign aimed at highlighting the unique role restaurants play in the everyday lives of Canadians.

Organizers invite restaurant owners, employees and customers to share their favourite restaurant moment. Did you land your first job in a restaurant? Work with a restaurant to raise money for a good cause? Did you meet that special someone at a restaurant? Or is the neighbourhood coffee shop your go-to spot for catching up with friends?

“From marriage proposals to business deals, and from first jobs to second chances, restaurants provide the setting for many special moments in our lives. Canada’s anniversary year is the perfect time to celebrate and share those stories,” said Restaurants Canada president and chief executive officer Shanna Munro in a news release.

Those who submit their stories could win a grand prize trip for two to Yukon, courtesy of Air North. Monthly prizes will also be awarded throughout the year.

Restaurants Canada’s “Making Moments” campaign is sponsored

by Canada Bread, Saputo and Air North.

Visit www.restaurantscanada.org/makingmoments for details.

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For more news updated daily, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

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$300 million by 2020.

• Profit margins in the industry are very low, averaging just 2.3 per cent in the past decade.

• A projected slower growth in real disposable income will limit the potential for consumers maintaining their current pace of spending growth, leading some to choose less-expensive restaurants or to spend a larger share of their food dollar on groceries.

• Consumers may be encouraged to dine at home if restaurant prices do not weaken.

• Strategies to tempt baby boomers to eat out may include offering foods that speak to health-related concerns, including digestive and heart health.

• Rising demand for fast and portable breakfast options has supported strong growth in restaurant breakfast traffic over the past year. Breakfast now accounts for just under one in five restaurant visits.

• Remaining flexible about changing trends will be key for operators to avoid overcommitting to fads.

Overall, the report suggests an overall positive outlook, with cost growth held in check by weaker food prices and sales growth slowing but remaining positive.

the pizza chef

Changing tastes Diana Cline

n my last column, I wrote about jazzing up the vegetable toppings on your menu and in this column I want to expand on that idea.

Canadians are going through another big food and tastes transformation, and many are no longer satisfied with the usual pepperoni or ham and pineapple pizza offerings. That’s not to say “traditional” is out; however, boring, same-old-same-old-ordinary is definitely not in. What can you do to keep up with current trends? Great question!

If it’s been a while, maybe it’s time to assess your menu; how much has it changed over the past year or two, or the past five years? Are your sales slumping? If you’re not careful, you can easily get tunnel vision about your pizzeria and find yourself stuck in a rut.

Are your sales up or down, compared to this time last year? You could just blame the economy, or you could shake things up a bit. Why not add some new and exciting tastes to your menu. Entice that average Canadian consumer back with a not-so-ordinary specialty cheese that makes their mouth water with anticipation. Thankfully, our pizzeria continues to adapt and change with the demand in the market. Years ago we added some specialty crusts, cheeses, sauces and what were at the time considered “unique” toppings. Nowadays you find some of those toppings on a lot of other pizzeria menus.

Back then things like chopped baby spinach, barbecued chicken breast, pulled pork and smoked oysters raised eyebrows.

Today the average Canadian consumer has more sophisticated tastes and appreciates the variety above and beyond the typical 12 common pizza toppings.

Lately I’ve been inspired to work with

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You might not think of finding vegetarian ingredients like black beans on pizza, but they are delicious and nutritious.

an unusual bunch of vegetarian ingredients. These are ingredients you might not think of finding on pizza, but that are actually very delicious and nutritious.

Ingredients like chickpeas, black beans, cashews and baby corn. I’ve been working on a vegan cheese as well, after several customers said they believe I can create a better-tasting one than what’s currently out there and available to them.

This is how my gluten-free pizza crust was created and brought on the menu back in 2008. Dozens of calls every week came from celiac and gluten-intolerant consumers asking me to create a gluten-free pizza that tasted “like a real pizza.” At that time, the gluten-free pizza crusts that were available weren’t very palatable. Some even contained other ingredients that many people were allergic or sensitive to – like eggs – so these same starving consumers couldn’t eat them.

Are you getting calls asking for something you currently don’t make or source?

Pay attention! That could be the next big thing for your market! Or perhaps it’s time to break out that incredibly odd creation

your staff members make just for themselves. You know – the one they rave about, the one for which you already have all the ingredients in stock, the one that’s not on the menu. Give it a great name and offer it to your customers. There’s a saying: “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’re always going to get what you’ve already got.” So if you’re not happy about what you’re getting, it’s time for a change.

