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Conzo’s Pizza of Toronto serves up New York style

Register for Pizza Summit East Oct. 24 – details inside!

P. 14 Fresh pasta and gnocchi P. 16 Pizza Summit West highlights

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July/August 2022 Vol. 28, No. 4

DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Editor Take-and-bake

8 Industry News Legislation and news you can use

12 The Pizza Chef The Great Debate

18 Making Dough

10

How to increase your average cheque

22 Tools of the Trade New products

23 Recipe Everything Bagel

ONLINE

PHOTOS: CANADIAN PIZZA (COVER); TIM UR/ADOBE STOCK (12); CASA MIA RISTORANTE (14)

World Bread Awards to debut at IBIE in September Tiptree World Bread Awards will be held at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE), held Sept. 17-22, in Las Vegas. The awards consist of 15 categories, including Sourdough, Baguette, Challah and Pretzel.

Entries may be submitted via the website from now until Sunday, Sept. 4. For more information, visit canadianpizzamag.com.

ON THE COVER Conzo’s Pizza in Toronto serves New York-style pizza and gets lots of love from its Bloordale neighbourhood as the team builds a close relationship with local youth, charities and other businesses. See page 10.

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

CONTENTS COVER STORY

10 Neighbourhood pizzeria Conzo’s Pizza of Toronto serves up New York-style pizza with a community-first model

By Colleen Cross

12

14 Fresh pasta and gnocchi Carrying on the cultural traditions of Italy with seasonal updates

By Karen Barr

16 The wild west The first Canadian Pizza Summit West revealed innovative and fresh takes on pizza in B.C.

By Colleen Cross

14

20 Chef of the Year rules Calling all pizza makers! Here are details about the competition happening in person at Pizza Summit East in Toronto in October

30 Organ Stop Pizza Last remaining pizza and pipes restaurant in U.S. marks 50 years in business

CanadianPizzaMag.com

3

FROM THE EDITOR

BY COLLEEN CROSS

July/August 2022, Vol. 28, No. 4

Take-and-bake here to stay

C

anadian company PizzaForno is adding take-and-bake pizzas to its existing vending machines that bake thin-crust pizzas in three minutes.

Let that sink in. This is a company conceived and begun well before the pandemic to serve customers wanting freshly made pizza quick and 24-7 (a demand that even the late-night joints couldn’t match). It now is banking on those customers wanting all those same elements — with the caption of finishing the pizza at home.

Here’s how the machines work: A robotic arm takes the customer’s selection from the refrigerated section of the pizza kiosk and moves it into the patented oven, where it is baked, boxed and served. The pizzas cost $11-14.

The 10-foot by 10-foot kiosks can be found adjacent to restaurants and convenience stores, and within food courts and gas stations.

The company backed up this move with Neilsen research which suggests nearly 75 per cent of Canadian households have purchased a bake-at-home pizza since March 2021.

As human pizza makers and pizza purists, you may scoff at the notion of vending machine pizza or be skeptical that its quality can stand up to that of a human-made pizza. The point is this: PizzaForno sees take-and-bake as an avenue of growth.

It makes sense if you think about the explosion in popularity of small backyard wood-burning ovens, which excite some professional chefs as much as the amateurs. People needed to cook at home, got in the habit and found they liked the feeling of satisfaction and creativity.

2020 was the year of independents selling their pizzas or pizza kits in frozen or in some cases fresh form from your stores, in grocery stores, at markets. It was the year of getting your pizzas to the people by any means possible.

If you aren’t offering a fresh or frozen takehome option, it’s worth thinking about. If nothing else, it’s an option for reaching customers

that will drive an hour to taste your signature pizza.

Take-and-bake pizza is far from a new concept, of course. Many operators have been offering it for 20 years now. No doubt many more provided the option to customers who were spending a lot of time in their homes during pandemic periods of lockdown and craving a restaurant-like experience. The idea of cooking high-quality, professionally made food at home and getting insight into how the food is prepared is one reason some people enjoy making meal kits like those from Hello Fresh and Goodfood.

Automated pizza machines, robot or kiosks are a trend that seems here to stay. In the U.S. Piestro just announced it will pilot its “Piestro Pod” in the Las Vegas flagship location of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop location. Capriotti’s plans to buy up to 100 more kiosks to gain sales beyond their lunchtime sandwich crowd.

It’s amazing to think how far pizza has come over the years in terms of quality, convenience and variety. While I did not experience what some call the golden age or first wave of traditional pizzerias of the 1950s through the 1970s, I do recall the pleasure of eating even a rubbery mini pizza freshly nuked at the Langton, Ont., arena between skating practices, the fun of making the early Chef Boyardee pizza kits at home as a kid, the delight of going to Fluffy’s with my high school friends (and waving at the monster mascot in the parking lot), and the wonder of discovering the many styles and traditions of pizza among pizza chefs and operators since becoming editor of this one-of-a-kind magazine.

I shake my head in wonder at how this dish remains ever popular, shareable and versatile.

May it always be so.

Here’s to the joyous return to normal of pizza making, baking and taking and partaking in person at your pizzeria with high spirits and healthy margins. | CP

READER SERVICE Print and digital subscription inquiries or changes, please contact Angelita Potal, Customer Service Administrator Tel: (416) 510-5113 Fax: (416) 510-6875 Email: apotal@annexbusinessmedia.com Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 EDITOR Colleen Cross ccross@annexbusinessmedia.com 519-429-5227 SALES MANAGER Stephanie Jewell sjewell@annexbusinessmedia.com 705-826-2254 ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Kathryn Nyenhuis knyenhuis@annexbusinessmedia.com 416-510-6753 AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Anita Madden amadden@annexbusinessmedia.com 416-510-5183 MEDIA DESIGNER Curtis Martin GROUP PUBLISHER, VP SALES Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexbusinessmedia.com

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canadian_pizza_magazine July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

At Lesaffre, we understand baking challenges—and how to help you solve yours. Start by joining our team of bakers at one of our three U.S. Baking Centers, each equipped for specific applications. Our Pizza Innovation Center in Chicago houses a dough room and seven different pizza ovens to take you from concept to launch. At our Milwaukee Baking Center, we make every major yeast-raised product using commercial baking processes. And at our East Coast Baking Center in New Jersey, we develop custom solutions for clean label ESL and fortification.

Lesaffre Baking Centers are staffed with master bakers and expert food scientists skilled in the formulation of pizza dough, flatbreads, tortillas, laminated dough, artisan style bread, par-bake, frozen dough, and more.

Let Lesaffre create a tailored solution that works for you. Get in touch and let’s start solving.

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ON THE WEB Chicago’s Pizza Twist opening soon in Abbotsford, B.C.; Hundreds of students ejected from N.S. immigration fast track after province abruptly changes rules; Mici Italian announces new look and rebranding | FOR MORE PIZZA NEWS, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com

DAIRY PRICES

Canadian farm gate milk prices to increase for second time in 2022, effective Sept. 1

CHEF OF THE YEAR WEST

Luca Colasanti named Chef of the Year at first Pizza Summit West Luca Colasanti of Mordimi Bite of Italy in Vancouver (left, being photographed by Andy Finlayson) was crowned the first Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year West when we took our well-established Chef of the Year competition west for the first time to British Columbia.

Colasanti’s winning pizza, Fighissima, won over judges at the first Canadian Pizza Summit West, held June 6 at Snow Cap Enterprises in Burnaby. Steven Che co-owner and head chef with Wild Flour Pizza Co. in Burnaby earned second place for his butter paneer pizza. Andy Finlayson, owner of 70 Pizzeria/Rebellious Tomato, which features a dual 8

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menu of traditional and more creative pizzas in North Vancouver, took third place for his Detroit-style pizza.

Colasanti wins a trip to Las Vegas Pizza Expo in 2023 to compete in the International Pizza Challenge, a set of Modernist Pizza books and a cover story in Canadian Pizza magazine.

Che wins a cash prize of $300 and Finlayson wins a cash prize of $200 for their efforts. All will be recognized in Canadian Pizza magazine. Read more about the Summit in this issue and a profile of Colasanti in a future issue.

Canadian Pizza wishes to thank host and platinum sponsor Snow Cap Enterprises for opening up its innovation centre for the event, gold sponsor Ardent Mills, bronze sponsor EM Bakery Equipment, who also provided an Esmach Bakestone oven for the competition, and delegate bag sponsor KIS Paper.

The Canadian Dairy Commission will increase the farmgate price of milk for the second time in 2022 in response to a request from the Dairy Farmers of Canada for an increase due to inflation.

In May Dairy Farmers of Canada asked the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) to review the price that farmers get for their milk due to the current inflation.

An important part of the CDC’s mandate is to provide efficient dairy farmers with the opportunity to obtain a fair return for their labour and investment. The CDC therefore agreed to review the request to determine if a price increase was warranted before next year.

After reviewing the points of view expressed during the consultations as well as economic data, the CDC recommends that on Sept. 1, 2022, the farm gate milk price increase by $1.92/hectolitre (less than 2 cents per litre). The increase in producers’ revenues will partially offset increased production costs due to inflation.

Next fall, during the regular price review, the Sept. 1 adjustment will be deducted from any adjustment for Feb. 1, 2023.

The adjustment will increase

by 2.5 per cent on average the price for milk used in the manufacture of dairy products such as milk, cream, yogurt, cheese and butter intended for the retail sector and the foodservice industry. This increase will be reflected in the milk class prices according to a ratio of 60 per cent on butterfat and 40 per cent on other milk components. The net impact on consumers will also be influenced by factors such as transportation, distribution and packaging costs throughout the supply chain. The price paid to farmers is only part of the price paid by consumers.

The new farm milk prices become official once approved by provincial authorities. The CDC provided answers to frequently asked questions relating to this latest decision on its website.

ALTERNATIVE CHEESE

Topper’s Pizza adds lactose-free mozzarella to menu Topper’s Pizza has added lactose-free mozzarella to its menu. The pizza chain, which has 37 locations in Ontario, now offers Galbani Professionale lactose-free pizza mozzarella. In a news release, Topper’s said it is the first pizza chain in Canada to sell offer lactose-free mozzarella.

In a new Angus Reid survey of 1,500 Canadians commissioned

by Topper’s Pizza to get a benchmark on provincial attitudes regarding lactose intolerance and alternative menu items, Ontario led the country with 26 per cent answering yes to having food allergies or sensitivities (including lactose). Additionally, provincial residents topped the nation with sentiments such as: July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTOS: KIBOKA/ADOBE STOCK

INDUSTRY NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS

“I love cheese but can’t take the pain and discomfort” and “I feel excluded when friends or people around me eat cheesy foods or pizza.”

