|
|
|
||
|
|||
After working many jobs, Dino found they just were not what he wanted. His first love as a young boy was to become a pilot. Later on in his teens it was cars and bikes. He always thought he would have a career doing something mechanical, but fortunately his passion for food always came up in the equation.
Dino bought his first pizzeria in 1990 and the rest you might say is history. He has won 21 competitions at last count to be exact. We know of no one who has come close to that number. You might say Dino is our Wayne Gretzky or Babe Ruth. He now uses his extensive experience for consulting, pizza judging and contest setups. He is one of PMQ’s recipe guys and has been a translator for The US Pizza Team in Italy.
This guy is one of the most creative people you will meet. The other day he had to dig a ditch and complained about the shovel design. One idea he is working on is a new conveyor oven and a pizza management system that will “revolutionize deck ovens.” There’s also a pizzeria certification system he has been working on. It’s an organization to unite independent pizzerias for national recognition and to function as a powerhouse buying group. This would create a more level playing field Dino says.
Something new Dino is presently also working on in his spare time is building custom chopper motorcycles. Dino says he loves being artistic with metal, but simple bikes are not what we’re talking about here. And leave it to Dino to come up with a way to combine pizza to the mix. Dino is creating the world’s first “Official US Pizza Bike” sponsored in part by PMQ. This bike will make the full pizza show tour starting in New York City with PMQ’s New York Pizza Show (March 4-6, 2007).
The ultimate goal is to use this pizza bike for a television pizza show tentatively called “The Adventures of Pizza Dude.” The adventures would take him from town to town spreading the gospel of pizza. Pulling into town on this radical custom chopper, he talks with locals to find a mom and pop pizzeria, meeting the owner(s) and discussing the life of owning and operating a pizzeria. They discuss the life of the pizzaiolo, the ups and downs. Each episode would include sharing tricks of the trade plus helping each other improve the business. They will also go shopping later for some great local ingredients and making a killer new pie. Another idea is doing a delivery on the pizza bike to some really interesting and fun customers.
Each show would include a topic like sauce, dough, toppings, ovens, staff and so on. Then when Pizza Dude is to leave, all his new friends wave goodbye and some escort him out of town on other bikes and classic cars, kind of like the Pied Piper of Pizza. Pizza Dude then rides off into the sunset off to his next great pizza adventure. WOW! This really sounds like something that could be very cool.
Now, getting back to the pizza bike. As Pizza Dude makes it to all the big PMQ Pizza Shows, the momentum is building. Everyone will be working hard to get this Official USA Pizza Bike all the exposure it deserves. So Dino says depending on the city we’re in, like say New York, we want to work to get shows like Martha Stewart and Dave Letterman to do photo ops, etc. In LA, Jay Leno, the “pizza eating chopper junky” would be a shoo-in, creating more momentum and exposure for the pizza show. Think about it. Who would not want to sit on the Official US Pizza Bike? After all, it’s as patriotic as baseball and apple pie. But wait, Dino says, “I always try to see what other good for humanity I can do through everything I do.” Dino thus has completed the groundwork to build an Official US Pizza Bike that will be raffled every year starting in 2007. That means that he would build a $150,000 exotic radical chopper to be raffled every year with net proceeds going to charity. “This will be us, the pizza industry, giving something back.”
Dino needs your help. He is presently looking for sponsors, like food distributors, food manufactures, equipment companies and an enclosed bike trailer manufacturer. Dino says he needs your help to locate some interested participants. If all pizziolo’s could lobby The Food Network or any other television networks, this would be hugely appreciated and Dino says anyone who helps will receive free raffle tickets to the pizza bike plus your name will go into draw for picking the pizzerias for the TV show. Please e-mail Dino@officalusapizzabike.com. Well, I must say it was an awesome experience meeting and interviewing “The World’s Most Dangerous Man In Pizza.” Thanks Dino for furthering the world of pizza. Safe riding, dude.