Perhaps you’ve been where you are at for a while and aren’t sure where to start, or which direction to take. Finding an expert coach to help break you out of your usual thinking will get you moving forward again. • Diana Cline is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine Chef of the Year, a three-time winner of “Canada’s Best Pizza Chef” at international events, judge for pizza competitions in Las Vegas, Italy and France, and partner with Diana’s Cucina & Lounge in Winnipeg. She was a director for the CRFA from 2009-13. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other owner/operators in menu development, creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing to help operators grow their businesses effectively. She is available for consulting on a limited basis. For more information, contact her at diana@dianascucinaandlounge.com

cover story

Pizza innovator Chef of the Year Carlo Raillo tackles the gluten-free challenge

BY COLLEEN CROSS

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hen you talk to Carlo Raillo get ready to listen because you will learn. The fasttalking pizza chef has a lot to say and the words sometimes tumble out faster than they can be taken in. It’s just one mark of his excitement about the pizza industry.

I caught up with the blur of motion that was Raillo between competing and networking at the International Pizza Expo Las Vegas in March. The three-time Chef of the Year has made and competed in practically every pizza category out there: non-traditional, Napoletana, breakfast, dessert and now gluten-free. Last October at the Canadian Pizza Show, Raillo presented a tasty gluten-free vegetarian pizza with richly coloured vegetables, and he took his bejewelled pie to Vegas to compete in the gluten-free division – a first for him. The division is a relatively new one that started as an experiment in 2014 and has since grown to match the size of the Napoletana and Pan divisions.

It is not surprising that Raillo chose to explore the still-strong trend this year, but his fearless innovation and desire to always

be eyeing new horizons – as well as the starch and gum combinations, Raillo says mischievous twinkle in his eye – says a lot one often overlooked aspect of developing a crust is proper storage of the dough. “The about his personality.

During our conversation, Raillo – who technique is what’s important,” he says. was lively, fun and dead serious about his “It can get dry so fast if you don’t seal it craft – shared the thinking behind his con- properly.”

Satisfaction is a relative term for the centration on the gluten-free market. Nine out of 10 of people who eat gluten-free perfection-driven Raillo, but he told me he follow the diet as a preference and not was happy with his crust when he saw it had a good rise to it. because they have celiac “I like it when the crust disease, he said. That’s is high and the dough in why he believes its cusUltimately, the middle is high. But tomer base is growing. it’s about the best gluten-free is Raillo said he was when the customer says, inspired to experiment innovation: ‘Are you sure this is gluseriously with gluten-free “I want something ten-free?’ ” he said with a by customers who asked smile. him to try his hand at glunew for the Raillo has worked ten-free. In his Chef of the customer.” at several restaurants in Year entry, he emphasized Edmonton, among them the need to get beyond the Parlour Italian Kitchen crust that is “cardboard” in and Buco Pizzeria + Vino, now is master taste and texture.

Achieving the right texture is said by pizzaiolo at Vivo Ristorante where he is many to be the biggest hurdle to making a responsible for “everything related to the pizza” – from choosing the menu and the great gluten-free crust.

But beyond the development stage, style of pizza to ordering ingredients to prewhich involves seemingly endless flour, paring the pies.

ABOVE: Carlo Raillo was inspired to create a gluten-free vegetarian pizza by customers who asked him to try.

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Lifestyle Pizza Carlo Raillo won judges over with his gluten-free, vegetarian pizza.

The Canadian market has seen a significant increase in the amount of consumers that have restricted diets, Raillo says, adding that upwards of 12 million Canadians are already eating vegetarian and nine million are on gluten-free diets.

“I want to show how you can maintain all the goodness of a classic pizza even when you think all hope is lost and you have to eat cardboard with tomato sauce.”

INGREDIENTS Gluten-free crust: • wheat starch • rice starch • potato starch flour • tapioca flour • buckwheat flour

As you might expect, Raillo had already moved on to what he sees as the next big trend – Roman pizza, which he said has several qualities that appeal to customers.

“Roman style is the future,” he said enthusiastically, encouraging me to visit the Polselli flour booth where he was turning out pies as part of a colourful display that included a pizza topped with edible flowers that caught the eye of many visitors.