Seven-in-10 respondents said having a lactose free option allows them the freedom to feed their family worry free.

EVENT

Registration open for Pizza Summit East in Toronto Canadian Pizza Summit East and Chef of the Year Competitions will take place Oct. 24 at Faema Canada’s showroom in Toronto, Ont. Register now at canadianpizzamag.com to attend and/or compete for Chef of the Year and a chance to win a trip to compete at Vegas Expo!

See page 13 for details.

PLASTICS BAN

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN FRAY

Canada’s single-use plastics ban singles out food service, says Restaurants Canada The federal government has published final regulations to prohibit single-use plastics including check-out bags, cutlery, food-service ware made from or containing hard-to-recycle plastics, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws (with some exceptions).

On June 20, the federal government announced the published final regulations.

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

The ban on manufacturing and importing these single-use plastics, barring a few targeted exceptions to recognize specific cases, will come into effect in December 2022.

The sale of these items will be prohibited as of December 2023.

The government does not intend to add any items to the list of six.

In removing single-use plastics from the market without enough affordable and sustainable replacement options in place, Restaurants Canada estimated the industry will take on an estimated 125 per cent increase in costs. This does not include the costs associated with the increased demand for such products resulting in supply shortages. Restaurants Canada said it would have appreciated restaurant operators being given more time to source safe and cost-effective packaging alternatives, and to give manufacturers time to produce them.

of fastest-growing breakfast entrees, with these pizzas often featuring classic breakfast ingredients such as eggs, bacon and hollandaise sauce.

The fastest-growing breakfast entrées are breakfast pizza (by a large margin), fish sandwich, breakfast value meals and eggs Benedict/Florentine.

The fish sandwich pulls double duty as a portable and protein-packed breakfast, making it more convenient and health-focused. Classic comfort food offerings Belgian waffle/ waffles and eggs Benedict/ Florentine are also rising on breakfast menus in line with the greater trend of classic comfort food favourites finding momentum during the pandemic.

TRAINING

Pizza Hut Canada’s Equal Slice program offers training Pizza Hut Canada is celebrating the first year of its Equal Slice Program, having supported more than 50 small businesses in Canada. In partnership with Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, the Equal Slice Program provides free education, virtual training and mentorship opportunities specifically to minority, immigrant, Indigenous, and disabled-owned small businesses throughout Canada. Five deserving participants received a $20,000 grant to help grow and strengthen their business. | CP

CUSTOMER RESEARCH

Breakfast pizza fastest-growing breakfast meal, Technomic reports Overall, breakfast items have grown on menus by four per cent in the past year and the fastest growing by far of these is breakfast pizza, Technomic reports in its latest Industry Insights report.

This is a marked improvement from the eight per cent decline in breakfast items from pre-pandemic to today.

As the breakfast daypart starts to show signs of recovery, we’re seeing some creative breakfast entrees alongside tried-and-true classics find momentum.

Breakfast pizza tops the list CanadianPizzaMag.com

9

COVER STORY

Conzo’s Pizza of Toronto serves New York-style with a community-first model

BY COLLEEN CROSS

E

very pizzeria has a story and the story of Conzo’s Pizza in Toronto will make you appreciate your neighbourhood and the people around you.

The bustling pizzeria, along with its partner Italian restaurant, Sugo, next door, is a cornerstone of the city’s Bloordale Village. The neighbourhood, which encompasses Bloor Street West between Dufferin Street and Landsdowne Avenue, is coming back from a rough patch. The highly diverse, mixed-income community is home to restaurants, bars, vintage and thrift shops, and a mix of Portuguese, Caribbean, Italian, Bangladeshi, Vietnamese and numerous populations. It suffered a decline beginning in the 1980s when the drug culture touched many lives.

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Conzo’s started life in 2012 as The Emerson bar and restaurant, run by Conor Joerin and Scott and Michelle Pennock. The Emerson was known for great food and also for its part in a culture of drinking and partying, Joerin tells us on a steamy day in June when we visited.

Wanting to create a pizza place that prioritized health and a positive attitude, Joerin says, “we got busy and changed our work culture.”

Joerin and the Pennocks, worked with restaurant partners Alex Wallen and Lamine Martindale to open Conzo’s in February 2020.

The change in culture started at the top: the drinking stopped and the team developed a healthier outlook. Their employees play a big role in that new attitude. Among others, they hired teenagers and young peo-

ple just out of school who belonged to local gyms and were active on the boxing and jujutsu circuits. Some became professional athletes. Wallen, who was himself an amateur boxer and the restaurant’s bartender, grew up with Joerin in the neighbourhood and Lamine grew up nearby. The new hires include young women, some of whom work in the kitchen.Conzo’s also sponsors professional and amateur jujitsu.

“We were sick of hiring from same pool and promoting the latenight scene,” Joerin says.

One day Wallen went to the gym and said, “Who wants a job?”

“The new approach is working,” Joerin says. “It’s attracting good people. It gives them a fresh start.”

Training people to bake in their custom-made wood-fired oven was tricky but the new hires were keen and eager to learn.

The cornerstone of Conzo’s, the oven was built during renovation using brick from Joerin and Wallen’s July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTO: CANADIAN PIZZA

NEIGHBOURHOOD PIZZERIA

COVER STORY

helped pay the rent to keep their business going. The partners have since built a commissary kitchen that now serves both businesses.

local high school, which was recently demolished to make way for residential development. The idea was to match the existing brick walls they share with partner restaurant Sugo.

To get the bricks, they bribed the contractors with veal sandwiches.

The building of the oven and the work involved in operating it – and training others to operate it – were a surprise to Joerin. “I said, ‘Let’s build a wood-fired oven.’ I like to learn new things.”

Conor says he’d never made pizza in his life. He and the partners talked to the experts. They got advice from Leo Baldassarre of Famiglia Baldassarre, James Carnavale of Bar Ape Gelato and other established and respected businesses.

New York style Joerin describes their pizza as a cross between New York and Italy with lots of crumb in the crust. Their large pizza is 17 inches in diameter and features Sugo’s signature sauce. “Sugo sauce is thicker, lower in acid and features onions and red peppers).

They jar the sauce in house and are working on a co-packing arrangement to make the labour-intensive task easier.

“It’s rewarding. We grew up eating this kind of pizza. Every pizza is different – just like every person is different, I like to say.”

COVID’s impact Conzo’s opened five weeks before the pandemic. So although their idea for a feel-good, positive neighbourhood pizzeria was right for the moment, COVID put on hold their plans for growing their dine-in-only restaurant with a wine bar next door.

“We didn’t get a momentum going,” Joerin says. The pizzeria sat empty for months. “We didn’t want to be a slice shop or do delivery.”

They paused their pizzeria during the early pandemic and started doing a lot of work in the community raising money and donating pizza to emergency workers, the local Lansdowne fire station and other causes.

They set up a group chat among friends calling themselves “The Marinara Boys,” which did a lot of charity work, including donating pizzas to shelters and soup kitchens. “We fed a lot of people who can’t reasonably afford to dine here,” Joerin says. They also did a biweekly cook for the Parkdale Food Bank and Toronto EMS, and their mentor Leo Baldassarre drove lasagna down personally.

While all this was happening, their sister restaurant, Sugo, next door, which had opened in 2018, CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

New York tour Conzo’s pizzas bear names like Little Italy, Margueretta Street, Mama Conzo and Little Manila.

Margueretta Street and Little Manila are top sellers and so is a pizza called Vinny Massimo that features pepperoni, mushroom, onion, jalapeno and basil.

Other tributes include Bitondo, Gigi and Vesuvio’s.

They went to New York City to explore New York-style pizza. Some of their favourites include Lucali, Scarr’s, Prince Street and Giuseppina’s. Impressed with what they learned, they set about creating their own version of New York-style pizza.

They make the dough using local flour over a 48-hour fermentation.

They use a biga/mother dough/poolish/sourdough starter and add to it (not totally sourdough). They add starter to the existing dough. “It’s not technically a sourdough, but it develops good flavour in the dough,” Joerin says.

Conzo’s tour The pizzeria’s warm, orange-brickwalled interior is long and designed to draw the eye back to the oven on the back wall. Featuring a mixture of industrial and schoolhouse lights, the restaurant seats 60-65 people at cosy wooden tables, bar seating for 10 and a smattering of outdoor tables that serve to attract diners.

Joerin takes me through the commissary kitchen, stopping to stir the vat of sauce, introducing me to three

team members working hard. He takes me downstairs to the temperature-controlled dough room, set up to shape and store boules. We look at the walk-in refrigerator where he pulls out the next stack of dough trays to take them to the kitchen. We then step outside where Canadian maple is stacked in neat piles in a protected, caged corner.

It’s important to use the same hardwood so it heats up in a consistent way, Joerin says. Staff take turns chopping wood. Some like it more than others, he adds with a smile, noting that a number of young boxers are used to chopping wood as a training method to build shoulder muscles and technique.

As the shift begins, staff get a pep talk where they go over any questions about the menu or issues from the previous shift. Pizza makers show an easy camaraderie as they reach across the make line to hand over pizzas to Joerin at the oven.

The review Conzo’s got a lot of mileage out of a positive review this spring by David Portnoy, who hosts a popular U.S. website, podcast and YouTube channel called Barstool Sports. Portnoy visited Toronto, sampled a handful of pizzas and posted his “One-Bite Pizza Reviews” on YouTube. That post has received over 593,000 likes.

“It’s been great for our business,” Joerin says.

Joerin, whose family originates from Ireland, is a walking encyclopedia of Toronto pizza knowledge. He is quick to sing the praises of other Toronto pizzerias. Conzo’s menu pays unabashed tribute to a handful of the city’s pioneering pizzerias.

They owe a debt of gratitude to these pizzerias, Joerin says, as he proceeds to recommend other pizzerias we should check out. Plenty of people are recommending Conzo’s as well, which looks set to be part of Bloordale’s rejuvenation. | CP CanadianPizzaMag.com

11

THE PIZZA CHEF

BY DIANA CLINE

Diana Cline is an award-winning pizza chef, a partner with Diana’s Cucina & Lounge in Winnipeg. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating operational systems and marketing to help operators grow their business strategically. Contact her at diana@dianascucinaandlounge.com.

