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To quote the character John “Hannibal” Smith from the popular 80’s TV show The A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together.” That is exactly what happened March 4th through the 6th at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City when PMQ and Reed Exhibitions held their first joint venture in the Big Apple and brought together the 3rd annual PMQ’s New York Pizza Show and the 14th Annual International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York. It was truly two great shows under one roof. With Reed’s restaurant show, PMQ’s New York Pizza Show, a Japanese Pavilion and Barista Competition, restaurant owners deemed the show a resounding success. To view video of the show and comments from attendees and exhibitors, visit www.PizzaTV.com.
Following up on the collaboration and success in Orlando of combining a restaurant and a pizza show, PMQ and Reed Exhibitions have demonstrated just how tight the bonds and relationships are within these two industries.
Pizza really is part of the restaurant business. “Last year when the Wall Street Journal reported on the evolution of the Pizza Industry, they talked about how it had matured and had melded with the overall restaurant industry,” said PMQ Publisher Steve Green. “That’s why I think PMQ’s Pizza Shows have been so well received as part of Reed’s mega-restaurant shows. Pizza is something that restaurants are looking to add to their current menu…and for far too long, pizza has segregated itself with its own set of trade shows. Now pizza’s new act and new opportunities are being presented to everyone in the food business and not just the pizza elites.”
PMQ’s New York Pizza Show featured several events that drew in not only pizzeria owners, but also restaurant owners from across America and the globe. Among these events was the 3rd annual America’s Plate international pizza competition, which featured contestants from Luxembourg, France, Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia and the U.S. First place in this competition was awarded to Fabien Martin from Spain who wowed the audience and the judges with his Gold Pizza, which actually had real gold leaf as a topping. Robert DeFabio from France captured 2nd Place and 3rd Place was given to Jason Samosky from Medina, Ohio’s Samosky’s Pizza who represented the USA. The competition was judged by Chef Dino Ciccone, John Brescio, who owns America’s first and legendary pizzeria, Lombardi’s, Tony Modica, who is known around the world as the originator of the Pizza Dance and also owns a pizzeria in Queens, New York with the same name, and Publisher and Editor of the very popular NYC pizza blog site www.SliceNY.com Adam Kuban.
“I remember lead judge Dino Ciccone’s advice,” Adam said. “He’s a veteran of numerous serious pizza-judgings and has been on the other end of the stick himself, as a contestant. In the event that the first pie is terrific, Ciccone says, it’s best to be conservative with the grading. In other words, even if it rates a 10 in your book, give it an 8 or so. That way, if another pie comes out later that’s even better; you still have room to grade it higher. I’d never thought of this before, and it’s one of the things that put this pizza competition head and shoulders above some of the others I’ve judged in. The overall knowledge of the judges, their love of pizza, and their attention to detail were superb.” You can read his pizza-by-pizza report of the competition at www.sliceny.com.
In the U.S. Pizza Team Trials, Casey Cole from Pisanello’s Pizza in Franklin, Ohio, won the Freestyle Pizza Throwing; Pat Turano from Angelo’s Italian Kitchen in Fairlawn, NJ, won for Largest Dough Stretch; and Casey Hensley from Dominos Pizza in Findlay, Ohio, won Fastest Pizza Maker. All earned a trip to Naples, Italy with the U.S. Pizza Team coming up in May.
One of the highlights of this year’s NY Pizza Show was visit from Sirius Radio’s Wise Guys. The area was jammed packed when Vinny “Big Pussy” Pastore from The Sopranos visited with Brooklyn Joe, Cha-Cha and Joey Rags to launch their new line of meatballs. They signed nearly a thousand copies of the March issue of PMQ’s Pizza Magazine, which featured them on the cover.
Over 600 exhibiting companies showcased thousands of new products and services at PMQ’s New York Pizza Show and the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York. The Show offered chefs, restaurant owners, operators and others in the industry the opportunity to meet with some of the industry’s leading vendors, view and sample the latest cuisines from Japan, and learn from some of the biggest and best names in the industry.
In addition to all things pizza and restaurant, there were other sections of this show that truly set it apart from any other, such as the addition of The New York Wine Expo, which featured wines from around the world including selections from Italy, Rioja, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile, Croatia, Hungry, California and New York. Other highlights included The Ultimate Barista Challenge® USA, which was an action packed competition where baristas competed in a dueling stage of identical espresso stations to shake, not stir, their espresso cocktails, prepare beautiful cafe latte art, blend espresso frappe and brew the best coffee. One of the highlights was the Japanese Demonstration Theater and Pavilion, organized by The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), where 25 food and product vendors showcased historical food preparation techniques and highlighted new trends and innovations. And last but not least, there was the 18th Annual U.S. Pastry Competition, which took place during the show.
“There was a tremendous buzz on the Show floor that this was one of the best events in years,” said Ron Mathews, Event Director for Reed Exhibitions. “We had so many exciting highlights from the Japanese Pavilion, to Danny Meyer’s keynote address, to PMQ’s New York Pizza Show and New York Wine Expo that the thousands of restaurant owners who attended were able to walk away with some terrific new products and ideas to bring back to their businesses.”
At the close of the Show, the exhibitors from the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York donated nearly 30,000 pounds of food to City Harvest, a rescue food agency; the equivalent of 29,000 meals.
If you think this show was unbelievable, or were not able to attend, you still have one more chance this year to catch one of the hottest pizza/restaurant shows in the country; PMQ’s Orlando Pizza Show and the Florida Restaurant Show, which will be held September 7-9, 2007 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. For more information on exhibiting or attending future events, call (662) 234-5481 ext. 122 or ext. 121 or visit www.orlandopizzashow.com. The 2008 New York Pizza Show and International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York will be held Sunday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.
