Issuu

Volume 18 Issue 3 June 2012

12 Branching out in social media

Get the scoop on how to take advantage of the latest social media crazes.

18 good ingredients matter 10

How a bakery by day turned itself into a hopping pizzeria by night.

20 checking in on health

Learn how Pizzaville rolled out a successful Health Check menu.

22 avoid social media

meltdown Manage the myriad of social media tools in your belt.

24 small is Beautiful

Gerry Pizza bucked the trends and made history in Quebec.

26 get to the top of

search rankings Find out how to get your site to No. 1.

DEPARTMENTS 6

editor’s desk

pizza bites

the pizza chef

marketing insights

making dough

pizza on fire

www.canadianpizzamag.com JUNE 2012 pizza 3

“Packed from Fresh Tomatoes, Not from Concentrate”...

President Tom Cortopassi (kneeling) and “Coach” Dino Cortopassi (standing) in one of our

Since 1942, our Restaurateur customers’ success has depended on the superior taste of the food they serve and of our products. As a family-owned business, it feels good knowing that so many of our customers have relied on our “Packed From Fresh Tomato” products from generation to generation.

Whether your restaurant has a long family history, or whether you’re the founder, you can depend on our family making the best “Real Italian” tomato products...always Packed From Fresh Tomatoes, Never From Concentrate...generation after generation!

Tom Cortopassi President/Owner

Dino Cortopassi Coach/Owner

Generation after Generation.

tomato fields in Stanislaus County, California

THE S

StaniSlauS E

O F

Q U

The “Real Italian” Tomato Company 1202 “D” Street

from the editor’s desk June 2012, vol. 18, no. 3

Gluten-free truths n April 9, celebrity Miley Cyrus tweeted, “For everyone calling me anorexic I have a gluten and lactose allergy. It’s not about weight it’s about health. Gluten is crapppp anyway!” Cyrus further encouraged her more than five million followers: “Everyone should try no gluten for a week! The change in your skin, physical and mental health is amazing! U won’t go back!” Gluten-free is on the lips of a lot of food industry folks right now, thanks in part to such celebrity advocacy. I spoke with Jane Dummer, a leading registered dietitian in Canada, about the gluten-free craze and she is seeing it over-recommended by certain groups of health professionals. This fact, coupled with celebrity endorsement have swelled the gluten-free market. There are now a number of people on a gluten-free diet in hopes of cleansing, eating healthier or losing wieght. These are incorrect notions currently held by a misinformed public, as my chat with Dummer confirmed. A gluten-free diet is not inherently healthier than a well-balanced diet. On the contrary, people prescribed a glutenfree diet need to be extra cautious about getting all of the micronutrients they need, and not all gluten-free companies fortify their flour mixes. According to the Canadian Celiac Association: “Most gluten-free flours, breads, pasta products, breakfast cereals and baked goods available on the Canadian market are much lower in vitamins, mineral nutrients and fibre than the gluten-containing products they replace.” A gluten-free diet is not necessarily lowcarb; do not consider it a low-carb offering for your customers. I have seen a chef quoting this very error in the mainstream media. Gluten-free is a very difficult diet to maintain. It is unlikely that people who are not required to be on it will remain

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on it for the long haul. The popularity of gluten-free foods is set to taper off within the next two or three years, Dr. Elizabeth Sloan, president of Sloan Trends, recently asserted at a recent Research Chefs Association conference in Texas, reported www. foodnavigator-usa.com. Celiac disease is a serious medical condition with no cure. The only treatment is avoiding gluten for life. I doubt celiacs would choose their fate. Many U.S. media outlets were quick to crucify Cyrus’s tweets, quoting a battery of experts who discouraged people from being on a gluten-free diet unless they need to be. Perhaps this rebuttal by the media will be the beginning of a search for the next silver bullet. Better diagnosis and doctor education has led to more confirmations of celiac disease, which requires a blood test and biopsy. Accurate diagnosis is growing what I would call the “real” market for gluten-free, which includes those who are intolerant or allergic. This is the glutenfree customer you will have for life. The Canadian Celiac Association quotes one in 133 Canadians as being celiac. There is a real niche market with a medical need, and pizzerias are doing a good thing when they provide a gluten-free crust for those requiring it. Cross-contamination is a serious issue and it’s important to become educated about how to minimize the risk. Be aware of letting the bandwagon be your leader; it could lead you to just short-term gains. When deciding how large the market is and if it’s worthwhile financially for you to enter it, do the math on the actual number of celiacs and potential celiacs living in your community. The others are likely to eventually move on. •

editor Laura Aiken laiken@annexweb.com 416-522-1595 assistant editor Stefanie Wallace swallace@annexweb.com 888-599-2228 ext. 277 publisher Christine Livingstone clivingstone@annexweb.com 519-429-5173 888-599-2228 ext. 239 sales assistant Tara Jacobs tjacobs@annexweb.com 888-599-2228, ext. 219 media designer Kelli Kramer group publisher Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexweb.com president Mike Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com mailing address P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 PuBLICATION MAIL AgreeMeNT #40065710 reTurN uNDeLIVerABLe CANADIAN ADDreSS TO CIrCuLATION DePArTMeNT, P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 e-mail: cnowe@annexweb.com Published eight times per year (Jan/Feb, Mar, Apr/May, Jun, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec), by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 circulation e-mail: cnowe@annexweb.com Tel: 866-790-6070 ext. 207 Fax: 877-624-1940 Mail: P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 subscription rates Canada – 1 Year $ 19.26 (includes gST - #867172652rT0001) uSA – 1 Year $ 40.00 Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2012 Annex Publishing and Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianpizzamag.com

Contact your local repesentative to arrange a demonstration British Columbia Castle Agencies North Vancouver, BC, Canada Tel/Cell: (604) 904-7681 Contact: David Terretta Email: king@castleagencies.ca

Alberta MAC Sales & Marketing Calgary, AB, Canada Phone: 403-281-8540 Contact: Steve MacKell Email: mackell@telusplanet.net

Manitoba/Saskatchewan Dennis Braun Agencies Winnipeg, MB Canada Tel: 204-663-8077 Cell: 204-229-4613 Email: denbraun@mts.net

Ontario Distex M.&M. Inc. Mississauga, Ont Tel: 905 565-5990 Toll Free: 1 888 645-7324 Email:info@distex.ca

Quebec Distex M.&M. Inc. St-Laurent (Quebec) Tel.: (514) 382-3620 Toll free : 1-800-567-3620 Web: www.distex.ca

Atlantic Provinces/Maritimes Vision Foodservice Systems Halifax, Nova Scotia Tel: (902) 461-4615 Contact Ted Mussett Email: ted@visionfoodsystems.com

pizzabites

Small business confidence dips anada’s small and mid-sized businesses (SMEs) were a little less optimistic in April compared with the month before, reports the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), The 1.3-point drop in CFIB’s Business Barometer Index to 66.4 gave back most of the big gains seen in the March survey findings. Still, it is the second-best reading for the year and the first decline registered in the index since August 2011, when international financial markets seriously rattled economic confidence. “For the most part, overall survey findings still point to stable business conditions and a modestly growing economy,” remarked Ted Malett, chief economist and vice-president for CFIB. “The outlooks for business owners both by sector and by region show very little relative change in April, which is also another sign of general stability.”