The Great Debate just got up-levelled

M

ove over pineapple, we’ve got something new to argue about, over, and over, and over

again.

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock the past few years, you’ve no doubt been exposed to the great debate: does pineapple belong on pizza? It’s such a highly discussed topic that no matter what social media platform you’re on, there’s bound to be a fresh post and a thread with highly opinionated individuals discussing their viewpoints.

I suppose it’s all good. I mean, if you’re wanting to increase engagement on your pizzeria’s social media pages, by all means, ask the question.

The algorithms eat that up, literally, and soon you’ll find people from all over the world drawn to your page(s) to debate, argue, and possibly even insult each other over what really comes down to a personal preference. It’s one thing to like a composite of ingredients that create a meal, but it’s quite another to force someone to eat something they don’t want to. Or push someone to eat something they’d otherwise not be opposed to eating, but only if it’s prepared and cooked – or not cooked – a certain way. Unless, of course, we’re talking about some reality show, where contestants have signed waivers and agreed to eat whatever is put in front of them for a particular challenge and a chance to win big money.

In the past six months we’ve seen a new ingredient make its way into the North American food industry. It may be found in snack foods and also is available as a powder, presumably to add to homemade meals.

What is it? Crickets.

No longer reserved for fancy enrobed chocolates and candies, crickets are the new featured ingredient, as the world’s largest cricket-process12

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OPTIONS FOR SERVING CRICKETS ON PIZZA: Use as a topping, in their original form.

Mix them into a pizza sauce.

Prepare using herbs and spices.

Do not serve on a pizza.

ing facility has recently come online in London, Ont. It’s said that its main purpose is to provide a new, sustainable form of protein for the pet food market, hoping to produce 13 million kilograms of cricket protein annually.

It looks like it’s here to stay, and likely won’t be limited to selling to the pet food industry. Citing issues with traditional protein and the impact of livestock agriculture on the environment, crickets check all the boxes for sustainability. And, earlier in July, the federal government announced it was investing up to $8.5 million into the London facility.

It may surprise you to know that in many parts of the world, insects are part and parcel of a healthy daily diet. A few years ago, a good friend, Tony Gemignani, judged a pizza competition in Mexico and was presented with a number of pizzas topped with insects. He was a bit taken aback: I think it was his first time being served insects on a pizza. Also, to be fair, it’s my understanding that they were in their original form. Something so unusual for one person, can be completely normal and natural for another, and honestly, who’s to say what’s normal for whom?

I have friends from all over the world, and have had the experience of judging pizza competitions in It-

aly, Las Vegas and here in Canada, where some extraordinary unique toppings have been used on pizzas.

I’m reminded of one particular competition I judged in Italy that offered many pizzas topped with different ingredients harvested from the sea. These are regional style pizzas, which are great sellers on the pizza chefs’ menus, although I don’t think the same ingredients would go over as well on my menu, in my part of the world. Not to mention, there’s a great cost incurred to keep those key ingredients fresh while on their way to Canada.

Coming back to the great debate: does pineapple belong on pizza? In my opinion it definitely belongs on some pizzas, but it doesn’t belong on all pizzas. That being said, I’ve yet to have anyone call the Cucina and ask for crickets on their pizza or a cricket-crust pizza. It could be super healthy, and, with the right herbs, spices and fermentation, it might even taste decent. I mean, look at cauliflower go. Maybe crickets should be available as a topping, in their original form: crunchy. Maybe they belong in a pizza sauce? Or perhaps, for some, they don’t belong in or on a pizza at all. Imagine all the algorithms going wild over this new, highly debatable question. | CP July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

FEATURE

FRESH PASTA AND GNOCCHI Carrying on the cultural traditions of Italy with seasonal updates

BY KAREN BARR

I

n the competitive restaurant industry, there is a need to differentiate. While patrons dine out for an evening away from cooking, or as a gathering place with friends and family, still others search to enjoy something they do not make at home every day. Homemade pasta and gnocchi are drawing cards.

Casa Mia Ristorante, Niagara Falls, Ont.

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The menu at Casa Mia Ristorante in Niagara Falls, Ont., features handmade gnocchi, cannelloni, ravioli, agnolotti, lasagna, bigoli, rigatoni and many different cuts and shapes of pasta.

Niagara, we have access to farm-fresh eggs. Kneading egg pasta for a long time helps to activate gluten and creates a silky pasta. Proper cooking and appropriate sauces for each shape really makes a difference.”

Summer pasta menu items include homemade rigatoni, with shrimp, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes. Another favourite is bottarga, or conchiglie with the Italian cured meat guanciale, snow peas, pecorino Romano cheese and mint.

In the fall, pappardelle with a wild mix of mushrooms, includes porcini, oyster mushrooms and chanterelles.

Butternut squash ravioli, with brown butter sage sauce, gets a hint of sweetness, through amaretti cookie crumbs.

Pasta dishes become heartier in the winter. “We like to make Bolognese, with lasagna, or any egg noodle. We July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTOS: CASA MIA RISTORANTE

At Casa Mia Ristorante, in Niagara Falls, Ont., Chef Luciana Mollica oversees the kitchen. “I want every guest to feel welcome, like a friend that has been invited into my home for dinner,” Mollica says. Guests can choose to dine in the intimate dining room, the casual bar, the private garden room, or even the wine library.

Luciana purchased the business with her husband, Genesio, and son Domenic more than 30 years ago. Their son Claudio is also part of the family business. “We proudly continue to produce fresh homemade pasta to carry on cultural traditions from Italy, brought here by my parents,” he says. “It creates an authentic, delicious, and memorable dining experience for our clients. This helps us stand out in the marketplace, while satisfying our passion, and fulfilling our guests’ needs.”

In the kitchen Luciana, Genesio and Claudio all work together. “We hand create gnocchi, cannelloni, ravioli, agnolotti, lasagna and many different cuts and shapes with our pasta machine,” Claudio explains. “These include spaghetti, linguine, fettucine, pappardelle, super-fine lengths of fini fini, thick strands of bigoli, rotini, rigatoni, and shell-shaped conchiglie. We make 50-60 kilos of pasta here each week. We use a motorized pasta machine, which has a stainless-steel hopper or mixer, for us to add our flour and eggs, which gets extruded through bronze dies.”

Claudio says the secret to making perfect pasta starts with quality ingredients. “We use 00 flour, semolina, all-purpose flour, or ancient grains like faro or kamut. In

FEATURE

make our own Bolognese with the trim from beef, and veal tenderloin, or ground wagyu beef.

In the spring, the pasta menu lightens up. Bigoli with wild ramps, wild morel mushrooms and asparagus is a highlight. Another popular dish is spring pea and ricotta filled agnolotti, with Atlantic lobster, butter sauce and Parmigiano.

Valley Restaurant, St. Catharines, Ont. Tucked away in a residential area of west end St. Catharines, in the Niagara region, sits the 70-seat Valley Restaurant. Close to Sunset Beach, it draws locals, and visitors on weekend retreats to wine country. The restaurant has been around for 60 years. Initially, a beachside hamburger joint was extended into an Italian restaurant. Allan and Nadia Sawatsky bought the restaurant five years ago.

The couple was inspired by their travels to Italy, combined with a love of the local ingredients in lush Niagara.

Nadia, who develops all the recipes, added handmade pasta and gnocchi to the menu, upon purchasing the restaurant. “When making fresh pasta, you can’t rely on a recipe. It is completely dependent on the weather. Sometimes, you need more water, other times it’s more flour. Making the perfect pasta is all about years of experience. All our pastas are made by hand. We don’t use anything packaged,” Nadia says.

There are always two people on the team of nine, including Nadia, who share the task of making fresh pasta daily, as well as the restaurant’s bread and desserts. Using an electric machine they make spaghetti, penne and linguine, both plain, and the lemon pepper variety. For fettuccini and orecchiette, they use a manual machine with a turn and crank handle.

A pasta menu favourite is classic lasagna with meat, and three kinds of cheeses, including ricotta, Parmesan and mozzarella. Spaghetti CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

For its pasta, Casa Mia Ristorante uses 00 flour, semolina, all-purpose flour, or ancient grains like faro or kamut.

with meatballs, crafted from pork, beef, and veal, have a house-made tomato sauce. An elevated spaghetti is the Spaghetti Nero. Here the pasta is made with squid ink. Additional seafood added consists of clams, mussels, scallops, jumbo shrimp, and squid, which are cooked in a lemon, white wine sauce, with a hint of chilies, to round out the flavourful dish.

Spinach ravioli envelopes spinach and ricotta cheese, in a sage tomato and Gorgonzola cream sauce, with crispy pancetta. Then, there is the house-rolled, portobello-stuffed cannelloni, baked, and topped with truffle cream reduction sauce.

Potatoes are cooked a day in advance to cool and rest, before being made into gnocchi. “With gnocchi, we want it to be light and pillowy. It can’t be overworked,” Nadia advises. The gnocchi, with a Gorgonzola cream sauce, pancetta and sundried tomatoes, is a menu favourite.

La Roma, Ottawa At La Roma restaurant, in Ottawa’s Little Italy, they still make pasta and gnocchi by hand, just like they have for the past 40 plus years. Every week, Ian Cherry and his assistant Courtney Pearl, who also creates all the pastry, make up 15-20 kilograms

of fresh pasta. This includes basics like fettuccini, penne, sheets for lasagna and ravioli. Ear-shaped orecchiette, handkerchief-shaped fazzoletti and twisted gemelli are also part of the mix. What is the secret to perfect pasta? “Lots of flour, quality ingredients and patience,” Cherry says.

In the dining room, La Roma’s head chef, Ilya Dyagilev, has the task of transforming the pasta into delectable menu items in the winter, which may be ravioli with braised beef, in a rose cognac sauce. Handmade lasagna is turned into a dish when layered, with a meat sauce of pork, veal and beef, along with béchamel, Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

In the summer, Dyagilev lightens the menu with a tossed dish of gemelli, with sundried tomatoes, olives, garlic, basil and slivered almonds and aglio olio. Fettuccine Pescatore consists of shrimp, scallops, mussels and crab meat all in a velvety rose sauce.

Gnocchi is served in a light tomato sauce, topped with their own fresh ricotta and sprigs of basil.

While La Roma is a fine-dining restaurant, they also have a takeaway menu for a more casual dining experience at home. Lasagna for Two or handmade gnocchi in packages is available, along with a number of bottled sauces. Fozzoletti for Two is stuffed with ricotta and spinach, in a tomato béchamel sauce, with Parmigiano and mozzarella cheese.