Roman-style pizza has been gaining ground over the last couple of years, with shops like Ciao Roma in Woodbridge, Ont., Naroma Pizza Bar in Hamilton, Ont., Trilussa in Vancouver, and on a larger scale, the Famoso chain among its purveyors.

Why is there so much interest in Romanstyle pizza? Our chef had a few theories.

“It’s good. It’s different. With Roman style, presentation is very important.”

He compared a typical display of Roman pizza, served in squares “al taglio,” or by the cut, to a colourful cooler full of different gelato flavours adorned with fruit.

“You see this pizza and you just know you want to eat it!”

He said the style is versatile and practical in a fast-casual sort of way. With Roman style, the crust is strong and can hold the toppings. It lasts longer and may

be more appealing to eat the next day compared with Napoletana, for example, which has a soft, delicate crust that is best when eaten immediately.

“Classic or Napoletana style is too chewy – you can’t eat it the next day,” he said. “But the Roman you can make three or four hours ahead and heat it up as it is ordered. “Roman style is soft but crunchy at the same time.”

Ultimately it’s about innovation: “I want something new for the customer.”

“To make a good one is not easy,” he added, hinting at the appeal it holds for him – the thrill of the quest.

Raillo made use of his time at Expo to learn from another master, Massimiliano Saieva, who makes Roman pizza that is, in Raillo’s words, “the best in the world.”

Raillo, a self-described fast learner, said that after learning the basics from Saieva he enjoyed puts his own twist on the techniques. For the innovative chef, it’s all about technique. “Making pizza now is easier,” he says. “You have everything else you need.

The flours, the equipment, the technology.”

Sauce: • pomodorini tomato sauce Toppings: • tomato sauce • mixture of red, yellow, orange peppers, zucchini, beets (sautéed with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and brown sugar) • caramelized white onions • lightly roasted spicy pecans • fresh arugula • goat cheese

I finished our conversation by asking Raillo, who won his first Canadian title with a breakfast pizza, if he sees opportunities for pizza in that meal, considering how young people seem to be reinventing it. He offered this perspective: “I think it’s very hard to push pizza for breakfast. In Naples people eat pizza for lunch. For five or six years now, people in Canada have been eating pizza for lunch, but they took a long time to develop the habit.”

Raillo, who was born in Calabria, Italy, and returns to work at the family pizzeria every August, has a true world view of pizza. “People think there is just one Napoletana pizza but there are 100 different kinds in Italy.” It’s the same with tomato sauce, which comes in a thousand different styles, he said. “There is not just one red sauce.”

Here in Canada, it’s less varied, he said.

However, I get the feeling that, by constantly exploring new culinary territory, Raillo and other creative pizza chefs are turning that truth upside-down. •

For more profiles, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com APRIL/MAY 2017 pizza 17

making dough with Diane

Diane Chiasson re you opening a new pizzeria?

Do you want to refresh your current pizzeria’s marketing plan to ensure it is fully aligned with your customer base?

Developing or revising your business plan is an important step. Competition among pizzerias is fierce, and as part of your business plan, you‘ll need to create an effective marketing strategy to handle this competition. Here are six tips that should be integrated into that strategy.

1. Do research on your competitors: Every restaurant and pizzeria has competitors. Understanding what is unique about your pizzeria will help you put together an effective business and marketing plan. You can do a small analysis of your competition by doing some research on the community in your immediate area. Visit a few local restaurants and pizzerias, examine their services and products, take notes and collect photos of what’s working and what isn’t.

You can develop a competition profile with the names, addresses, hours of operation, menus, prices, themes, décor, website, social media sites, if they are selling any retail products or merchandise – and which items exactly – to build up a picture of what your competitors are doing.