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Business owners in Alberta (73.3) and Saskatchewan (72.1) continue to be the most optimistic in the country. The surge in optimism in Ontario in March was partially corrected in April – back to 67.1. Business sentiment in New Brunswick (68.0), British Columbia (66.9), Newfoundland and Labrador (61.9) and Prince Edward Island (62.2) improved. Optimism, however, fell back markedly in Manitoba to 65.2, while also dropping slightly in Nova Scotia (63.0) and Quebec (63.9). “There was little change in the relative ranking of optimism by industry,” commented Mallett. “Manufacturers remain the most positive by a significant amount; and confidence in the natural resources industries, business services and the health and education sectors are also above the average. Those in personal services and hospitality are at the low end of the index – around the 60 mark.”

Hiring plans were positive in April with 21 per cent of business owners planning to increase full-time position over the next three or four months, while only 12 per cent plan to reduce them. “Increased confidence in hiring is certainly strongly influenced by seasonal factors. The good news is that when compared to the results from this time last year, they are better than in April 2011,” concluded Mallett. Measured on a scale between 0 and 100, an index level above 50 means owners expecting their businesses’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. According to past results, index levels normally range between 65 and 75 when the economy is growing. The April 2012 findings are based on 807 responses, collected from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Findings are statistically accurate to +/- 3.4 per cent 19 times in 20.

pizzabites

CRFA releases chef survey results ore than 300 chefs identified what’s hot in the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s (CRFA) third annual Canadian Chef Survey, and local, sustainable and gluten-free reign supreme on Canadian menus for 2012. Top 10 Canadian menu trends for 2012: 1. Locally produced/inspired dishes 2. Sustainability 3. Gluten-free/food allergy conscious 4. Farm-/estate-branded ingredients 5. Simplicity/back to basics 6. Nutrition/health (for example, lowfat, reduced sodium, antioxidants, high-fibre) 7. Ethnic/street food-inspired appetizers (for example, tempura, taquitos) 8. Food trucks/street food 9. Artisanal cheeses 10. Bite-size/mini desserts “It’s clear we love our local foods, but these top trends span a wide spectrum of

flavours,” says Garth Whyte, CRFA president and CEO. “Chefs are reimagining their menu selections to accommodate various customer preferences and dietary needs, while having some fun. From nutrition and gluten-free to street food-inspired appetizers, we’ve got something for everyone.”

Movers and shakers Newcomers with street smarts – ethnic/ street food-inspired appetizers debuting at No. 7 and food trucks/street food at No. 8 – knocked craft beer/ microbrews and quinoa/ancient grains from the top 10 list. gluten-free/food allergy conscious moved up the list from No. 6 to No. 3. Slow cooking topped the list of cooking methods. Salt was named the number one trendy seasoning. Filtered tap water turned up as number four on the nonalcoholic beverages list and locally produced wine and beer was tops for alcoholic trends. Detailed findings from the 2012 Canadian Chef Survey can be found at www.restaurantcentral.ca.

Pizza Nova wins CFA grand prize p

izza Nova took home top honours at the Canadian Franchise Association (CFA) 2012 National Convention gala dinner, held at the Sheraton Niagara Falls in Ontario on April 2. Pizza Nova was first honoured with the gold prize in the traditional franchises (that is, brick-and-mortar locations) in the mature/established category. From amongst the gold winners in each category, the franchise system with the highest overall score was then awarded the most-coveted and prestigious award presented by the Canadian Franchise Association, the CFA Awards of Excellence in Franchising Grand Prize. “Now I know what it feels like to get an Academy Award!” said Domenic Primucci, president of Pizza Nova, who accepted the award on behalf of Pizza Nova, thanking his franchisees, his staff and, of course, his father, who founded the company in 1963. The award itself features two figures stepping in unison, symbolizing the franchisor and franchisee moving forward together. The CFA Awards are presented annually to franchise systems that have demonstrated a dedication to superior franchisee relations, teamwork and communication, and are decided based on the results of a survey, hosted by a third-party research firm and completed by CFA member franchisees about their experiences with their franchise system and relationships with the franchisor.

JUNE 2012 pizza 9

the pizza chef

The original slow food Diana Coutu t’s about time those of us dedicated to the pizza craft reclaim pizza as the original slow food. After decades of mass advertising by the big guys, most consumers now classify pizza as a fast food. Pizza is often thought of as an unhealthy meal option when lumped into that category. We independents know that both assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth. Firstly, there’s a ton of prep work needed before you even get to the stretching, saucing, topping and baking of any pizza. It’s only the last stage, the baking, that is relatively quick. Secondly, as far as a healthy daily diet goes, Matt McClellan, a fellow pizza maker from Florida, proved pizza has what it takes when he ate a pizza-only diet complemented with beer or a pop for 30 days and lost 30 pounds! Check it out at www. tourdepizza.com. It’s time we reintroduce our fabulous creations to our customers as some of the original slow foods. Dough is made fresh, and then given anything from a morning at room temperature to 24 hours in a cooler to rise and develop its flavours. Some dough recipes require two to four days to rise and develop flavours. Some starters are days old, even weeks or years. Marinara is typically peeled, chopped or puréed tomatoes mixed with your own blend of herbs and spices and allowed to marinate before it’s ready to use. Cheeses must be grated. Meats should be cooked or cured. Pepperoni – the good stuff, that is – has had time to cure and seal in the flavours of the meats and spices. Then that pepperoni, capicola or salami has to be sliced. Chicken needs to be fully cooked, deboned and sliced before it touches the top of a pizza. Veggies must be washed, sliced (or diced) and some must be blanched or roasted with herbs and olive oil well in advance

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Many customers don’t understand the time and effort it takes to create a great pizza, from preparing marinara sauce to washing and dicing veggies.

of the actual making of the pizza. You all know what I’m talking about; it’s what we do each and every day. We are manufacturing plants that bring in raw ingredients in one door and turn them into finished products that are sent out another. Every local pizzeria is a small-scale factory and factories take a lot of work to keep running. Most of our customers don’t truly understand how much time and effort it takes to do all the prep involved in making a great pizza. The great thing is that there’s no better time in history to reach out to our customers and start that conversation. Many are active Food Network viewers and they’re hungry for details about the “art of making a great pizza”, something that the big chains know little about. Consumers are also more educated than ever about proper cooking techniques. They are exposed to far more varieties of ethnic foods and herbs and

spices than in years past. They just may not be aware that many of them are found in your sauces and seasonings for your toppings. This is the key to differentiate from the big guys, and now is the perfect time to educate consumers that real pizza can easily be a healthy and delicious meal option. So the next time you get more menus or flyers printed, rather than have only edge-to-edge coupons, give some real estate to tell your customer the story of how you make a great pizza. •

Diana Coutu is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine chef of the year champion, internationally recognized gourmet pizzaiolo, co-owner of Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria in Winnipeg and a member of the board of directors for the CRFA. In addition to creating award-winning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing and positioning to help operators grow their business effectively and strategically. She is available for consulting on a limited basis. For more information contact her at Diana@dianas gourmetpizzeria.ca.