La Roma also sells a Date Night for Two package. It contains handmade gnocchi, tomato sauce, whipped ricotta, crostini, marinated olives, two loaves of par-baked olive bread, cannoli and even cooking instructions.

Adding fresh pasta and gnocchi to restaurant menus brings the authentic flavour of Italy to your restaurant and the palate of your customers. | CP Karen Barr writes about arts, culture and cuisine. She is a graduate of George Brown College and is a Red Seal pastry chef.

CanadianPizzaMag.com

15

EVENTS

Canadian Pizza Summit headed West in June to sample some of B.C.’s finest pizza and friendliest operators

BY COLLEEN CROSS

B

ritish Columbia is home to some of the most creative pizza chefs in Canada as the Canadian Pizza team learned when we took our well-established Chef of the Year competition west for the first time to Burnaby, B.C.

The pizzas Luca Colasanti of Mordimi Bite of Italy in Vancouver is the first Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year West.

Colasanti’s winning pizza, Fighissima, won over judges at the first Canadian Pizza Summit West, held June 6 at Snow Cap Enterprises in Burnaby. Fighissima’s crust featured a mixture of three organic flours from Italy, including double-zero and spelt 16

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flour. The dough is made using a biga that is fermented for 48 hours. Colasanti said that the combination of different flours helps make the crust light with a fantastic crunchy effect.

It featured a red sauce base, fior di latte cheese topped with colourful purple fresh figs, coppa piacentina DOP (Protected Designation of Origin), shaved piave DOP and fresh arugula.

Colasanti’s idea was to bring a taste of summer as the season begins.

Steven Che co-owner and head chef with Wild Flour Pizza Co. in Burnaby earned second place for his butter paneer pizza featuring a Makhani gravy base consisting of the pizzeria’s house-blended garam masala, ripe California plum toma-

toes, butter and cream. It was topped with caramelized onions, paneer (an acid-set cheese made from cow or buffalo milk) and mozzarella cheese.

Andy Finlayson, owner of 70 Pizzeria/Rebellious Tomato, which features a dual menu of traditional and more creative pizzas in North Vancouver, took third place for his Detroit-style pizza.

Colasanti wins a trip to Las Vegas Pizza Expo in 2023 to compete in the International Pizza Challenge, a set of Modernist Pizza books and a cover story in Canadian Pizza magazine.

Che wins a cash prize of $300 and Finlayson wins a cash prize of $200 for their efforts. All will be recognized in Canadian Pizza magazine.

A small group of creative and competitive pizza makers brought their creative pizzas from Vancouver and area: • Hiten Gupta, owner of Pizza Mantra, Langley • Aaron Gehrman, director or Emilio Finatti Pizzeria with three July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTOS: DAVID JUDD/CANADIAN PIZZA

BEST OF THE WEST

EVENTS

locations in White Rock, Langley and Port Coquitlam • Erik Johnson, manager of Emilio Finatti Pizzeria Langley • Natanael Gammarota, owner of Natalino’s Pizza in Surrey

Tight, pizza-focused trade show More than 40 pizza professionals attended the day-long event, which included several pizza-focused suppliers. Snow Cap Enterprises had on display several of the ingredients and food products the 45-year-old family-owned company, headed by Linda Seiffert, distributes to operators.

Ardent Mills brought its flours and blends to the show, including new gluten-free and keto-friendly blends.

EM Bakery Equipment brought its Esmach Bakestone electric oven, ideal for Neapolitan pizza making, along with its industrial mixer and other labour-saving equipment. Lactalis talked up its line of dairy products, including Galbani Professionale lactose-free pizza mozzarella. Anita’s Organic Mill was on hand to discuss and sample its organic flour blends, including its pizza and pasta flour.

Lesaffre brought its years of yeast expertise to the event to answer chefs’ questions and help them improve their doughs. Newcomer Seaside Paper Products walked attendees through its sustainable packaging options, including a holder designed for by-the-slice pizza.

Serving as judges were Francesca Cavallo of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Canada – West; Martin Barnett, executive director of the Baking Association of Canada; and Francisco Migoya, and Modernist Cuisine head chef and award-winning co-author of Modernist Bread and Modernist Pizza.

Pizza from past to present Chef Migoya delivered a compelling presentation on pizza, past, present CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

Judges were Francesca Cavallo of the Italian Chamber of Commerce, Francisco Migoya of Modernist Cuisine. and Martin Barnett of the Baking Association of Canada.

and future. His presentation included tips and techniques for pizzaioli he and co-author Nathan Myhrvold developed while researching Modernist Pizza, a comprehensive three-book set exploring all things pizza and featuring more than 1,000 recipes.

Migoya delved into what he calls the “murky” story of the origin of the Margherita pizza, noting that the invention of the iconic pizza margherita is perhaps the most widely repeated story in the history of pizza. “In 1889, Italy’s King Umberto I and Queen Margherita were visiting Naples in support of the radical urban-renewal campaign known as the Risanamento. Growing tired of the fancy French cuisine that formed their daily diet, they decided to sample some of the local cuisine, summoning one of Naples’s best pizzaioli. Raffaele Esposito prepared three pizzas, including one he invented with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil. The queen promptly declared it her favorite and thus it became her namesake.”

Esposito’s pizzeria still exists, though it has changed hands several times, Migoya said. Today, it’s called Pizzeria Brandi, and if you visit, you can see a thank-you note signed by an emissary of the royal court, dated June 1889.

In 1880, the Cincinnati Daily Gazette published a story of “Queen Margaret” sampling pizza at the Pal-

ace of Capodimonte in Naples, eight years before the infamous claim by Pizzeria Brandi.

Migoya set the record straight about the origin story, suggesting the chances that any Royal during this time would have eaten food prepared by a commoner are slim, especially during a cholera epidemic. He pointed to Harvard scholar Zachary Nowak research which suggests this is more marketing genius than trueto-life fact.

Migoya described an experiment done at the Modernist Cuisine lab, in which the team made a béchamel sauce that was coloured half black and half white and baked the sauces side by side on their New York-style pizza dough. They observed radiant heat being absorbed on the black half of the pizza, which baked faster, and mainly reflected on the white side of the pizza. As they expected, the volume of the black half was almost twice as high as the white half. Taking this into consideration can help when you make a pizza: if you are baking a darker sauce with the same consistency as a lighter sauce, your baking time will need to adjust from one pizza to the next.

Canadian Pizza wishes to thank our exhibitors and host and platinum sponsor Snow Cap Enterprises for opening up its innovation centre for the event, gold sponsor Ardent Mills, bronze sponsor EM Bakery Equipment, who also provided an Esmach Bakestone oven for the competition, and delegate bag sponsor KIS Paper.

Canadian Pizza Summit East and Chef of the Year Competitions will take place Oct. 24 at Faema Canada’s showroom in Toronto, Ont. Registration opens June 30 at canadianpizzamag.com. | CP

Watch for a profile of Chef of the Year West Luca Colasanti in the next issue of Canadian Pizza and, for more highlights and a photo gallery see canadianpizzamag.com.

CanadianPizzaMag.com

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MAKING DOUGH WITH DIANE

BY DIANE CHIASSON

Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 30 years by providing innovative, revenue-increasing marketing strategies. Contact her at 416-926-1338 or chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit chiassonconsultants.com.

Five easy ways to increase the average cheque at your pizzeria

W

hether you are the owner or manager of a pizzeria, your main objective is to expand your cheque average-boosting portfolio with new strategies to enhance its profitability. To run a successful small pizza operation, you need to know how to boost your profits and increase your average pizzeria revenue. Tracking your cheque average is the first step to improving your bottom line.

Here are five easy ways to increase the average cheque.

1. Take a close look at sales data To get a complete picture of your pizzeria’s financial health, you should start by looking at your pizzeria’s data.

Review your sales numbers, inventory management reports, employee statistics and customer data. Analyze every item on your menu to see what sells and what doesn’t. You must identify your best-selling products (in terms of quantity) for appetizers, salads, chicken wings, pizzas, sandwiches, panzerottis/calzones, garlic breads, dipping sauces, sweet treats, drinks and anything else that you sell. You also need to understand which items are not performing well. You need to know which products are your most profitable items and which products sell well but are not hugely profitable. Finally, keep an eye on your overheads, such as your pizzeria’s administrative, commercial and payroll expenses.

Controlling these overhead costs is extremely important for boosting your pizzeria’s profitability.

2. Re-examine your menu and emphasize the Golden Triangle Menu engineering is critical if you want to increase your sales. Your menu should be a strategic tool you can use to increase revenue quickly.

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UPSELLING VS. CROSS-SELLING Upselling: Enticing customers to buy more expensive items and add-ons to their current order than those most frequently chosen.

Cross-selling: Encouraging customers to purchase complementary items, side items or additional items such as drinks.

You should always draw your customers to more profitable items by including high-margin items in the Golden Triangle. The Golden Triangle is where you should have your high-profit margin items. When customers read a menu, their eyes typically go first to the centre, then the top right, and then the top left. In the restaurant business, this is called the prime real estate area. In addition to proper item placement, you should draw customers’ attention to specific menu items through bolding and italicizing. These small changes will capture your customers’ attention and guide them to specials, product upgrades and add-ons. Remember that when customers are faced with too many choices, they feel anxious and confused and are less likely to decide on or buy a product.

3. Build your staff’s menu knowledge through training Your staff must be well trained to master the cross-sell and to upsell more products without pushing the sale. Staff members should know what they are selling by heart, and you need to train them to know your menu inside out correctly. Upselling entices customers to buy more expensive items or upscale products and add-ons to their current order than those most frequently chosen.

In contrast, cross-selling encourages customers to purchase complementary items, side items or additional items such as drinks.

Train your staff members to know your menu inside out. Each team member should also know how each item tastes. Consider allowing your team to taste the products when introducing a new menu item. Then, show each new product to your staff at a meeting or tasting meeting. It

will be an excellent occasion for all your staff members to meet, taste and share every tip about these new products.

Don’t train your staff to use clichéd phrases like “Something else?”, “Anything to drink?” or “Would you like a pie?” Usually, these phrases don’t sell. Train your staff to give details with affirmative language such as “I recommend our chicken pizza trio, I tried it earlier, and it’s just delicious.” Language is everything when it comes to sales. It’s essential to train your team on how to address your customers when you want to persuade them to order more. Just keep in mind that making recommendations is not trying to push something.