2. Find your target market: The most successful pizzerias know their exact target market and it is important to know this before opening your new pizzeria. If you are an existing pizzeria but have lost sight of your market, then it is important to refocus on this for your marketing. You should be able to identify where your business will come from and the types of customers who may visit and buy from you. Are they families with children, school and college students, the lunchtime crowd, singles, children or seniors? You can find this out by studying the structure of the community and the demographics of the people living

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Six tips for your marketing and business plan in your area. When you have key demogra- 5. Let them know your USP: Once you phic information, start researching trends in have identified your unique selling point, those consumer groups. Has there been an determine what your message should be influx of single, young professionals in the and how to communicate it to your target neighbourhood? How do they decide where audience. It’s time to tell your potential customers precisely why to eat? they should choose your 3. What is your edge? business over your comTry to determine what will Try to determine petitor’s. Make sure you make you stand out from your customers exactyour competition: your what will make tell ly what it is about your edge. For instance, will pizzeria that is so special, your pizzeria open at difyou stand out emphasizing how this sets ferent hours to your comfrom your you apart. Make sure you petition? Will you have the highlight this unique selbest signature item that will competition: ling point in your advertimake you stand out, the your edge. sing copy, in your brochure, best location possible, the on your website and in the best atmosphere, the best content of your social mepricing or unique offerings? dia platforms.

As you check your competitors, pay close attention to whether there 6. Create a monthly calendar: Now it’s is a particular group or need the competi- time to implement everything you have tors aren’t catering to. Look for products researched and determined for your marand services they may not provide, and keting plan. One great way to do that is to consider offering these to attract potential have a monthly marketing calendar. Plan to have all of your yearly marketing activities customers.

4. Identify your unique selling point: A identified ahead of time. Monthly calendars unique selling point, or USP, is what will are a great way to drive consistency and to make your pizzeria different from others ensure you stay focused on your marketing in your area. To stand out in today’s crow- goals. Choose one marketing theme per ded marketplace, you need a strong USP month and feature it on your website, in for your products and services. What sets social media activities and in your monthly you apart from your competitors – some- marketing efforts.

If you’ve done the research and implething you offer and do that nobody else does? What do you think makes your piz- ment your plan consistently, you can’t help zeria unique? Will your offerings help your but improve sales. • customers live better, healthier lives? Will you, for example, offer gluten-free pizza or Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consulnon-GMO sauce? What would make your tants Inc., has been helping food service, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 30 years customers choose your pizzeria in the first by providing innovative and revenue-increasing food place, and why would they choose you service and retail merchandising programs, interior over the competition? Will you offer bet- design, branding, menu engineering, marketing camter service, prices or products? Will they paigns, and more. Contact her at 416-926-1338, tollfree at 1-888-926-6655 or chiasson@chiassonconsulget something they can’t get anywhere else tants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com such as extraordinary customer service?

feature

Smoke signals Food smoking is an artful way to add flavour and it’s not just for protein anymore. Learn how your pizzeria can tap into this hot trend.

BY MICHELLE BRISEBOIS

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Photo courtesy the Weber Grill Academy

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very trend list promoting the big culinary shifts for 2017 lists smoked foods as big news.

Though the smoking of foods has existed since prehistoric times as a method of food preservation, it’s becoming an artful way of adding flavour and it’s not just for protein anymore.

Smoked delicacies popping up on menus include vegetables, sauces and even desserts. Embracing the art of smoking requires something akin to the deft hand of a winemaker using different barrel-aging techniques to impart notes to a wine.

The underlying reasons for this trend seems to be prehistoric conditioning colliding with beverage alcohol trends that rely on wood notes to add depth to the taste profile. We are hardwired to be attracted to those foods that are safe, and because smoking has been used to preserve proteins for thousands of years, we associate a smoky note with “safe to eat.” The smell of the smoke while food is cooking is the prelude to a tasty meal so we’ve also been conditioned like Pavlov’s dogs to read the signal (all puns intended) as a cue for good things to come. As barrel-aged wines and spirits become more and more popular, it’s natural to see the use of wood to flavour foods intensify.

The sensory experience around smoky flavour is a bit different from other “tastes.”

Smoke is detected primarily through the sense of smell with some taste produced by the Maillard reaction, which occurs when heat on a dry surface degrades sugars and amino acids. Sweetness and bitterness are the primary tastes produced. Woodsmoke smells are also associated with fond

Chef Michael Clive advises cooks to trust the timer and let the smoking and grilling happen at the same time. “It’s all about keeping the lid down.”

childhood memories of campfires and vacations. It’s the total package in terms of emotional connection to food.