Burke offers more than 1,200 ways to create your pizza with fully cooked meat toppings. And we’ll personally help you find just the right ones. Ask us for a sample. For Canada, Chase Global Foods www.BurkeCorp.com/CP or 800.263.1964

feature

Branching out in social media Exploring new options to improve your online presence BY STeFANIe WALLACe

acebook and Twitter are so last year. OK, not really, but they have been sharing the spotlight lately with some new social networks and tools that may be useful to business owners. Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram are the latest buzzmakers in the social-media world, but with new options popping up all the time, how can you tell which ones to use, and which to ignore? Canadian Pizza spoke with Kat Tancock, a Toronto-based social-media and digital consultant, and Chris Gostling, the CEO and creative director of Momentum Visual Inc., to bring you up to speed on the latest crazes. A viSuAl focuS Pinterest is a pinboard style of organizing and sharing a portfolio of images that link to external websites. Users can group image collections on different pinboards, categorizing them into groups and re-pinning photos and links from other users and the Internet to their own boards. The image should link to an outside source. Your website or Tumblr account are great options, says Tancock. Gostling advises organizing your pinboards into different categories to share varying elements of your shop. The ingredients that make up your menu items are a great place to start. Your ingredients pinboard could include a photo of the Italian sausage you make in house with a link to your website describing the story behind it. The site launched in March 2010 to a select group of people, and

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continues to run as an invitation only website, which can be a disadvantage. Users have to request e-mail invitations from the powers that be, or friends who are on Pinterest. This hasn’t stopped its growth, though: comScore, an Internet marketing research company, reported that as of January 2012, Pinterest had 11.7 million unique users, making it the fastest site in history to break the 10 million unique visitor mark. Tumblr is a microblogging platform where users can post photos, videos, links and other forms of media to their blog, as well as follow other blogs and re-blog content from other users. Small businesses can use Tumblr to supplement their website, with more space to post photos of menu items and what’s happening in your store. “Tumblr is a little more similar to Facebook and Twitter,” explains Tancock. If one of your followers sees something they like on your Tumblr, they can reblog it to all of their followers, who will be able to trace the item back to your Tumblr. The young demographic (half of its users are under 25) means things can go viral very quickly, Tancock says. While it may not seem as popular as other social networks, Tumblr had 75,000 users within two weeks of its April 2007 launch, and as of April 2012 hosted more than 52 million blogs. Gostling compares visual platforms such as Tumblr and Pinterst to a wellcurated collection of art. “You should

have just the right pieces that are going to engage people. Don’t jam it full of stuff, and give posts some room to breathe,” he says. “If used correctly, both Pinterest and Tumblr can really tell the passion of the story behind the brand.” Instagram, on the other hand, is a great way to capture the goings-on of ABovE: Available on the iPhone and Android platforms, instagram is a great way to capture a moment and share it with your followers on different social networks.

Tips for maximizing your social-media efforts • • • •

Find out where your customers are. Ask patrons in your shop what social networks they’re on. Analyze what your customers like to see. Photos may get more comments and shares than text updates. Set a time limit. gostling and Tancock advise spending no more than an hour a day, cumulatively, on social networks. At the bare minimum, post when your store opens and check back periodically. Check in on what’s new often. gostling suggests checking websites like Mashable every few months to see what’s trending and what’s died off.

your restaurant and quickly share them, as Instagram can easily be linked to other platforms. Users can take photos with a smartphone (currently only iPhone and Android apps are available), apply a digital filter, and push it to other social-media networks. “The photo filters on it are a ton of fun; you can capture the moment,” Gostling says. Instagram launched on Apple’s App Store in October 2010, and has steadily grown: more than one million registered users had signed up by December 2010, and as of April 13 (with thanks to its early April Android app launch), more than 40 million people were using Instagram. The app has made headlines recently: Facebook purchased Instagram on April 12 with plans to keep it independently operated. Although Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram are very visually oriented, Gostling views Pinterest and Tumblr as ways to tell a larger story while Instagram is more of a visual diary to capture the moment. Each of these tools can be linked to Twitter and Facebook accounts, allowing users to easily incorporate them into a daily social-media routine and efficiently post the same message across different platforms. BRANchiNg ouT iNTo SoMEThiNg NEw Incorporating social-media tools into already busy days can be challenging, and adding another platform to an already successful social-media strategy often

comes with uncertainty. Wayne Rempel, owner of JP’s Pizza in Lacombe, Alta., is active on both Facebook and Twitter and is skeptical about veering away from his current routine. In the past, Rempel has tried Foursquare, a platform where users check in and post their current location, earning badges, points and titles with the establishment they are checking in at. While many businesses use Foursquare to promote contests and specials – users are often given special discount codes or tips on secret menu items – Rempel doesn’t see the benefit of using it. “I find that Foursquare is not super popular, and I kind of get tired of finding out where people are all the time,” he says. Rempel feels that promoting contests and specials through Foursquare won’t benefit him because the membership among his clients is small, and he already has good success rates conducting contests through Facebook and Twitter. “I got into Foursquare thinking I could promote my business, but it is so limited, from what I can see, I didn’t find the value in it.” Although he approaches it with skepticism, Rempel is open to trying new things. He hasn’t considered using Tumblr yet, and his wife has introduced him to Pinterest, but he isn’t sure it will benefit JP’s. “Right now I’m just investigating it. It seems like Pinterest is going to take more time from the others. You have to be fairly interactive, and I don’t know lots about it, but it is something that I am looking at because it’s free, and if it brings in business, why wouldn’t I?” Although it may be free, Rempel’s main concern when it comes to social media is time. “Your time is worth something. It’s easy to get sucked in. If I were

to spend more than 10 minutes every day, I would probably be wasting time.” REAPiNg ThE BENEfiTS Tancock and Gostling agree that the ultimate goal is to be where your customers are. Rempel is on the right track: the best way to find out if you should be exploring new social networks is to research your clientele and find out which platforms they are using. When someone comes into your store, ask them if they’re using Pinterest or Tumblr. “If half of your consumers are on Pinterest, maybe there’s some value there,” Gostling says. “Try a bunch of things and see what engages them in speaking to them.” The quality of the conversation is key. If you’re sharing the right info, your followers will likely pass the message along to their followers, creating potential new customers for you, emphasizes Gosling. Find out what kind of updates your followers like to read and analyze their response. Try a handful of things, Gostling says: text-only updates about what slices you’re serving from day to day may not elicit as many comments as a photo showing the huge order of specialty pies you’re preparing. Once you’ve determined what works for your business, don’t stop. Reaching a certain number of followers is great, but Tancock and Gostling stress that interaction is the key. “As a restaurant owner you can’t always talk to everyone who comes into your store every single time, but with social media, you can connect with them a little more easily,” Tancock says. Gostling agrees. “Success in socialmedia marketing is an ongoing conversation,” he says. “As soon as the conversation stops, you’re not successful.” •

JUNE 2012 pizza 13

marketing insights

Words on a vine How to create the perfect wine pairing for your pizzas Michelle Brisebois hose of us who love food tend to agree that a great wine pairing can make any dish sing. Integrating your wine list with your menu allows your customers to enjoy the food more completely, and gives you an opportunity to increase your cheque average. Here’s how to leverage those wine varieties that are hot right now with consumers.