4. Discuss your loyalty program Creating a loyalty or rewards program system will motivate your customers to buy at your pizzeria more often as they get a deal or a freebie.

Over 70 per cent of consumers say they favour companies that offer rewards. You must consider whether to implement a card-based or digital rewards program or both.

5. Invest in online ordering Over the past decade, websites have become a necessity for any small pizzeria operation that wants to boost its sales. Online ordering can significantly increase your revenue. With great tempting food photos and lots of extras to click on, studies show that, on average, online orders are 20 per cent larger than your standard telephone or in-store order. Offer an easy-to-use, streamlined ordering function on your website so customers can quickly get their food products on the go. People spend more ordering online as they have more time to peruse your menu. Just know that customers love customization options when it comes to ordering online. Make it easier for them to tailor their orders with add-ons using a checklist approach. | CP July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

GUEST COLUMNIST

Lizzy Freier is Director, Menu & Research Insights, at Technomic.

BY LIZZY FREIER, TECHNOMIC

2022 Canadian food-service trends midyear update

T

nominal rebound rates have been adjusted to be slightly lower, with limited-service sales projected to grow 7.1 per cent, and full-service sales estimated to grow 20.9 per cent in 2022.

hrough the first half of the year, we have seen operators attempt to do more with less, embrace new operating strategies that balance digital and brick-and-mortar units, emphasize flexibility with menus and continue to adapt the guest experience. Here’s a look at the industry mid-year.

Forecasting the future Canada’s pre-pandemic $95-billion food-service industry was battered by sales losses of nearly 29 per cent as we entered 2021. While COVID-19-related restrictions may directly affect consumer visitation and behaviour in 2022, current Technomic research shows that the new year will also bring an upswing in the Canadian industry’s sales and overall performance. According to our latest data, Canada’s food-service sector is expected to reach $74.8 billion, reflecting roughly a 21 per cent increase over 2021 and just three per cent below pre-pandemic sales levels. Limited-service restaurant sales are projected to rebound at a nominal growth rate of 7.3 per cent, and full-service restaurants are poised to grow sales by a nominal rate of 26.2 per cent in 2022.

Midyear status: As predicted, Canadian food-service sales have begun to rebound in early 2022, with commercial food-service sales up nearly 18 per cent over the last year and indexing showing that industry revenue will be at 97 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022. As COVID-19 restrictions have eased and indoor dining has begun to make a comeback, food-service industry employment has also begun to recover, showing 12 per cent year-over-year growth in February 2022. Predicted CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

Creative menus that embrace flexibility will continue throughout the year.

Leaning into leanness In 2022, expect restaurant chains to accelerate investments into more compact models that service delivery and takeout while operating efficiently with fewer workers on hand.

Look for ghost kitchen outsourcing to emerge as a primary avenue to allow brands to expand without additional spending on real estate. And we’ll continue to watch menus shrink in favour of optimization strategies that help make food prep simpler while reducing costs.

Midyear status: Restaurant chains are balancing investments in traditional expansion and digital operations. As predicted, some operators have been leaning into technology-driven enterprises that focus on delivery and takeout models. On the flip side, rather than getting leaner, many operators have been expanding by opening units in new regions. And despite overall menu items decreasing two per cent year over year, the fact that this is compared to a nine per cent decrease from pre-pandemic to today signals that a slow road to menu recovery may be starting.

Menu pivots Persistent supply chain issues will inspire creativity and require flexibility in 2022. Specifically, quirky preparations of familiar ingredients will allow for exciting menu additions to impart new flavours and/or textures while, in some situations even extending shelf life. Inventiveness with favourite fare will also help operators stand out without overhauling entire menus,

such as pizzas differentiated with global toppings. And because of ingredient shortages and sourcing issues, operators should be ready to carry out menu swaps for more readily available and economical ingredients.

Midyear status: The menu creativity we predicted for this year is already apparent, with innovative preparations (for example, grilled lettuce at Tanto in Toronto) and quirky takes on classics (for example, Mucho Burrito’s Tandoorito featuring tandoori chicken and chutney crema stuffed into a burrito) popping up on menus. We’ve also seen menu swaps when it comes to proteins, with limited-time offers such as Quiznos Canada’s Bison Reuben Sandwich.

With enduring supply-chain issues impacting operators, creative menus that embrace flexibility will continue throughout the year.

All buttered up As the comfort food trend surges on, many operators will turn their attention to butter, a versatile staple ingredient in most kitchens. Flavoured butter will be grounds for endless culinary experimentation, ranging from umami-rich kombu or yeast butters to cocktails featuring herb-infused and browned butters.

Other buttery ingredients such as buttermilk, butterscotch and ghee/ clarified butter will gain attention.

Midyear status: Our predicted butter trends have already made moves in 2022 in the form of funky-flavoured butters (for example, sake kasu butter at Burdock & Co in Vancouver, and Aura in Victoria, B.C.), innovative uses of buttermilk (for example, buttermilk sorbet at Biera in Edmonton, Alta.) and elevated versions of nut butters (for example, hazelnut butter at Toque in Montreal). Given we’ve already seen operators get buttered up, expect further exploration throughout 2022. Additionally, look for innovation with new textures, such as butter powder. | CP CanadianPizzaMag.com

19

PIZZA COMPETITION

Bring your best signature pizza to the Chef of the Year competition at the 2022 Canadian Pizza Summit East!

I

n October, we will host Canadian Pizza Summit Chef of the Year East at Faema Canada’s showroom in Toronto!

Professional pizza makers will compete for the chance to win a trip to Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in 2023. The winner, our Chef of the Year East, will receive a free trip to compete in the International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo!

This partial summary of the guidelines and rules will give you an idea of what to expect when entering Chef of the Year. Please see canadianpizzamag.com for full rules and details.

restaurants that feature homemade (fresh) pizzas. Must be 18 years of age and older. Canadian Pizza employees and their family members are not eligible, nor are employees or representatives of advertisers, exhibitors, other suppliers to the industry or their affiliates.

Should I enter?

What’s at stake?

• Do you love to make pizza? Enter!

• Are you creative? Enter!

• Want to show off your pizza? Enter!

• Owners: Looking for a way to set your pizzeria apart from the rest?

Enter!

• Managers: Want to motivate your employees? Encourage them to enter!

• Want to win a trip to Vegas to compete in the International Pizza Expo? Enter!

• Want to be featured in Canadian Pizza magazine? Enter!

• WINNER: A free trip to compete in the International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in March 2023. Canadian Pizza magazine will feature you on the cover! And of course, an award to display proudly in your pizzeria.

• SECOND PLACE: $300 and an award to display proudly in your pizzeria.

• THIRD PLACE: $200 and an award to display proudly in your pizzeria.

• ALL CHEFS: A certificate to recognize your participation in Chef of the Year.

Prizes!! And rules… who can compete?

Open to owners, managers, chefs and employees of Canadian pizzerias or 20

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How will the competition work? competitors may enter a pizza with

SHOULD I ENTER? • Do you love to make pizza?

Enter!

• Are you creative? Enter!

• Owners: Looking for a way to set your pizzeria apart from the rest?

Enter!

• Pizza makers: Want to show your boss what you can do?

Enter!

• Managers: Want to motivate your employees?

Encourage them to enter!

• Want to win a trip to Vegas to compete in the International Pizza Expo?

Enter!

any combination and number of toppings they choose. There are no restrictions on dough, sauce, toppings or styles. Otherwise, imagination is your only limit!

Entrants have two choices: 1. Make two (2) round pizzas at least 10 inches in diameter. or 2. Make two (2) square/rectangular pan pizzas at least 10 x 14 inches each Competitors will remove the finished pizza from oven, cut it and place it on a plate or tray for the judges. At this time Canadian Pizza magazine will take photos of chef with pizza, then the pizza will be taken to an area to have photos taken of the pizza itself.

Competitors will decide which of the two pizzas will go to the judges.

The second will be given to the audience for sampling.

The pizza will be taken by a runner to the judging area. Here the description of the pizza will be read to the judges (who will each have a written recipe at hand). Staff will cut the pizza and allow each judge to choose a slice (piece). The judges will grade the pizza. Score sheets picked up by organizers at the end of the flight.

Scores will be tallied during the competition by show management and winners confirmed by end of day.

Recipes Chef of the Year competitors must provide their recipe OR a description of their pizza to the organizers by email on or before Oct. 17, 2022, or bring their recipe on paper or cue card to the competition. This inforJuly/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTO: CAREY SHAW, COURTESY CHRISTIE PETERS AND KYLE MICHAEL

CALLING ALL PIZZA MAKERS!

PIZZA COMPETITION

mation will be used during the judging of each pizza. The more information provided, the easier it will be for judges to evaluate each pizza. In entering, competitors give their permission for Canadian Pizza magazine to publish their recipes and descriptions online and in print.

for judging. Failure to adhere to time restrictions or to clean up in a presentable fashion will result in an automatic deduction of three (3) points on each judge’s scorecard.

Who will judge my pizza?

appetizing, correct preparation, etc.)

• Creativity (innovation in ingredient preparation and use, wow factor) • Presentation (visual appearance) Important: Please see full rules at https://www.canadianpizzashow.ca/ for more details and to know what to bring and what will be provided.

Sign up for our online enewsletter at canadianpizzamag.com for timely updates and eblasts.

The judging panel will be made up of WINNER: impartial culinary experts that may A free trip to include chefs, food critics and others Time compete in the Competition prep and presentation in the industry. The judges’ names International Pizza at Pizza times will be emailed to competi- and biographies will be published in Challenge Expo in March tors a week prior to the competition. advance.

2023 and a cover story in Canadian Pizzas will be scored on the folSee the Schedule on the main page Pizza magazine! of the Summit website for a general lowing criteria: How do I register?