Chef and about-to-be grill master Michael P. Clive of the Weber Grill Academy in Vaughan, Ont., agrees that fiery notes may be hardwired into our brains. “Grilling foods over wood is the most primitive way to cook,” Clive says. “Maybe it’s in our DNA?” The academy offers workshops and classes for the public so Clive has his finger on the pulse of the consumer mindset around grilled and smoked foods. “Younger consumers are being educated earlier than were previous generations. The millennials have access to lots of media around smoked foods and become accustomed to the wood flavours through wine and scotch consumption,” he says. Though

he agrees that grilling and smoking foods has traditionally had a large foothold with male consumers, he now sees more women excited about grilling and smoking foods at the academy than ever before.

Grilling and smoking are two different techniques. Grilling uses high heat quickly to sear a crust on the outside of the meat to seal in moisture and juices. Smoking (also known as barbecue) abides by the mantra “slow and low.” By not creating a crust, or barrier, to keep out the flavours, the smoke permeates the food and creates a depth of flavour.

“It’s all about keeping the lid down,” Clive counsels. He advises cooks to trust the timer and let the smoking and grilling happen at the same time. “Depending on the woods used, there can be a great continuation of

flavours between the food, the wood and the beverage. Pork ribs mozzarella on top of a pulled pork pizza would pair beautifully with apple wood play nicely together, smoked duck with cherry with a craft beer or barrel-fermented chardonnay. The method wood is lovely, pecan wood with fish brings out a nutty flavour. Of of smoking cheese is different. It’s a cold process (under 90 F to course, maple wood with bacon is classic,” he says. Add a craft beer prevent melting) carried out over a few hours. Aged cheddar with or a barrel-aged whisky or wine and it’s a glorious trifecta of flavour. apple wood, gouda and provolone all lend themselves well to If you’re looking for ways to tap into this trend on smoky notes. your menu, the possibilities are rich. The obvious For a real show-stopper, make the dessert option would be to reach for smoked meats as pizza smoked. Clive features a smoked peach cobbler ‘[Smoked foods] on his workshop roster. “Pineapple, bananas toppings, but let’s look at other ways to play with fire. and peaches are just a few of the fruits that lend sing on their “We love to show workshop participants how themselves to smoking nicely,” he says. own so look to grill pizza dough,” Clive says. “I tell them to And here’s an idea that’s just waiting for some ‘commit to the flip.’ We start by placing the dough pizzeria operator to develop: Chef Clive believes at the entire on parchment and painting it – like Bob Ross – with the theatre around the smoking process should recipe and pick be front and centre for the customer to see. It’s a liberal amounts of olive oil. Carry the dough to the grill and flip it onto the grill in one move and then form of “eatertainment” that adds to the romance of one topping peel away the parchment. After just a few minutes, the process. Beautiful glass cloches could trap the the dough is flipped back over and there are lovely smoke to be removed with a flourish to reveal the to showcase.’ grill marks on the dough.” food transformed.

– Chef Michael In addition to obvious toppings like bacon or Smoking foods may be the most ancient of other meats, vegetables are now being smoked. preparation methods, but it’s a process whose time Clive The chef suggests grilled and smoked tomatoes and has come to shine on menus and to generate sales. onions as a nice way of introducing more flavour.

Perhaps the philosophy and the preparation method Roasted and smoked peppers are lovely too. “Go easy on how many are one and the same: slow and steady wins the race. • smoked toppings you use,” he says. “They sing on their own so look Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceuat the entire recipe and pick one topping to showcase.”

Cheeses lend themselves beautifully to smoking. A smoked tical and financial services industries. She specializes in brand strategies.

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feature

Gaining an edge at Expo Pizza operators found inspiration in new products, creative chef demos and sage advice from industry veterans

BY COLLEEN CROSS

I

f you’re looking to gain an edge for your pizzeria, an industry event is a great place to start.

The International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas is one such event that – like a seasoned pizzaiolo – every year delivers a winning recipe. Anytime you get knowledgeable suppliers, experienced pizzeria operators, new operators and staff, and industry experts in one place at one time, it just works. Throw in a heaping ladle of competition and you can’t fail to take home a morsel of inspiration.

This year was no exception as attendees shopped, bonded with others in the industry and took home new ideas and practical tips. As usual, Canadians were a visible presence on the show floor.

Past Pizza with Purpose winner turned consultant Wayne Rempel of Lacombe, Alta., and buddy John Winterbottom of Papa Baldy’s Pizza in Red Deer, stopped by the Canadian Pizza booth to say hello.

Rempel presented a marketing seminar and Winterbottom was enjoying walking the show floor in search of, among other things, specialized food containers.