lET ThE fooD lEAD A great wine tends to see the wine either complement or contrast the dish. If the dish is spicy or salty, try a sweeter wine like an off-dry Riesling or a fruit-forward red. Salt is a flavour enhancer, so the sweetness of the wine will intensify it. Consider the texture, weight, structure and bouquet of both wine and food. Delicate food requires a delicate wine, and vice versa. Kristina Inman, estate sommelier at Trius Winery at Hillebrand in Niagaraon-the-Lake, Ont., says Malbec is a great choice for grilled toppings. “Since Argentina is known for its Malbec, the Argentinian grilled foods are great with this red wine. Malbec has nice tannins [a slight drying quality on the mouth] and ripe berry notes.” A bit of savoury herb quality allows Malbec to pair nicely with meattopped pizza. Arugula would be a great topping here too. lET youR whiTES ShiNE Most people think of red wines when they think of pizza, but about 38 per cent of wine consumed in Canada is white, shows 2010 Statistics Canada reports. Many customers wouldn’t traditionally consider pairing a white wine with pizza, but it’s a matter of how the pie’s prepared. One of the hottest white in terms of sales growth is Pinot Grigio, which Nielson reports is growing at just over five per

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cent this year (Wine and Spirits Daily). Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are actually the same grape but the wine-making style is slightly different. Pinot Gris is the traditional French Alsacian style, which is richer, honeied, with a touch of spice. Pinot Grigio is the traditional Italian style, which is crisper and more acidic. Pinot Grigio is more popular than Pinot Gris and is characterized by a light, fresh citrus taste. “Pinot Grigio has a nutty undertone,” says Inman. “It also has notes of honeysuckle and pear, so a white pizza with chestnuts, pears and mushrooms would be lovely,” she says. ADD A liTTlE SPARklE There’s lots to love about sparkling wine. It instantly makes any occasion more special, and it pairs well with just about any food. It’s the “little black dress” of wines. Canadian Brut is hot right now. Brut is just another name for champagne. Only sparkling wines made in the Champagne region of France are allowed to be called champagne. Many Canadian wineries are making wonderful sparkling wines in the classic champagne method at a fraction of the price. The bubbles cut right through the fat and protein, and if the sparkling wine is aged on its lees (yeast cells), it will have a beautiful biscuity flavour. Inman suggests a potato pizza topped with creamy mozzarella as a nice pairing. If you age your dough, the yeasty notes in the crust will sing with the sparkling wine. ThE wAR hoRSE Although new and trendy wines and foods are great to capture early adaptors and buzz, many consumers still want the tried-and-true. For that significantly sized customer base that wants a meat lover’s pizza with double cheese, Cabernet Sauvignon is a great pairing. Cab Sauv, as it’s affectionately

referred to, is a big, bold red with lots of tannins. Tannins latch on to proteins and drinking a tannic wine without food will dry your tongue and mouth because it connects to the proteins in your saliva. However, meat and cheese toppings are dripping with fat and protein so the tannins in a Cabernet Sauvignon will perfectly balance this profile. ThE NExT Big ThiNg Millennials who are just developing their palates tend to start with sweeter wines as they begin their wine journey. Moscato is one such sweet wine causing a buzz. Moscato’s volume sales are the fastest growing of the whites in the United States, up more than 53 per cent (Nielson Scan, Wine and Spirits Daily). It’s especially popular with Americans, so if you are in a tourist area with lots of visitors from the United States, this is a variety you’ll want to include. “Moscato would be amazing when paired with a pizza topped with blue cheese, caramelized onions and grilled pineapple,” shares Inman. The salt in the blue cheese will intensify and contrast the sweetness of the wine, while the sweet onions and pineapple will complement the notes in the wine. Make sure you integrate the wines into your menu. Suggest a wine pairing right on the menu underneath each item and indicate why it’s a good pairing. Give your servers wine training so they are comfortable making suggestions, opening a bottle at the table and speaking to the flavours. Give your wines more profile in your restaurant and you’ll likely discover that your customers will respond favourably. As Ernest Hemingway said, “Wine is the most civilized thing in the world.” • Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical, financial services and wine industries. She specializes in retail brand strategies.

making dough with Diane

Get a jump on back-to-school Seven easy ways to start your back-to-school marketing Diane Chiasson

es, summer has just started, but it’s time to start making plans for your back-to-school marketing. September is generally a very busy time, especially for families who have just returned home from holidays, or are busy shopping, stocking up on new clothes, school supplies and other things. Pizza sales tend to spike during this period. As a pizza operator, putting together a smart marketing plan can help you nab a big share of this market.

1. PAiR uP wiTh A RETAilER Work together with a local retailer of kids’ clothes, office supplies or electronics to create a back-to-school promotion that will help families save on both a meal and on necessary items for backto-school. For example, create a promotion that offers anyone who orders a large pizza a $10 coupon towards the retailer, or anyone who shops at the retailer a $5 coupon for your pizza. 2. woRk ThE SchoolS Many schools run a pizza day fundraiser, so reach out to all the local junior and senior schools, daycares, and community centres, and offer your services. School boards are placing an increasing focus on getting kids to eat healthy, so plan to upsell the nutritious benefits of buying pizza from you. 3. SEll A STuDENT luNch SPEciAl Some parents of older children and teenagers prefer to give their kids lunch money instead of packing them a lunch every day, so entice these cash-rich students to eat lunch at your pizza operation by offering a student lunch special comprising a slice of pizza and a pop. Make sure you have plenty of pepperoni or plain cheese

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Partner up to cross-promote with a retailer that sells back-to-school supplies.

slices ready during the school lunch hours to ensure quick turnaround times. 4. uSE SociAl MEDiA To ATTRAcT STuDENTS Attract high school and college students by engaging in social media and mobile texting. Today’s youth are glued to their smartphones, so send out deals and text blasts/ messages an hour before the lunch bell, offer prizes for check-ins, and use Twitter to notify your followers of specials of the day. 5. DRoP off couPoN BooklETS foR SchoolS Schools always send home an information package to each and every family at the beginning of the school year. Many of these packages include coupons for various activities, lessons, clubs or restaurants. Ask the school to include coupons for your pizza operation, and offer a donation in return. 6. SPoNSoR A SPoRTS TEAM The beginning of the school year is also the start of the season for many different sports teams. By sponsoring a team, your brand and logo is plastered all over the

team’s jerseys, and your operation will be the home base for all after-game parties, team meetings and gatherings. 7. hElP ThE School RAiSE fuNDS Schools are always looking to raise funds for new books, art supplies, computers and other items. Work with a principal or teacher to come up with a promotion where $3 of every pizza ordered from your restaurant will be donated towards the purchase of a needed item. This will encourage families of the school to order pizza from you rather than your competitors, and give you an opportunity to win over some new customers. With September comes school, routines and busy families. If you use the right strategies, it can bring more business to your restaurant, too. • Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping restaurant, foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for more than 30 years. Her company provides innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns, and much more. Contact her at 416-926-1338, toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.