Brand Culture Marketing & Promotions 3365 Hargrove Road | Mississauga Ontario | L5L 4E6 SECOND PLACE: rundown of the day’s activities. Each • Bake (not burnt, undercooked, Competition registration is on a first $300Cell: 416 930 0740 etc.) – judged independently of chef will have 30 minutes to assemcome, first served basis. The deadline THIRD PLACE: ble and bake their pizzas. Chefs willREVISION: FAother criteria DATE: JULY 18, 2022 for entries is Oct. 10, 2022. Any enRI22-003 CLIENT: Reuven International COLOUR: CMYK $200 • Crust (texture, flavour, appearbe timed by Pizza Summit staff. InDOCKET: tries after Oct. 10 must be approved PROJECT: Reuven Beef Pizza Ad TRIM SIZE: 7” x 5” ance, crumb, addition, each contestant will beDESCRIPTION: Canadian by show management. Register onBLEED SIZE: n/a Pizza 1/2 page horizontaletc.) ad - ENGLISH REqUIRED: Julycomple2022 LIVE AREA: .25 margins Toppings (do theDATE flavours required to clean up their assemblyCONTACT:•Alicia Bruyea line now to attend the event or comment each other? Bland, strong, space prior to presenting the pizza pete at canadianpizzashow.ca/. | CP

BEEF TIME TO

IT UP!

Our premium quality, halal certified fully cooked lean ground beef is made using grass fed* beef and natural ingredients, without filler, resulting in flavourful and tender beef that is versatile, convenient, and consistently delivers the taste, texture, and appearance your customers expect.

Contact your Reuven sales rep for a sample.

416.929.1496 | www.reuven.com |

*All cattle in Brazil are fed grass for the majority of their life cycle with the exception being the occasional time spent in feedlots prior to harvest.

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022 PZ_Reuven_Julyaug22_CSA.indd 1

CanadianPizzaMag.com

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2022-07-19 9:59 AM

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

PIZZA AND PASTA FLOUR

designed to consistently deliver the taste, texture, and appearance you and your customers expect.

The neutral flavour profile allows chefs to add your own culinary flavourful twists to your dishes.

When it comes to new ingredients, equipment and services, Canadian Pizza keeps you in the know. For more on new products for the pizza industry, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com

featuring laser-etched measuring circles that are approved by health departments. portionpadl.com

PANS

reuven.com

NSF-approved tools help portion pizza with precision Innovative pan born out of operator feedback

Anita’s organic ‘00’ pizza and pasta flour Anita’s Organic Mill has a type “00” Pizza Flour is milled finer than our other white flours.

This texture lends the dough an extra smooth and elastic texture that is perfect for home pizza and pasta making.

The unbleached flour contains organic wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin and folic acid.

The flour is available in one-kilogram bags. anitasorganic.com

READY-TO-THAW BEEF

Reuven’s new beef products ready to thaw and use Reuven has launched new Fully Cooked Beef Products you can simply thaw and use.

Their new line are made using lean cuts of beef and cooked Sous Vide style resulting in flavourful and tender beef that is versatile and convenient.

All products are made using grass-fed cattle and are Halal Certified. Reuven’s Fully Cooked Beef Products are 22

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Nuova Vita Corporation has developed the Portion PadL, Portion PeeL and several tools to help pizza chefs portion with precision.

The patented and patent pending Portion PadL is a cutting board and portioning guide used for cutting pizzas into equal slices. Ideal for pizza by-the-slice applications, it is custom made to your pizza size and slice applications.

Both rocker and roller knives can be used to cut pizzas using the Portion PadL, which is made from is an NSF-approved composition material.

According to the company, this equal-slice pizza cutting board reduces food waste, increases profits and improves kitchen efficiencies. Simple to use and easy to clean, it is designed to allow new employee to cut pizzas into equal slices their very first time.

The company also has developed a Portion PeeL

LloydPans has developed an innovative deep-dish pan based on what the company was seeing in the pizza market.

Operators were creating DIY pans by removing two-thirds of the pan side in order to let the outside edge of their pizza crust bake. The pans do not require seasoning. Just hand wash and buff with oil or another release agent. lloydpans.com

PLANT-BASED PRODUCTS

Vegan brioche bun certified plant-based Euroclassic’s Vegan Brioche-Style Bun has received Plant-Based certification from the NSF. The NSF issues an official certification to products made only with ingredients that contain alternatives to animal sources.

This allows consumers to make sustainable and healthy choices with a reliable accreditation to support them.

The Vegan Brioche-Style Bun joins Euroclassic’s range

of authentic brioche buns and rolls. The line includes products that pair with grilled foods, burgers, and hot dogs, or accompany any special or everyday meal: Authentic Brioche Burger Bun, Authentic Brioche Hot Dog Bun, Authentic Brioche Dinner Roll, and more.

Some serving suggestions for Vegan Brioche-Style Buns are: vegan burgers made with beans or grains and vegetables, or a veggie-filled bun with sliced tomato, avocado, cucumber, sprouts and vegan mayo.

It is a way to appeal to customers interested in plantbased foods. europastry.com

Xero accounting software helps you monitor cash flow Xero is a 15-year-old global tech company that provides cloudbased accounting software to small and medium-sized businesses and advisors across Canada. Xero’s software can save business owners precious time and resources, as it helps automate processes and keep finances on track. It also allows them to have access to financial data anytime, anywhere and on any device. The software includes a core accounting solution, workforce management, expenses and projects.

The platform helps restaurant operators grapple with continued economic disruptions and use technology to always have a full picture of cash flow. The software lets you pay bills, claim expenses, connect with your bank and pull bills and receipts into Xero automatically using Hubdoc. xero.com

July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

RECIPE

BY ANTHONY BORGO

Anthony Borgo is the coordinator of the Baking and Pastry Arts program and professor of Culinary and Cook Apprenticeship programs in the Hospitality, Tourism and Recreation department of Georgian College.

Everything Seasoned Bagels

EVERYTHING SEASONING RECIPE

You’ve got an oven, why not add fresh breads to your menu? This fresh bagel recipe featuring four-hour fermentation is a great place to start!

Mix together equal quantities of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion and salt in a small bowl. Transfer to an airtight jar.

Dough Yield: 18 pieces at 100 grams each

PREPARATION METHOD

FINAL DOUGH

Ingredients Spec Flour

bread

Water Yeast

fresh

Salt Sugar Malt

syrup

Butter Levain Total

dough

Unit

Quantity

g

1,000

g

500

g

10

g

20

g

40

g

10

g

50

g

200

kg

1,830

1. Final dough mixing: A. Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl except the butter. In a spiral mixer, mix on first speed for 5 minutes in order to incorporate the ingredients.

B. Add the butter in chunks.

C. Finish mixing on second speed (intensive mix – gluten fully developed) for about 3 minutes. The dough should be elastic and firm, with full gluten development.

D. Desired dough temperature: 75 F to 77 F.

2. Bulk fermentation: 4 hours.

3. Dividing and shaping: A. Divide the dough into 100 g rolls.

B. Pre-shape lightly into rounds and place on a lightly floured work surface, seams down.

C. Cover the rounds with plastic.

D. When the dough has relaxed sufficiently (1/2 hour), shape into bagels and place on parchment-lined sheet pans.

4. Boil in simmering water for 90 seconds on each side and place on parchmentlined sheet pans.

5. Egg wash and top with Everything Seasoning.

6. Baking: Bake at 400 F for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown on top and bottom.

CUP AND CHAR THEY CAN’T RESIST

ROSA GRANDE® Pepperoni is intensely flavoured and uniquely formulated to achieve just the right amount of cupping and charring.

SATISFY THIS TASTY TREND BY SCANNING OR VISITING: HORMELINTERNATIONALFOODSERVICE.COM/CA/CONTACT-A-REP/

©2021 Hormel Foods, LLC

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

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BUYERS GUIDE

2022 BUYERS GUIDE

& MANUFACTURERS DIRECTORY Alphabetical listings of manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of equipment, ingredients and supplies to the Canadian pizza industry

ADM MILLING COMPANY 7585 Danbro Crescent Mississauga ON L5N 6P9 Tel: 800-267-8492 e-mail: info.cdnmill@adm.com Website: www.adm.com Description: Industry leader for your flour supply and pizza mix. Custom blends available and a wide variety of bakery mixes. Give your customers your best. ADM - “We unlock the power of nature to enrich the quality of life”

ARDENT MILLS ULC 6860 Century Avenue, Suite 301 Mississauga ON L5N 2W5 Tel: 855-407-4906 e-mail: info_ca@ardentmills.com Website: www.ardentmills.ca Description: Ardent Mills is the premier flour-milling and ingredient company, committed to innovation and the future of emerging nutrition. With our expansive portfolio of conventional and organic flour, gluten-free, and keto-friendly ingredients, we can help you create innovative products that consumers feel good about. We’re ready to provide you with the localised support, scale, insights and unmatched expertise you need to stand out and help grow your business.

Ardent Mills Canadian headquarters are in Mississauga, Ontario, with facilities located throughout Canada, the U.S., and Puerto Rico.

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CONTINENTAL FOOD PROD. INC. 20 Anderson Blvd.

Uxbridge ON L9P 0C7 e-mail: anthony@continentalfoods. ca Website: www.continentalfoods.ca Description: Pizza Supplies

GOOD STOCK FOODS LTD. 11409 40 AVE NW Edmonton AB T6J 0R6 e-mail: sales@goodstockfoods.com Website: www.prairiemelt.com Description: Good Stock Foods specializes in the production and sale of Plant-Based food products.

Prairie Melt is our Dairy-Free PlantBased cheese product designed specifically for the retail and restaurant trade. Due to it’s superior flavour, texture, versatility and allergy friendly natural ingredients; it is also designed to expand your customer base by meeting the demand for dairy-free and plant-based ingredients. As a cheese substitute, Prairie Melt works well on pizza, pasta, nachos, sandwiches, burgers, poutine, appetizers and much more. Operationally, Prairie Melt is cost effective, easy to portion & use, and has a long 9 month shelf life unopened. It ships in 12kg boxes (4 of 3kg sealed bags) which allows each bag to remain sealed and fresh until needed. Please contact us or visit our website for more product information.

IFOODEQUIPMENT.CA 170 Millennium Blvd.

Moncton NB E1E 2G8 Tel: 855-388-5999 e-mail: csr@ifoodequipment.ca Website: ifoodequipment.ca Description: We sell both new and used pizza and dough equipment, and carry a variety of industry-leading brands, such as Doyon, Middleby Marshall, True, and more!

Shop online 24/7, give us a call, or visit our brick and mortar stores in Moncton, N.B., or Halifax, N.S. iFoodEquipment.ca is a Canadianowned company and one of the top online retailers for restaurant equipment and supplies across Canada, with distribution warehouses in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. We started as a family-owned business in 2011 and have since grown home to 45 employees, many of which have decades of experience either selling restaurant equipment or working in the foodservice industry. We use this expertise to give you knowledgeable and personalized service catered to your business’s needs.