John Pizzo and Dean Litster of Windsor, Ont.’s Armando’s Pizzeria said they were enjoying the trade show booths and pointed out several pizza vending machines on display.

Canadian pizza chefs proved their diversity by competing in every category.

Meghan O’Dea of Pi Gourmet Eatery in St. John’s, N.L., who tied for fifth place in our Canadian Chef of the Year competition, placed third in the international region

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Polselli showcased its Super flour, developed for Roman pizza crusts, through a colourful, eye-catching display that included another type of edible flower.

of the Non-Traditional division and sixth overall. Chef of the Year Carlo Raillo of Vivo Ristorante in Edmonton represented Canada well in the Gluten-Free division and runnerup Rodolfo Santo of Gino’s Pizza & Spaghetti in Kingston, Ont., competed like a pro in the Traditional division – his first international competition.

Jason Seitanidis of Matador Steak and Pizza & Steakhouse in Calgary took his western-style pizza to the Pan division, Cristoforo Calabrese of N’ata Cosa Ristorante, St. Catharines, Ont., competed in the Napoletana division and Giuseppe Cortinovis of Hawksworth Group’s Nightingale in Vancouver – last year’s Chef of the Year runnerup – returned to compete in the Traditional.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR OVEN In the demo corner, pizza chefs from around the world satisfied attendees’ hunger for ideas. A whole roasted chicken and other tasty dishes flew in and out of a wood-fired oven as Tim Green shared his ideas for “Making the Most of Your Oven.” Green is a former in-house chef for Wood Stone and current expert at Synergy Restaurant Consultants. Before demonstrating ways to use your oven for more than pizza, he asked attendees to do a bit of business brainstorming: “If you’re looking to add items to your oven, ask yourself why your oven is not full of pizza.”

Green said he likes to roast vegetables both to add flavour and to reduce moisture. Roasting the veggies simplifies the process because it means you don’t need extra items such as spices to add

Past Pizza with Purpose winner turned consultant Wayne Rempel of Lacombe, Alta., and buddy John Winterbottom of Papa Baldy’s Pizza in Red Deer, stopped by our booth to wave the Canadian flag.

Tim Green shared his ideas for “Making the Most of Your Oven” while roasting a whole chicken and various vegetables alongside his mouthwatering pizzas.

flavour, he said. Also, it’s better than putting vegetables on a pizza raw and risking that they’ll remain partially raw. Tomatoes are good candidates for roasting and make great additions to pasta dishes. This kind of communal cooking creates what Green called “theatre” for your customers as they anticipate your dishes based on sight and smell.

pizzerias before founding fast-casual franchise Persona Wood Fired Pizzeria in Santa Barbara, Calif., said that at some point every menu stops working. When that happens, he recommends a tough-love approach: “If it’s not selling, drop it.”

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR INGREDIENTS Away from the ovens and up in the classroom, Glenn Cybulski provided solutions to the industry-wide goals of reducing waste and keeping your menu fresh by sharing several “New Uses for Old Ingredients.” Cybulski, who operated three independent

To shake up your menu, the veteran pizza operator suggested focusing on one ingredient to see what you can do with it. A helpful strategy is to offer new items with the change in seasons, for special events and on holidays, he said, citing Persona’s Thanksgiving and Dungeness crab pizzas (the latter available for one month only) as examples of this strategy. This creates anticipation, builds your brand and generates revenue.

Start by identifying your down time, which for many pizzerias

HOW TO OPEN A FINANCIALLY SUCCESSFUL PIZZA & SUB RESTAURANT The explosive growth of pizza and sub shops across the country has been phenomenal. Take a look at these stats: Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or about 350 slices per second. Pizza is a $32+ billion per year industry. Pizza restaurant growth continues to outpace overall restaurant growth.

Pizzerias represent 17 per cent of all restaurants. Pizza accounts for more that 10 per cent of all food service sales. Here is the manual you need to cash in on this highly profitable segment of the food service industry.

This book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of the restaurant. This superb manual should be studied by anyone investigating the opportunities of opening a pizza or sub restaurant. It will arm you with everything you need including sample business forms, leases, and contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; sample menus; inventory lists; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, time-saving tools of the trade that no restaurant entrepreneur should be without.