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ARE YOU MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY? Nominate your pizzeria for the Pizza with Purpose Award sponsored by Saputo Foodservice and share the spirit of generosity with your fellow pizzaiolos. We want to hear about your fundraising, sponsorship, participation in community events and creative contributions. Activities can be local or national in scope. The winner won’t be determined just on an amount of money raised, but on all the ways, big and small, that your pizzeria is touching lives. Simply send us your contact information as a nomination, by Friday, July 6, 2012. We will then contact you with further information. Everything you do from January 1, 2012, to November 1, 2012 counts. Saputo will award $2,500 to the winning pizzeria, which will also be featured on the cover of the January/February 2013 edition of Canadian Pizza magazine. NAmE(S) _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ ComPANy NAmE ________________________________________________________________________________________________ AddrESS _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ PhoNE _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ E-mAil _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 EASY WAYS TO NOMINATE YOUR PIZZERIA

Submit the information above to: Canadian Pizza magazine Pizza with Purpose Award MAIL Annex Business media Po Box 530, 105 donly dr. South, Simcoe, ontario, N3y 4N5 OR PhONE 1-416-522-1595 OR FAx 1-888-404-1129 The Pizza with Purpose award sponsored by OR E-MAIL laiken@annexweb.com

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Good ingredients matter Exploring Jeff Crump’s love of good food from earth to table BY STeFANIe WALLACe

s an executive chef at an upscale restaurant, Jeff Crump had seen his share of fine dining. But Crump couldn’t deny his love for simple, soul-pleasing cuisine, and when the time came for a new challenge, he took his cooking back to basics. Crump, along with Bettina Schormann and Aaron Ciancone, own the Landmark Group of restaurants, including the Ancaster Mill, the Whistle Bear Golf Club and the Cambridge Mill in Cambridge, Ont., Spencer’s at the Waterfront in Burlington, Ont., the Elora Mill, and Earth to Table Bread Bar in Hamilton, Ont. A bakery by day, supplying all of the restaurants in the Landmark Group with fresh baked goods, Bread Bar transforms into an artisan pizzeria at night, providing

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Hamilton’s trendy Locke Street neighbourhood with fresh, palate-pleasing pizzas. Canadian Pizza spoke with Crump about his cooking philosophy, his passion for good food, and why good ingredients matter. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your start in culinary arts. I’m a trained chef, from London, Ont., and I went to the University of Western Ontario. I have a degree in political science and I applied to McGill [for accounting] and Stratford chef school at the same time. Stratford came back first. My parents wanted me to go into business and become a professional and at that time being a chef was not a profession. But I just followed my love of food and cooking and luckily I made the

right decision. As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t worked a day in my life since because I love my job so much. How did you come to find your love of pizza? I think as a young chef I thought I had to like the fussiness of fine dining; cooking a burger or a pizza wasn’t a chef’s job, but I knew in my heart that’s what I like to eat, and I knew that the same kind of skill and care that went into filet mignon can also, and does also, go into a pizza. In Italy, pizza is very much an art form as much as any fine ABovE: The Bread Bar’s motto of “good ingredients matter” is all about eating within the seasons and serving freshly made food.

dining. I apply that to what we do. It’s all about doing stuff that I really enjoy. How did you come up with the concept of the Bread Bar? The Bread Bar was originally going to be a commissary bakery for the restaurants. At the time we owned the Ancaster Mill and Spencer’s. I spent six or so years at the Ancaster Mill and ultimately my pastry chef, Bettina Schormann, wanted to open a bakery. It was time for me to try something new too. As we started developing, a big building came up on Locke Street and we realized we were going to have to seat, so we went from a bakery to a restaurant. The ovens that Bettina bought for baking were amazing for pizza and Bettina’s focaccia makes an incredible pizza dough. That’s when I realized, hey, I want to do this too and we developed the restaurant. So it’s bakery by day; pizzeria by night. The three partners – the chef, the baker and the businessman [Aaron Ciancone] – we all know our role. And the place has been packed since it opened [August 2010]. Explain your earth-to-table philosophy, and motto of “good ingredients matter.” Bettina and I wrote a cookbook called Earth to Table and it’s all about buying local food, celebrating the seasons and supporting local agriculture. Bettina likes it because she is very excited about saving the environment and keeping money within the community. I like it because tomatoes are best in August, and bread is better when its handmade and freshly baked. We should be eating within the seasons and we should be eating fresh-made food. The whole ‘good ingredients matter’ thing came up because I was nervous about ‘eat local’ being a trend. When we started talking about pizza, we were talking about the price point at the market that we’re entering, against chains. But people love the pizza and that’s just because it’s fresh dough, and we’re using real mozzarella cheese. It’s very simple stuff and it’s all about making it here from scratch and buying good food. So, Bread Bar supplies bread and pizza dough to the Landmark Group, and you purchased land to provide

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crump, the chef at Bread Bar and co-owner of the landmark group of restaurants, has a passion for simple, soul-pleasing dishes.

produce for the restaurants as well. Where does that project stand? We realized we’re not farmers, so we’re leasing [the land] to an organization called FarmStart, which is in the business of supporting a new generation of farmers. They are going to subdivide our farm into plots and rent it to people who want to become farmers. There will be an onsite farm manager who will help them.These new farmers will grow whatever they want; they have to present a business plan and a five-year plan to apply for the program. We’ll have the pick of the crop of who’s doing what. What does the future hold for Bread Bar? We’re in the process of rolling out Bread Bars, but I’m not sure our business model is designed for franchisers; the word connotes fast food. I have people who are interested in opening them in Toronto and Vancouver at this moment and they are chefs and friends of mine. The beauty of our pizza dough and our method is that it’s scalable, it’s shippable, the pizza dough balls freeze with no loss of quality. It takes three days to make it the way it is. It’s made from bread flour to be chewier and it’s thin but with a big crust. But Bread Bar on Locke St. is going to be the template. I really enjoy the place and I think we’re on to something. • Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed.

Name: ________________________________ Business: _____________________________ Address: ______________________________ City: __________________________________ Prov: _________________________________ P.Code:________________________________ Tel: __________________________________ Fax: __________________________________ e-mail: ________________________________ 1. NATure OF buSiNeSS: (Select only one): ❏ independent Pizzeria ❏ Pizza chain/Franchise ❏ italian restaurant/Full Service restaurant ❏ Other Non-Pizza restaurant ❏ Take & bake ❏ catering Service ❏ Government, library, school ❏ Distributor, Supplier, Manufacturer ❏ Other ______________________________ (Specify) 2. JOb TiTle: ❏ Owner ❏ restaurant Management ❏ Other – allied to the field ______________________________________ (Specify)

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with a thin crust and the right amount of cheese, pizzas can meet the health check standards.

Checking in on health BY LAurA AIKeN

ealth Check rolled out in in 1999, first for grocery then offering a restaurant program in 2006. Over the last decade, its symbol has become synonymous with a trusted healthy product. The program is meticulous and impartial, its standards set independently of industry. However, the marriage of quick serve and Health Check is a relatively new phenomenon first executed by the pizza industry – Pizzaville, to be precise. Pizzaville launched its four-item foray into Health Check in September 2010. The company hosted a big meeting that brought together franchisees and representatives of Health Check, says Alan Serrecchia, Pizzaville’s director of franchising. The rules weren’t clearly defined for quick serve, he says, and there were some growing pains that pushed everyone to realize what was realistic for quick-serve industry. Some of Health Check’s more rigid rules of information placement didn’t work in an environment where each store is a little bit different. “A large part is executing, and how you execute [Health Check] properly in the store…Health Check is quite particular and the industry doesn’t lend itself to that because of the volumes and the intensity of the rushes.” The rollout involved a lot of printed materials, right down to recipes being posted in the stores for pizza makers to follow on the line. There were booklets and training videos and rallying to ensure all franchisees were on board. Health Check performs random testing on its participants to ensure the dishes are

20 pizza JUNE 2012

maintaining consistency. They even test Pizzaville’s call centre by calling in with questions about the program (which Pizzaville scored 100 per cent on, a point of personal pride for Serrecchia, whose duties include managing the call centre). Pizzaville is a small chain when compared to an outfit like Domino’s, with 65 stores to date and another five expected to be operational by the end of the year. The chain is in Ontario only and focuses on making primo pizza from high-quality ingredients, keeping the brand focused on gourmet rather than price. Its collaboration with Health Check was born of the changing demographics and the general demand from hungry people, who are now looking for nutritional information whether they do anything with it or not, says Serrecchia. The chain first introduced its Xtra-Thin line, which sold well and laid the groundwork for meeting Health Check’s criteria. “We did a lot of testing and failing, testing and failing, and the testing isn’t cheap,” he says. It took about six months to develop four products that met Health Check’s nutritional standards. Three are pizzas: a medium thin crust potato pizza, an Xtra-Thin fresh veggie pizza and an Xtra-Thin crust goat cheese pizza. The fourth is a spinach and ricotta penne. Pizzaville uses their regular dough and did not change the cheese for the Health Check items, just the amount of dough and the amount of cheese. “In this industry where people usually demand more, we are in fact enforcing less and that’s ironic.”

