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Dreams Come True
in Columbus, Ohio
page 1 | page 2 | contents
You missed it! If you didn't go to Columbus, Ohio, for this year's
Mid-America Pizza Show, you missed it. What was it you missed? First, you missed your chance to win one of three trips to Italy. Second, you missed watching this year's U.S. Pizza Team come together. Third, you missed out on sampling the best pizzas in America as the nation's top pizza chefs competed in the Pizza Pizzazz. You also missed many great new ideas and products that were exhibited at the show. Even with "that other show" taking place on the West Coast, the Mid-America Pizza Show still managed to attract more than 14,700 attendees.
I won a trip to Italy!
You're probably wondering just what we mean with the "Dreams Come True" headline. Listen to this: "We decided to enter the Pizza Pizzazz competition on the Friday (February 15th) before the competition (which took place on Monday the 18th). That Saturday night I went to sleep and had a dream that we had won the competition...and we actually ended up winning!" 
Those were the words of Sean Brauser of Romeo's Pizza in Medina, Ohio, who took top honors in the Traditional Pizza category and won a spot on the U.S. Pizza Team and a free trip to Italy. His creation called "The Butcher Shop" was made with pepperoni, sausage, meatballs and bacon. Second place and $400 went to Craig Preibe of CK's Grilled Pizza in Norcross, GA, for his grilled whole wheat crust, fresh tomato basil sauce, Italian sausage, bacon, mushroom, onions and mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Third place and $200 went to Scott Cosentino of Good Fella's Brick Oven Pizza in Staten Island, New York, for his roasted peppers, fresh basil, sausage, mozzarella and Romano cheese.
I won a trip to Italy, too!
Top honors for the Gourmet Pizza category, held on Sunday, went to Terri Snider-Boring of Percelli's Pizza in McAuthur, Ohio, for her "Greek Supreme" with mushrooms, black olives, special white sauce, three cheeses and bacon. Terri, who has worked in her parent's pizza shop since she was a child, is also an elementary school principal. "This was my fifth year to compete," Terri said. "I had been entering the traditional category, but entered the gourmet category last year. Until now, the best I had placed was third. The competition has inspired me to try new and exciting things." Now Terri is part of the 2002 U.S. Pizza Team. Second prize and $400 went to 2001 winner, Jodie Aufdencamp of Mama Mimi's Take N Bake in Columbus, Ohio, for her "Mama's Favorite Chicken" with roasted garlic, cream sauce, chicken, smoked bacon, roma tomatoes and a mozzarella/ cheddar blend cheese. Third place and $200 went to Michael Amheiser of Pizza Dock in Fredericktown, Ohio, for his white sauce, chicken and cheese pizza.
I won a trip to Italy, three!
The winner of the Dough Stretching category and the third position on the U.S. Pizza Team was Michael Sheppard of Angelo's Pizza in Kenton, Ohio. Winning Stretch: 24.88 inches. This was a tight competition going right down to the wire. As the last contestant pulled and stretched his dough, it looked as if he had the winning stretch, but one last toss of the dough proved fatal as his dough tore and was disqualified. No guts, no glory. Better luck next year.
Reigning world champion dough thrower and captain of this year's U.S. Pizza Team, Tony Gemignani was present to demonstrate his winning style of acrobatic dough throwing and show potential contestants what is expected in Italy. There were several audience members present asking questions about next year's trials and said they would definitely be back to compete in the Acrobatic Dough Throwing category next year. If you are interested in competing in, or have questions concerning entering next year's trials, contact
Steve Green at 662-234-5481 ext. 123 or email him at steve@pmq.com.
The U.S. Pizza Team's Secret Weapon...
Five-time World Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani of Pyzano's Pizza in Castro Valley, California, took a few moments to visually explain to the crowd what the freestyle dough throwing routines will be like in Italy. Tony's dynamically charged acrobatic performance captivated the crowd, and several viewers announced afterward they would be trying out for the team next year. Tony has received numerous awards and has appeared on several TV shows for his routine, including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