APRIL/MAY 2017 pizza 23 pizza book june 15.indd 1

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is from 2 to 5 p.m. Everyone should be testing new recipes CHOOSING THE RIGHT POS SYSTEM when things are slow, he said. Although it’s unwise to add an With so many suppliers of ingredients, tools, equipment, technology and services out there, choosing a point-of-sale system item to your menu before it is tested and gets a can be a daunting task. Dan Collier’s seminar made great response, you should freely experiment that task a little lighter by sharing his approach to and consider targeting customers of a certain age Canadian pizza choosing a POS system. In his former role as gengroup or geographic area as a test group. eral manager of a Southern California pizza chain Using ingredients you already have will help and his current role as owner and operator of Pizchefs proved reduce food costs, Cybulski said, and appetizers zaMan Dan’s with eight locations, Collier has been are a relatively simple way to do that. their diversity through the “painful” process three times.

Even franchisees need to look for new ideas, He suggested “embracing the pain” of choosing by competing in a new he said, tossing out a few appetizer ideas to system and putting in time on the front end the audience. Bruschetta, which mainstream every category. to ensure you get what you need.

Choosing a system is a personal, subjective restaurants make for $1 and sell for $12, is a highdecision, he said. The first step is always to talk profit item. Mini-calzones drive both dessert and to a system provider’s sales staff, but it’s important happy hour sales – dessert fillings include peanut butter, strawberry and nutella. You use a two-ounce dough ball to go deeper and get answers to your questions from a technical and they take about three minutes to prepare – one minute to expert. Use a checklist (such as the 100-item sample list he bake in a wood-fired oven. Other ideas include garlic knots and provided attendees), ask a lot of questions, choose your mustcheesy bread sticks made with leftover dough and pepperoni haves from that list and insist on having them.

A commonly cited problem is that many POS systems are crisps. The crisps, served with a chipotle or ranch dipping sauce, go over well, he said, adding that 25 pepperoni slices baked for not pizza-specific and therefore not equipped to handle the way pizza orders come in. One helpful feature that can save you a lot about 30 seconds should do the trick.

Cybulski also suggested making sauces and salad dressings of money is “ideal inventory,” he said. Most systems have it but from scratch, arguing the practice is cost-effective for most not every company representative knows how to train pizzeria pizzerias. “If you make it from scratch, they will come,” he said. staff to use it.

Because it takes a lot of work to input ideal inventory, 24-hour In conclusion, he said there is no single answer for everyone: “The answer depends on your restaurant, your menu, your customer service goes hand in hand with its success. Systems go down at inconvenient moments and the technical experts you ingredients.” need are not usually found at the end of the phone line.

Collier invited volunteers from the audience to share what they want from a POS system and what their experience has been with their current system. One operator put ease of inputting and scalability for an expanding operation at the top of his list. He wanted the freedom to choose his own payment system without being tied to a provider who is partners with the POS company.

Integration with existing computer programs such as accounting NOW AVAILABLE spreadsheets was important to another operator who didn’t want to constantly rekey data.

The bottom line? Identify your must-haves and insist on getting them.

Trade show floor highlights included Angel Pasta’s brightly Beef Pepperoni, Julienne Cut Chicken, Beef Crumble, Beef Sausage, Veggie Pepperoni and more... coloured orzo, couscous and gnocchi in such specialty flavours as lemon pepper and Tuscan tomato; promotional Tri-Box cardboard carriers to keep multiple pizza boxes level; wind flags and trashcan covers from Ameramark; Glodome’s solarand wind-powered illuminated car rooftop signs; Pizza Packet portioned spices; Lloyd Pans Detroit-style pizza pans with holes to let the steam escape; and ready-to-use piadinas, or traditional Italian flatbreads, from Riccione Piadina.

On the equipment side, Dynamix was displaying its Italforni ovens and Hobart presented its HL662 60-quart mixer featuring 2.7-horsepower motor and heavy-duty variable frequency drive.

Look for briefs on these products at www.canadianpizzamag. com and in future new products pages. •

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For more pizza industry insights, visit www.canadianpizzamag.com

Giorgio’s corner

Why it’s important to customize Giorgio Taverniti e live in an age when customizing anything and everything is expected. The customer in each of us always wants businesses to cater to our every need.

We want to personalize everything to make the product or service one of a kind. We want to be our own chefs or artists by choosing what we want and having it turn out great.