Pizzaville uses different marketing campaigns, such as “Less crust, more taste” to downplay the negative connotation of “less” when it comes to a pizza. They put the healthier items on big tastylooking posters. It’s key to meet expectations,” says Serrecchia, and, taste-wise, what customers expect of a healthy product will be different than what they expect from an unhealthy one. “Is this pizza the best you’re ever going to eat? No, but it’s a healthier option and people were pleasantly surprised, especially with the pasta, which was all made in house by a chef daily.” Pizzaville eventually obtained and posted online the nutritional information for nearly their entire menu. The process has been enlightening, Serrecchia says, learning how even the salt in the water for pasta can make such a big difference. Health awareness is certainly prevalent. Serrecchia is fielding questions daily about the nutritional content of Pizzaville’s food. Whether the customer makes a healthier decision or not, he says it’s become top of mind. There will be always be the indulgent pizza to have on our menu, but customers are looking for healthier options, whether they choose them or not. The cost of participating in Health Check may be prohibitive for an independent, as all those laboratory bills can add up. For now, as the restaurant program is still relatively new, Health Check has been focusing on getting chains on board to help fulfil its mandate of influencing the eating choices of as many Canadians as possible, writes Stephanie Lawrence, assistant director of communications

and marketing for Health Check and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, in an e-mail to Canadian Pizza. However, Lawrence says one of the program’s guiding principles is to make the fees as low as possible. “A sliding fee structure for the grocery program was developed to allow all companies – large and small – to participate. In fact about 40 per cent of the companies in the grocery program only pay between $300 and $500 per year to participate in the program. The model for the restaurant side of the program is evolving and we hope to be able to work with as many operators as possible.” She adds that the restaurant program is more complicated than grocery, requiring more time and resources to work with the program’s partners and ensure consistency in meeting the criteria. Health Check has made its nutritional requirements available to the public on www.healthcheck.org so all restaurants can access them to guide healthy recipe development. Health Check also provides information and resources for restaurants to help them develop healthy menu items, says Lawrence. So whether participating in Health Check is a fit for your pizzeria or not, you can use their nutritional resources to improve your menu. Serrecchia says the number of customers who order Health Check items has sustained and Pizzaville has developed a niche market that’s tried it and stuck with it. But at the end of the day, there’s one thing he says you can’t forget. “If it doesn’t taste good, nobody’s going to eat it.” •

he taste of

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JUNE 2012 pizza 21

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Avoid social media meltdown BY MArThA CISKe

ou’ve likely heard that your business needs to be on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and every other new social media service that’s debuted since then. You have profiles and pages on multiple services but now what? Losing track of where you and your company are online, over-engaging, underengaging, and inaccessible content can hurt your ability to reach your audience. Hurdle past these issues and get back on track with your social media strategy by taking the time to assess where you are, and form a plan for moving forward. PRofilE ovERloAD As sites develop, you may feel like you are always chasing the next greatest place to create a profile for you or your business. All of those sites may not be neccessary to make an impact with your customers and clients. Take inventory of where your profiles and pages are and know what those sites are for. Are they equivalent to a phonebook listing or do they require maintenance and interaction? Can you post status messages, photos, or videos? Are they professional or social networking sites? Can they be linked to a networked posting service? Also make sure you are always in control of your login information. Knowing what each site or service can do for you will help you determine which ones to keep, and which ones to delete. It is far better to have a few well-maintained profiles and services than to stretch your energies across a multitude of poorly created or inactive profile pages. MulTiMEDiA fRENzy Pictures (and videos) might be worth a thousand words, but they might not always be the best vehicle for your

22 pizza JUNE 2012

business’ message. If your audience is the 9-5 working professional and you want them to be able access your information while they are at work, put your message into text. Many office environments do not allow streaming internet media. Some outright prohibit content from major video hosting sites like YouTube or Vimeo. Other professionals may not feel comfortable watching video in the workplace due to noise concerns or the perception of not working. Make sure your audience can still access your content even if they can’t push play. Consider making content summaries of your video presentations available. Also vary your postings to include both text and multimedia content. SociAl MEDiA SilENcE Many new social media users go from gung-ho when they begin their online presence to burned-out. You may have intended to keep posting several times a day, seven days a week but the reality is that without help, you just can’t keep up with that kind of effort. It’s exhausting. However, that two month period where you haven’t posted at all is telling potential customers that you don’t care, that the business isn’t doing well enough to pay attention to your online presence, or that you lack the digital finesse to “get it”. Networked posting services to the rescue! Services like HootSuite and Tweetdeck can help you organize your content and schedule out your activity. Have a plan to post general content about you and your business on a regular basis, then supplement with the more spontaneous or timely content you create later. ovER-PoSTiNg iS ovERwhElMiNg Your posting is out of control. You’ve

posted three inspiring business quotes since breakfast and you are just about to re-tweet an article you saw on a newsfeed, then a photo of your newest product, then a video and…Stop! Don’t. Push. The button. Where are you going with all of that activity? Is it emphasizing your core message? Are you educating and engaging, or just plain annoying your contacts with all of your chatter? Are you revealing more personal information than is really appropriate? Post what matters when it matters. Strategic and planned posting services can help over-posters too. If you are over-posting because several people have access to your accounts and are posting independently, reel it back in and take control. Establish a review process to make sure you are posting for your business or professional persona. That includes putting your personal posts on a personal social media account not your company or professional profile. It’s OK to re-post content from other reliable and respected sources, especially pertinent news or industry happenings, but make sure your own message is not lost in all the activity. Even if you haven’t fallen into any of the above issues entirely, avoid reaching social media meltdown by taking the time to assess your social media strategy now before you lose patience, control, or sight of your goals. The great thing about social media is that it is constantly evolving so you can still get your strategy going and be successful. • Martha Ciske is a legal information technologist and social media consultant in Orlando, Florida. She has worked with professionals, businesses, and non-profit organizations to build their online presence and develop social media strategies. She can be reached at Martha@marthaciske.com.

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Part of Scott’s new B-A-S-I-C-S strategies involves “C” for Community. Hear Scott expand on that and share examples of how to work with your community to gain publicity. You will also learn what makes things newsworthy and effectively get media attention. Scott Anthony, owner of Fox’s Pizza Den in Punxsutawney, Pa., and author of Profits in the Pie, is an industry guru in the field of community marketing, working with the media and gaining free publicity. Scott has toured across the U.S. teaching operators how to increase profits, including seminars at the International Pizza Expo and North American Pizza and Ice Cream Show.