LALLEMAND BAKING 1620 rue Prefontaine Montreal QC H1W2N8 e-mail: baking@lallemand.com Website: www.lallemandbaking.com Description: Lallemand Inc. is a privately-held Canadian company, and is a leading developer, producer and marketer of yeasts, bacteria and other microorganisms serving the baking, winemaking, distilling, ethanol, brewing, animal nutrition, dietary supplements, food, fermentation, pharmaceutical and plant care industries.

Lallemand Baking is a supplier of quality baker’s yeast and baking ingredients. With more than 100 years of baking experience and

application development, our evolutionary mindset of drives customer value by providing innovative baking solutions. From a wide portfolio of baker’s yeast products to enzyme-based solutions dough development, we offer customized solutions for the pizza market.

LESAFFRE YEAST CORPORATION 7475 West Main Street Milwaukee WI 53214 e-mail: bill.hanes@lesaffreyeastcorp.com Website: www.lesaffreyeastcorp. com Description: Lesaffre Yeast Corporation is a manufacturer of high quality Yeast and Dough Conditioners, which will provide: flavour, strength and the security to support your quality products.

LLOYDPANS 3808 North Sullivan Road, BLDG 25-J Spokane Valley WA 99216 Tel: 800-748-6251 e-mail: sales@lloydpans.com Website: lloydpans.com Description: LloydPans, a USA manufacturer of food preparation solutions: pizza pans, cookware and bakeware. Both stock and custom pans are engineered for optimal results for conveyor, July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

BUYERS GUIDE impingement, rotary and deck ovens. Products are completely manufactured in our plant including engineering, metal spinning, forming and welding and in-house anodizing.

Exclusive to LloydPans are three proprietary coatings that provide integrated release finishes with unique advantages. Custom products receive fast prototyping, timely production, and low minimums at competitive rates. Stock items available online, manufacturer direct and from your distributor.

Giants in the foodservice industry turn to LloydPans® for new product launch and cost savings. With experience designing products that provide optimum performance, we’ve helped countless customers with practical solutions to their baking challenges. Shop online at lloydpans.com

MIMI FOODS ARTISTIC DOUGH PRODUCTS INC. 1260 Creditstone Rd. Vaughan ON L4K 5T7 e-mail: info@mimifoods.ca Website: www.mimifoods.ca Description: MiMi Foods Artistic Dough Products is a wholesale dough manufacturer. Both BRC and HACCP certified and also a CFIA and FDA approved facility.

MiMi Foods is one of the few manufacturers who offer custom formulations so get in touch at info@mimifoods.ca. Our product line consists Pizza Dough Balls in various sizes and in 7 different flour blends (including Traditional, Caputo ‘00’ Flour, Whole Wheat, Vegetable Carbon - Focaccia and Gluten Free) - Ciabatta Flatbreads - Focaccia (variety) - Panuozzo Breads + Slider Buns

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022 PZ_PizzaSummitWest22_HP_JulyAug22_ASK.indd 1

- Crokkia (a 24 hour fermented dough, hand-stretched and stone baked crusts and baguettes) Pizza Crusts - (White, Whole Wheat, Thin + Thick Crusts and also Gluten Free options) The 10” par baked gluten free pizza crusts are available in 4 flavours (white, beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli) and the gluten free pizza dough balls in 3 flavours.

Let’s discuss how these products can benefit your business.

MR. PEEL, INC. 33975 Autry St. Livonia MI 48150-1323 e-mail: peels@mrpeel.com Website: www.mrpeel.com Description: Wood and Aluminum Baking Peels, Laminate Boards, Bakery Supplies and Restaurant Smallwares. Custom orders welcome.

PEMBERTON & ASSOCIATES 3610 Nashua Drive, Unit 1 Mississauga ON L4V1X9 e-mail: patrickc@pemcom.com Website: www.pemcom.com Description: Pemberton is a long established provider of equipment and process solutions in the Canadian Food Industry. We are customer focused and performance driven. We have a long standing experience with complete pizza lines representing world leader companies such as Grote, Unifiller and Marco. We are a full service distributor and as such, we take care of importing, CSA approval, delivery, commissioning and training as well as after sales service and parts.

At Pemberton, we sell solutions!

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BUYERS GUIDE PIZZAFORNO 225 King St E Toronto ON M5A1J9 e-mail: help@pizzaforno.com Website: www.pizzaforno.com Description: PizzaForno is the leading North American Automated Pizzeria Brand. PizzaForno’s Automated Pizzerias serve handmade, artisan pizza made from fresh ingredients and available 24/7. Handmade in our local commissary using fresh ingredients, never frozen, always available, and ready in 3 minutes. Leveraging proven technology with world class branding and AI, PizzaForno is poised to create and dominate the Automated Pizzeria space Globally.

QUANTUM TECHNICAL SERVICES 9524 West Gulfstream Road Frankfort IL 60423 e-mail: info@q-t-s.com Website: www.q-t-s.com Description: Automated pizza topping equipment, pizza cutters, sauce applicators, cheese applicators, pepperoni slicer/applicators, dry ingredient applicators.

REDIHEAT, INC. 4516 St. Clair Avenue, Suite 101 Cleveland OH 44103 e-mail: dave@rediheat.com Website: www.rediheat.com Description: RediHEAT manufactures quality heated pizza delivery bags, 7 sizes available. Each bag includes our heater which ensures your pizza is delivered hot. All heaters come with a 2-year warranty.

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REISER (CANADA) LTD. 1549 Yorkton Court Burlington ON L7P 5B7 e-mail: salescn@reiser.com Website: www.reiser.com Description: From dough dividing to topping production, from cheese shredding and depositing to vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging, Reiser is the one supplier that pizza producers trust for better, smarter processing and packaging solutions.

REUVEN INTERNATIONAL 1881 Yonge Street, Suite 201 Toronto ON M4S 3C4 e-mail: reuveninternational@gmail. com Website: www.reuven.com Description: Reuven International is a 100% Canadian family owned and operated company. For over forty years Reuven has been a supplier of high quality, great tasting, nutritious chicken and beef products to the foodservice, retail healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing channels. We work with customers to ensure an uninterrupted supply of innovative and superior quality products at industry competitive prices. A market leader since 1977, Reuven strives to deliver products, services and information that exceed our customers’ expectations. We do that with an experienced team and fostering a company culture that focuses on understanding custom-

ers’ needs and delivering optimal solutions. Please visit our website, www.reuven.com, to see our full product line-up.

Contact us at 416.929.4196 or visit www.reuven.com for product information, to download our free delicious recipes ideas and request product samples.

SEASIDE PAPER PRODUCTS 9999 River Way Delta BC V4G 1M8 Tel: 877-946-1886 e-mail: info@seasidepaper.com Website: www.seasidepaper.com Description: Seaside Paper Products is Canadian manufacturer of many disposable paperboard foodservice products including Pizza Box Liners, Pizza Slice Boxes & Trays, Takeout Boxes and more!

SUNRISE MARKET 139 Sparling Street Seaforth ON N0K 1W0 e-mail: info@sunrisemarket.ca Website: www.sunrisemarket.ca Description: Our quality products include Frozen Pizza Dough Balls (Customized formulas), Delicious Canadian Cheeses, Inspired Pizza Toppings, packaging and other supplies. Our family is passionate about Pizza, so try us out. We know you will be pleased with the experience. We look forward to helping service your needs in becoming a more successful pizza entrepreneur.

SHAFER-HAGGART LTD. 2855 Arbutus Street, Suite 201 Vancouver BC V6J 0E6 Tel: 888-779-7111 e-mail: jlonsdale@shafer-haggart. com Website: www.shafer-haggart.com Description: Shafer-Haggart, established in 1934, is a privately owned Canadian company, offering a wide selection of canned fruits and vegetables to the foodservice and retail industry. Let our experienced team of buyers find you the best quality ingredients with fixed contract costs. Pineapple, tomatoes, olives, peppers, mushrooms and more. Private label inquiries welcomed.

July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

BUYERS GUIDE

PIZZA EQUIPMENT Automated Pizza Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Pizzaforno Quantum Technical Services Reiser (Canada) Ltd. Automation Controls Pizzaforno Bagel Equipment iFoodequipment.ca Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Carts iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc. Pemberton & Associates

Espresso Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

Catering Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

Food Processors iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Cheese Handlers Reiser (Canada) Ltd. Coffee Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

Bake Sheets iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans

Conveyors Quantum Technical Services

Bakers Boards iFoodequipment.ca

Cookware iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans

Baking Stones iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc. Barbecue Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Beer Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Beverage Dispensers iFoodequipment.ca Bins iFoodequipment.ca Blenders iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Broilers iFoodequipment.ca Bucket Openers iFoodequipment.ca Calzone Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Reiser (Canada) Ltd. Can Openers iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Cappuccino Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

Cutting Boards iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc. Dishwashing Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Dispensers iFoodequipment.ca Quantum Technical Services Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Filters iFoodequipment.ca

Freezers iFoodequipment.ca

Scales iFoodequipment.ca

Oven Accessories iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc.

Fryers iFoodequipment.ca

Packaging Eqpt.

Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Griddles iFoodequipment.ca

Packaging Machinery Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Grinders iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Pasta Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

Heat Lamps iFoodequipment.ca Heated Delivery Systems iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc. Rediheat, Inc.

Dough Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc. Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Ice Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

Menu Boards iFoodequipment.ca Pizzaforno

Frozen Dessert Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca

Hot Boxes Rediheat, Inc.

Equipment iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc. Pemberton & Associates Pizzaforno Quantum Technical Services Rediheat, Inc. Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Roasting Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates

Ovens iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc. Pemberton & Associates Pizzaforno

Freezing Systems iFoodequipment.ca

Display Cases iFoodequipment.ca

Dough Mixers iFoodequipment.ca

Meat Nugget Forms iFoodequipment.ca Reiser (Canada) Ltd.

Iced Beverage Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Juicers iFoodequipment.ca Manual Cutting Equipment iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans

Pizza Making Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc. Quantum Technical Services Reiser (Canada) Ltd. Plastic Boxes iFoodequipment.ca Racks iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Ranges iFoodequipment.ca Refrigeration Sys. iFoodequipment.ca Refurbished Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Restaurant Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc. Pizzaforno

Shelving Mr. Peel, Inc. Sinks iFoodequipment.ca Slicers/Dicers iFoodequipment.ca Pemberton & Associates Quantum Technical Services Reiser (Canada) Ltd. Smokers iFoodequipment.ca Stoves iFoodequipment.ca Tables iFoodequipment.ca Toasters iFoodequipment.ca Tortilla Eqpt.