This is sheer satisfaction from the consumer side; however, from the business side it can be very challenging and potentially mean a loss of profit if not done wisely. As a business owner you want to be able to offer everything, stay on top of trends and never say the dreaded word: No. Allowing diners to customize their orders can set your business apart from others, make you a fan favourite and keep you current and trendy. Custom menus, toppings and specials can drive sales and satisfaction through the roof.

“I’ll have my special, please!” That’s what I hear from almost every customer.

They have their own dish they helped create and they love it. I allow my menu to be almost 100 per cent personalized by each person who orders. My motto is this: “If we have it in house, then it can be made.” Even if it’s not on the menu, I will make it as long as I have the ingredients.

I allow them to personalize their pasta, sauce, pizza and toppings, and to have their calzone fried or baked. I believe everyone should get exactly what they want made exactly the way they want it.

I give them as much freedom to create their own dish as possible.

People appreciate the custom pizza or pasta option, but as much as I love to offer it, it has its pros and cons. We let you make a pizza with different toppings on each half for sharing. We let

W

26 pizza APRIL/MAY 2017

you make a pizza minus the sauce, add when deciding where to celebrate their bacon, hold this or that. We rarely say occasion.

This is one aspect of your business it can’t be done. The customers love it because it allows them to be their own where a custom menu can set you chef and gives them a level of pride when apart from other restaurants. Rather than having a set menu their creations turn out and offering only the beautifully. This flexibility one or two options your also sets my restaurant Allowing diners competitors do, ask apart from others that your customers what don’t allow substitutions to customize they want. Build a menu or custom items at all.

Although customizing their orders can special menu for their event that includes items gives an added special touch and satisfaction, it set your business you might not usually have in stock or make but can also delay preparation apart from can and will just for them. of the dishes and overall others Providing these choices service flow. Custom will show them the range orders take longer to of dishes you can offer – order and to make. and trust me, they will How do we gauge if we are over-customizing and whether or remember for future parties. It also not it is the best option for our products, allows them to work within what they service and business? Customer feedback had in mind for their menu and budget.

Yes, this custom-built menu will take can help your decision-making process.

However, it’s also a good idea to strike more effort and time, but the benefit to a healthy balance between customizing your pizzeria is undeniable. People will recognize your extra effort and – in my and sticking to your menu.

This is where as business owners experience – choose your establishment you need to decide which custom over another as you’re showing you options you offer benefit both you and care about what they want. There may the customer and which options derail be some items you are not able to offer, the process. Once you evaluate what such as a half-baked and half-fried you will offer and what you won’t, it’s calzone (yes I have been asked for this important to relay this to customers in a before).

However, the fact that you have an positive way. Don’t say, “No we can’t do that,” but rather, “We can’t do that, but open decision-making process speaks volumes to clients and will ensure we can offer this.”

Last but not least, we cannot they want your business and food for forget about creating special menus their event. • for special events. Anniversaries, birthdays, showers and special dinners Giorgio Taverniti owns Frank’s Pizza House in Toronto, are important events in life that always which has been in his family since 1990. A graduate of George Brown College’s culinary management and requires food. Correction: amazing Italian culinary programs, Giorgio helped found a food! Ideally you want your business popular pizza-making workshop at the college and ran to be the first place someone thinks of it for three years.

www.wowoven.com

Contact your local repesentative to arrange a demonstration MARITIME PROVINCES Flanagan Agencies, Inc. Moncton, New Brunswick 506.387.8757 Fax: 506.387.8750 sales@fai.ca

QUEBEC Distex M&M, Inc. St. Laurent (Quebec) 514.382.3620 Fax: 514.382.7837 info@distex.ca

ONTARIO Distex M&M, Inc. 905.565.5992 or 1-800.645-7324 Fax: 905.565.5992 info@distex.ca

MANITOBA and SASKATCHEWAN Simpson Wilson Ltd. Winnipeg, Manitoba 204.632.6941 or 1-800.342.3626 Fax: 204.633.9254 cam@simpsonwilson.com

ALBERTA Bert Johnson Ent., Ltd. (BJE) Calgary, Alberta 403.870.4763 Fax: 403.287.7788 Calgary: dave@bje.cc Alberta: erin@bje.cc

BRITISH COLUMBIA Distex M&M, Inc. Port Moody, BC 778.989.3620 cvandenhoven@distex.ca

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