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Small is beautiful How the humble minds behind Gerry Pizza challenged industry trends and made local history BY MArTIN FOrgueS

t first glance, Gerry Pizza has everything it needs – to close down, that is. Driving there means mazing through Charlesbourg, Quebec’s industrial park. The place – a tiny wooden shack with a dimly lit sign – is easy to pass by a few times. This writer (shamefully) did. Twice. And going through the menu for the first time guarantees a panic attack for your wallet – which tends to happen when a 12-inch pepperoni pizza goes for $25, almost double what one of Gerry’s main rivals charges (Normandin, who, unlike Gerry Pizza, delivers). And yet, the tiny wooden shack with its dimly lit sign, outrageous prices and absolute requirement to drive to its secluded location has been around for 43 years, making history in its own right decade after decade. Pizza made its first North American appearance in 1900s New York City, but Quebec City diners couldn’t taste it for decades without driving south of the border, until the 1960s, when Gogo Pizza, Quebec City’s first pizzeria, opened. This inconvenience, along with recurrent trips to Maine and upstate New York, gave Gerry Pizza’s founder, Gérard Trudel, an idea. In 1968, the longtime salesman for Scott Papers bought a small trailer that was selling hotdogs and french fries next to Canadian

24 pizza JUNE 2012

National’s railroad track in Charlesbourg. His breakthrough idea: he added a Blodgett pizza oven to the trailer’s culinary arsenal. “He was a hard worker. He kept his day job at Scott Papers while establishing his restaurant,” says Claude “Gerry” Trudel, Gérard’s son, who currently owns and operates Quebec City’s second pizzeria in history since the original Gerry’s passing in October 2011. After four years of relative success, another idea struck the salesman-turned-entrepreneur. After moving the trailer to another location about 500 metres westwards on Henri-Bourassa Boulevard, he decided to build a more permanent restaurant, in his own original way. “There was this century-old barn on the lot,” recalls Trudel. “My father carefully dismantled it and built his restaurant with the materials,” he adds, citing his father’s affection for antiques in explaining the rather unorthodox idea. The pizza maker had to wait another decade to see his hard work finally pay off. “The restaurant finally became profitable around 1982,” says Trudel. He has his own explanation for the sudden soaring in revenue, and advertising was never a part of the strategy. “In the ’80s, people started to go eat out as part of a multi-

claude “gerry” Trudel in Quebec city’s gerry Pizza.

event night, as a first step before going to the movies or to a bar or nightclub,” he says. “Since they were in a bit of a hurry, we were able to rotate through multiple customers.” Never a fan of advertising – he would barely place ads in local newspapers – Gerry Trudel Sr. bet on highly personalized service, never changing his ingredients and recipes (even if it meant higher prices) and word of mouth. Lifestyle seems a reasonable explanation for the ’80s soaring, but a more folkloric story lies behind it. And it had to involve hockey. “This is the first place where the famed Statsny brothers, Peter and Anton, ate after they defected to the West,” Trudel proudly boasts. Gerry Pizza also became the unofficial restaurant of the Quebec Nordiques in the early ’80s, with most of its roster and then-head coach Michel Bergeron being regular patrons. The restaurant still features its famed, oft-booked Table bleue where the Statsnys had their first meal in the Capitale-Nationale. But times have changed. “Since the ’90s, business has been stagnating since people going out now tend to do only one activity, either going out eating, or to a movie, or going out dancing and drinking,” Trudel says. The only way to pump up profit that Trudel can think of would be franchising, which is totally out of the question. There hasn’t been any renovation to the building since the 1970s; the still-cozy 52-seat dining room has retained its original look and the menu is made of cheaply manufactured plasticized paper – and Trudel doesn’t need or want to expand. “It would betray the restaurant’s essence,” he says. After being greeted by a portrait of former Quebec premier René Lévesque – evoking the founder’s staunch sovereign views – and glancing through the menu (which features only pizza and lasagna), there was still no real explanation for the Gerry Spécial – the 10-incher I ordered with a hefty $25 price tag. But the puzzle was quickly solved at the sight of the pie, a classic “all-dressed” pizza complemented with bacon and onions. Real bacon. Whole strips of it. Real cheese. One-half-inch thick. And all-beef pepperoni prepared as per Claude Trudel’s specifications in an undisclosed location. Trudel is proud of the establishment his father built, but

taking back Gerry Pizza with his sister was not part of his plan. Trudel, a culinary school graduate, worked outside of La Belle Province, both in the rest of Canada and abroad in his 20s, but never imagined he’d be back in the family business. “I love money,” Trudel says. “Making pizza is my living, but my real passion is stock trading,” he admits, confessing that much of his income comes from what he still describes as a hobby. Trading also led to an unlikely gig. In 2010, after what was supposed to be a one-time appearance, he became a regular cast member of local web-based station Radio-Pirate, hosted by maverick radio personality Jeff Fillion, who is credited for Trudel taking his father’s namesake as an avatar. Since then, Trudel has truly become Gerry Pizza for the station’s audience, who, according to the pizzaman/stock trader, contribute to rejuvenating his aging patrons. The changes in his career may have led to new opportunities, but Trudel has maintained the integrity of the business. “We never changed anything in 43 years,” says Trudel. This also explains the aging yet regular clientele, greeted by the restaurant’s latest hire, 22-year veteran Claire St-Louis, who knew a retired couple’s usual order by heart, and served them complimentary, pre-meal coffee. These small but personal touches contribute to the success of Gerry Pizza. “Small is beautiful. My father was a humble man, like this place.” •

JUNE 2012 pizza 25

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Get to the top of search rankings BY MArC gOrDON

ho doesn’t like to be No. 1? There’s nothing quite like seeing your pizzeria come up first in a search. A website is still the backbone of your Internet marketing. No matter how much you tweet, blog, or maintain your LinkedIn profile, your website is the ultimate destination. Your contact information, promotions, company history, products and services are all showcased and presented on your site. However, this article is not about the merits of a website in a Web 2.0 world. It’s about getting your site as high as possible in the search rankings. This article will walk you through the steps I took to make my site, www.marcgordon.ca, come up No. 1 on Google, Yahoo and Bing with a search for “marc gordon.” It took just under 60 days from the time I uploaded my site to the time I hit No. 1 in Google. Yahoo and Bing followed about a week later. How long I will be at number is anyone’s guess. Your site might hit No. 1 sooner, later, or perhaps never. Search engines decide who should be No. 1, not you or I. They use everchanging algorithms to filter what they deem the most relevant sites based on search queries. These algorithms are unique from one search engine to another. Search engine companies are secretive about how they filter and sort queries. As such, be leery of companies who claim they can make you No.1 in just a few days, for a fee. None of these methods will cost you money. None of them are sneaky. All of them are deemed acceptable practice by the search engines. And together, they’ve worked for me. RElEvANT coPy This is the most important element in getting a high page ranking. Search engines love rich, relevant content. Your site is about pizza, so talk about everything to do with pizza in all shapes and forms. But remember, your site should be written for visitors first – not search engines. So avoid tricks like using your company name in every sentence, repeating the same phrases, or making certain words bold. If your site is awful to read, people will leave it, never to return. Then it won’t matter how high you rank in Google. MiNiMAl flASh Sure, flash can be cool. But beyond the fact that most people do a lousy job of integrating it effectively into a site, search engines cannot read it. Text written in flash looks more like white space when the search engines look at the code. While html might