Reiser (Canada) Ltd. Trays iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc. Used Eqpt. iFoodequipment.ca Utensils iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Washers iFoodequipment.ca Weigh Scales iFoodequipment.ca

CanadianPizzaMag.com

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BUYERS GUIDE

FOODS & INGREDIENTS Appetizers Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Reuven International Sunrise Market Baking Ingredients Ardent Mills ULC Lallemand Baking Lesaffre Yeast Corporation Shafer-Haggart Ltd. Sunrise Market Baking Powder Lallemand Baking Lesaffre Yeast Corporation Bread Products ADM Milling Company Ardent Mills ULC Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Breading Ardent Mills ULC Cheese Pizzaforno Sunrise Market Cheese Alternatives Good Stock Foods Ltd.

Chicken Reuven International Sunrise Market Condiments Shafer-Haggart Ltd. Crust Mixes ADM Milling Company Ardent Mills ULC Crusts Ardent Mills ULC Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Pizzaforno Sunrise Market Dairy Products Sunrise Market Dough Ardent Mills ULC Lesaffre Yeast Corporation Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Pizzaforno Sunrise Market Flavours Lesaffre Yeast Corporation

Flour ADM Milling Company Ardent Mills ULC Sunrise Market Foods & Ingredients ADM Milling Company Ardent Mills ULC Continental Food Prod. Inc. Lesaffre Yeast Corporation Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Pizzaforno Quantum Technical Services Reuven International Shafer-Haggart Ltd. Sunrise Market Frozen Baked Goods Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Sunrise Market Frozen Pizza Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Quantum Technical Services Sunrise Market

Fruit Shafer-Haggart Ltd.

Sauces Pizzaforno Sunrise Market

Meat Products Reuven International Sunrise Market

Seafood Shafer-Haggart Ltd.

Mexican Products Shafer-Haggart Ltd.

Snack Foods Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc.

Mixes ADM Milling Company Ardent Mills ULC

Tomatoes & Prod.

Pizzaforno Shafer-Haggart Ltd.

Oils & Shortenings Shafer-Haggart Ltd. Sunrise Market

Toppings Pizzaforno Reuven International Shafer-Haggart Ltd. Sunrise Market

Olive Oil Shafer-Haggart Ltd. Prepared Foods Pizzaforno

Vegetables Pizzaforno Shafer-Haggart Ltd.

Salad Dressings Quantum Technical Services Sunrise Market Sandwich Items Mimi Foods Artistic Dough Products Inc. Reuven International Shafer-Haggart Ltd.

Yeast Lallemand Baking Lesaffre Yeast Corporation Sunrise Market

SUPPLIES & SERVICES

From quality baker’s yeast to enzyme-based baking solutions, our fermentation-based products technologiesConsulting are infused with Aprons and & Bibs Services science and innovation. iFoodequipment.ca iFoodequipment.ca

Furniture/Interiors iFoodequipment.ca

Packaging Supplies Seaside Paper Products

Bags Rediheat, Inc.

Gloves iFoodequipment.ca

Pan Coatings Lloydpans

Delivery Sys. Rediheat, Inc.

Lids iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans

Paper Products iFoodequipment.ca Seaside Paper Products

Dinnerware iFoodequipment.ca

Napkins iFoodequipment.ca

Pizza Pads Seaside Paper Products

Dough Boxes Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc. Sunrise Market

Online Ordering iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans

Services Pizzaforno

Boxes Sunrise Market Brushes iFoodequipment.ca Buffet Ware iFoodequipment.ca Cleaning Products iFoodequipment.ca Cleaning Tools iFoodequipment.ca

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Containers iFoodequipment.ca Seaside Paper Products

Oven Mitts iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc.

Smallwares iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Mr. Peel, Inc.

Supplies & Services Mr. Peel, Inc. Pizzaforno Rediheat, Inc. Thermometers iFoodequipment.ca Mr. Peel, Inc.

Trays iFoodequipment.ca Lloydpans Seaside Paper Products Uniforms iFoodequipment.ca

July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PIZZA POWER PAGES EQUIPMENT

EQUIPMENT

Pizza Portioning Cutting Board

• • • • • • •

Perfect for pizza-by-the-slice applications and menu labeling compliances Increases kitchen efficiencies, reduces food costs and increases profits Custom made for your pizza size and slice applications Simple to use and easy to clean Can be made for round, square, and rectangle pizzas Durable NSF approved food safe composition material $15.00 off shipping your first order

portionpadl.com or 330-608-5928

INGREDIENTS

RAISING BAKING

PZ_NuovaVita_PowerPageAd_MayJune22_CWM.indd 1

STANDARDS

Advertisers Index

THROUGH

BJ_Routhier_BC_Dec20_MLD.indd 1 2020-11-09 3:18 PM 2022-06-03 9:10 AM Annex Bookstore ............................................................................................................... 29 Ardent Mills ULC ...................................................................................................................2 Chase Global Foods Inc. ...................................................................................................27 Faema Company (Canada) Ltd. / Euro-Milan Inc. ....................................................... 32 Lallemand Inc. .................................................................................................................... 29 Lesaffre Yeast Corporation .................................................................................................7 Nuova Vita Corp/Portion PadL ....................................................................................... 29 Pizza Summit East ..............................................................................................................13 Pizza Summit West Thank You Sponsors ..................................................................... 25 Reiser / Robert Reiser & Co. .............................................................................................31 Reuven International Ltd...................................................................................................21 Ricco Food Distributor ......................................................................................................27 Routhier et Fils ................................................................................................................... 29 Stanislaus Food Products................................................................................................ 4,5

SCIENCE &

INNOVATION

USA Tel.: (800) 687 6483 or (901) 547 1579 Canada Tel.: (800) 840 4047 or (514) 522 2133 Mexico Tel.: (800) 710 4856 or +52 552 6205300

Use these advertiser contact numbers to find out more about a product advertised in this issue or to place an order. This index is provided as a service. Canadiqan Pizza Magazine is not liable for errors or omissions.

TO ADVERTISE Contact Stephanie Jewell sjewell@annexbusinessmedia.com • 705-826-2254

baking@lallemand.com | www.lallemandbaking.com | Find us on

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2022-05-30 9:31 AM

PASSION FOR PIZZA Passion for Pizza celebrates the people, personalities, and stories behind one of the world’s favorite foods. Not only a cookbook and a history book, it is also a tribute to the people and places that makes this dish a global favorite.

With more than 50 easy-to-follow recipes for individual pizzas and crusts, over 40 pizzeria profiles, and 20 profiles of the people behind the pizza, this book inspires home cooks and aficionados alike. $44.95

Item #1572841604

877-267-3473

CANADIAN PIZZA · July/August 2022

Scan Code to Buy Book

annexbookstore.com

CanadianPizzaMag.com

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PIZZERIA HISTORY

BY CANADIAN PIZZA STAFF

Last remaining pizza and pipes restaurant in U.S. marks 50 years in business

I

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Musicians Brett Valliant and Glenn Tallar play requests at Organ Stop Pizza.

‘Every visit to Organ Stop Pizza is unique with patrons hand picking the songs via request.’

–Jack Barz

experience this lost art form. Many visitors have even likened their experience to seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time, now that’s a heck of a comparison!”

Each night, Organ Stop’s Mighty Wurlitzer rises above the audience on an 8,000-pound rotating hydraulic elevator to sit 10-feet above the 700seat dining room. The one-of-a-kind organ has 1,074 individual keys, buttons and switches linked to a series of xylophones, glockenspiels, gongs and cymbals to create the sound of a fullblown orchestra. Nightly shows also include dancing marionette cats, disco balls and spectacular light show.

“The range of emotions our guests experience when they hear the Mighty Wurlitzer are infinite,” Barz added. “In the last 50 years we have had many ups and downs, especially the last couple of years during the pandemic, but when the world feels unpredictable, coming together and hearing music brings people delight and comfort. We are proud to carry on the pizza and pipes tradition and provide escapism for our guests night after night.”

Located in Mesa, the 18,000square-foot Organ Stop Pizza restaurant was designed specifically to enhance the Wurlitzer’s sound. The building’s 46-foot ceilings provide unparalleled acoustics so the instrument can “speak.”

Each year, Organ Stop Pizza attracts roughly 300,000 annual dinner patrons who enjoy timeless compositions such as “The Flight of the Bumblebee,” “The Hills Are Alive” from The Sound of Music, “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King, the Star Wars opening theme, and of course, “God Bless America.”

“Every visit to Organ Stop Pizza is unique with patrons hand picking the songs via request,” Barz said. “By the end of the night, an eclectic mix of music is enjoyed by audience members ranging in age from two to 102.”

According to Barz, there is practically nothing the Organ Stop Pizza musicians can’t play. “You name it and our amazing organists can play it,” he said. “You will never encounter a more spectacularly talented group of musicians” | CP July/August 2022 · CANADIAN PIZZA

PHOTO: IVAN MARTINEZ

n the 1970s and ’80s “pizza and pipes” restaurants were on nearly every corner in the U.S. Fast forward a few decades and today there are only two remaining restaurants in the entire country that provide organ entertainment with a side of pizza – including the oldest establishment of its kind – Organ Stop Pizza in Mesa, Ariz., celebrating 50 years in business this fall.

Originally opened in 1972, Organ Stop Pizza is home to the “Mighty Wurlitzer” the largest and most valuable theatre organ in the world, worth more than $6 million.

Organ Stop Pizza’s Wurlitzer theatre organ was originally built for the Denver Theatre in 1927 where it was used until the early 1930s. With the advent of the talking picture and the Depression, the organ was rarely heard and it was ultimately silenced when a fire in the auditorium caused extensive damage to the organ’s relay.

Today, Organ Stop’s instrument has been embellished from its original state and is now the largest Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe organ ever created. The console, where the musicians sit to play, is an exact replica of a Fox Special console, the largest console ever designed and built by Wurlitzer. Through the years, several rare sets of pipes have been added to the organ, including a massive set of 32-foot wood diaphones, which are visible from the front of the building.

“Our Wurlitzer is a genuine living piece of history,” said Organ Stop Pizza co-owner Jack Barz, who originally worked at the restaurant as a dishwasher before rising through the ranks and eventually buying into the business in 2004. “We are proud to be the home of one of the greatest instruments ever created and our patrons come from across the world to

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