26 pizza JUNE 2012

seem boring, remember that a great looking site has nothing to do with the code and everything to do with visual style and functionality. MiNiMAl PDf filES While search engines can read PDF files, they don’t come through as clear as good old fashioned text. If the text has been converted to a graphic prior to saving, then the file can’t be read at all. Combine that with the fact that most people don’t always feel comfortable downloading files, and you’ve got two big reasons to add another web page instead of creating a PDF document. PAgE TiTlES I have found the most success by having a detailed standard page title for every page, preceded by the name of the specific page. For example, assuming your home page title is ABC Company: Makers of the world’s best pizza, then the title for the menu page could be “Choose from over 30 gourmet pizzas – ABC Company: Makers of the world’s best pizza.” AlTERNATivE TExT Back in the olden days, some browsers could not display graphics properly, if at all, so alternative text would be attached to the html code. That way, if a photo of a house could not be displayed, you could at least see some text that would read “photo of house.” Even though this is no longer an issue, I encourage you to continue this practice. PAgE DEScRiPTioN The page description appears under your site listing when it shows up in a search. Your description should be an objective description of your company, or you, and written in proper sentence form. For example: “ABC Company, located in Vancouver, makes an authentic Italian pizza. The company was founded in 1981and has received numerous industry awards.” kEy woRDS Many experts claim that meta tags such as keywords are no longer relevant as search engines stopped acknowledging them due to abuse by sneaky designers. Whether this is true is open to debate. But since they take so little time to insert, why not? Simply list every word you can think of that someone might enter into a search engine query, separated by a comma. You can also

use what’s called long tailed key words. These are mini phrases that people might enter such as “deep dish pizza”. Avoid sneaky methods such as inserting the names of your competitors, or URLs of other sites. SiTE MAP Search engines love sitemaps. A sitemap is simply a text based file that lists all the pages in your site, when it was last updated, how often it changes, and how important each page is in relation to other URLs in the site. ExTERNAl liNkS To youR SiTE If a lot of people link their sites to your site, it must mean you are pretty important. Search engines like important people (or at least their websites). While you can always pay others to link to your site by placing ad banners on their pages, I always like to encourage people to do it for free. This can be done by reciprocating with links to their site, or having content relevant enough that people choose to link their sites to yours on their own. SEARch ENgiNE SuBMiSSioN Search engines have what are called web crawlers. These are little programs that scour the net looking for new sites. If you upload a site, eventually these crawlers will find it. But if you want to

speed up the process, you can submit your site directly to the search engines. This is free to do and takes just a few minutes. I would encourage you to concentrate your efforts on Google, Yahoo and Bing. Then hit the others when you have some time to kill. Here are some links that will get you started: www.google. com/addurl, http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit, www. bing.com/webmaster/SubmitSitePage.aspx. PATiENcE The most important part of getting a high ranking is patience. Search engines do what search engines want. Plan your marketing program, refine your services, and even try working the phone. Remember, there are a whole lot of marketing tools available to you outside of the Internet. If you have someone else design your site for you, you can request these methods be applied. Any respectable designer should implement a number of them on their own. One final note, to see how I’ve implemented these tool into my own site, visit http://marcgordon.ca and select View>Page Source in Firefox, or View>Source in Internet Explorer. Good luck! • Marc Gordon is a professional speaker and marketing consultant based in Toronto, Ontario. His firm, Fourword Marketing, specializes in helping businesses create a brand identity and developing effective marketing campaigns. Marc can be reached at (416) 238-7811 or visit www.marcgordon.ca

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Advertisers Index Company .................................................................. Page # Annex Circulation .................................................. 19 Burke Corporation ................................................ 11 Crown Custom Metal Spinning Inc. ...................... 15 Middleby Marshall .................................................. 7 Canadian Pizza Business Forum ......................... 23 Pizza Power Pages ......................................... 28, 29 Pizza With Purpose .............................................. 17 Ricco Food Distributor .......................................... 21 Salerno .................................................................. 21 Saputo ............................................................... OBC Springer’s Meats Inc. ............................................ 25 Stanislaus ............................................................ 4,5 Thunderbird Food Machinery, Inc. ....................... 27 Viau Food Products Inc. ..................................... IFC XLT Ovens ........................................................... IBC 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. Canadian Pizza Magazine is not liable for errors or omissions.

JUNE 2012 pizza 29

pizza on fire

Tom Stankiewicz his year started out on a very good note for my pizzeria. We competed once again at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and were delighted when our pie won for best traditional pizza in the mid-American category. My colleague Mark Briand and I had spent countless hours choosing the best blend of pizza toppings to make this one a winner. Now, the big question is, how do I turn this great opportunity into higher revenue and, ultimately, more loyal customers? Anyone who has won an award must later concentrate on how to successfully market that accomplishment to the public. For one thing, it should be somewhat easier than everyday marketing because top recognition from judges from any competition signals a great product. It means that other people, not just you, believe there is something special about your pizza. In the past, our biggest advertisement has been tried and true word of mouth. Our customers are our No. 1 marketing tool. We make sure they know, for example, we’ve been to Las Vegas and we’ve won. Of course, we want to share our joy, but we also know that people like to talk about winners. We have many new customers coming in saying that their friends buy pizza from us all the time, so they also came to try it. We put great emphasis on customer experience, which means that we try to talk with every customer who comes in for a pickup. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking how their day is going. They remember that personal touch. Like most businesses in town, we invested some time ago in a huge sign that allows us to post any advertisement we need to for the pizzeria. It’s been working great. It lets our customers know about various pizza specials or new additions to our menu. If you plan on getting one, ensure it

Selling your story

30 pizza JUNE 2012

capitalize on your success by emphasizing customer service and sparking interest in your award-winning menu.

is placed in a highly visible area. I see too many signs hidden out of sight and that is simply a waste of money. People have to see it and read it in a few seconds because most of the time they are driving by your place. For the next little while, we will be using ours to sing about our success in Las Vegas. The next thing on our to-do list is to make some adjustments to our current pizza menu. By analyzing our existing sales we have found out what works and what needs to be changed. A definite change will be the addition of our winning pizza from Las Vegas. The idea is to make it more visible on the new menu so customers can quickly spot it. We expect this new pizza to be very popular among our clients. We want this new item to be our next conversation starter, which in turn will lead to its status as the “next big thing” and more wonderful word of mouth. Participating in various charity events in our city of London, Ont., this summer will provide further opportunities to share our success with our community. Those who have done it in the past know that it’s an

excellent way to support and connect with your customer base. Last but not least, we have designated a special area in our pizza store to showcase our awards. We have experimented with this strategy before when we introduced a take-and-bake pizza. We created a funky “take-and-bake” setup featuring a vintage oven in a very visible spot. Everyone who walked into the store noticed it right away and that, of course, led to questions. That was exactly our intention from the beginning because it allowed us to explain how to bake it and why it is a fantastic option for some customers. The idea behind the awards area is very similar. We want the clients to see what we have accomplished and ask questions. We’re more than happy to tell them the story that will very likely be repeated to their friends and co-workers. • Tom Stankiewicz has been in the pizza business for more than 15 years. He has been the proprietor of Bondi’s Pizza in London, Ont., since 2000, and is president of the Canadian Pizza Team.

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