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THE UNITED STATES PIZZA TEAM IS SOLID GOLD!
This year the U.S. Pizza Team was invited by Caputo flour and the APN (Associazione Pizzaioli Napoletani) to attend and compete in the sixth annual International Pizza Championship of Naples. In addition to competing, the team and those traveling with us had the unique opportunity to tour Italian vineyards, flour factories and see how genuine buffalo mozzarella is made in addition to touring Pompeii and Rome. While sampling some of Italy’s best wine, cheese, pizza and culinary delights, it was also nice to get a taste of victory at the competition.
Rome and Pompeii
While touring Italy, the team made a few interesting and educational stops along the way. On the first day in Italy, everyone loaded into the tour bus for a ride out past Mt. Vesuvius and into the historic city of Pompeii. One of the favorites of this trip was the tour of Rome. Arriving early in the morning, we were able to visit St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican, the Coliseum and did a bus tour of the Roman Palace ruins and the central government buildings. From there we traveled south again towards Naples, stopping at the Torre Gaia Vineyard for an enjoyable and leisurely lunch and tour of the winemaking facilities. After the U.S. Pizza Team acrobats entertained the other guests with an ad-lib performance, we were off to Naples for the competition.
The Competition
Once we arrived in Naples, it was time to compete. The competition lasted two days with culinary action on the first. This year’s competition has a larger than usual turnout and culinary action spilled over into the second day and finally wrapping up around 2 o’clock. Then it was time to begin the acrobatics. Like other competitions, acrobatics consisted of Team Dough Tossing, Largest Dough Stretch, Fastest Pizza Making and Individual Dough Tossing. The U.S. Pizza Team, along with Juan Hermosillo from Canadian pizza chain Pizza Pizza, won first place in Team Acrobatics. Juan also went on to win gold in the Largest Dough Stretch competition too. Members of the acrobatic team included Patt Miller (Columbus, Ohio), Casey Cole (Franklin, Ohio), Chris Balthrop (Chattanooga, Tennessee), and acrobatic trainer Chris Green (Oxford, Mississippi). This was the first time the U.S. Pizza Team has won the team acrobatic competition and we would like to congratulate each and every one of them on their excellent performance.
Flour and Cheese Tours
In addition to city tours and the competition, we were given exclusive access to the Antico Molino Caputo flour factory and the Bellopede Golino Buffalo Cheese factory. The Caputo factory is best know here in the U.S. for the unique “00” pizza flour, but in Italy they are known for all of the different flour they make and are considered by Italians to be the makers of the finest flour in the world. At the Bellopede “Mozzarella di Bufala Campana” we were able to view the complete process of how buffalo mozzarella (used to create some of the first pizzas ever created) is made. The cheese we sampled was made with milk that had come from buffalos milked that very morning…talk about fresh cheese.
See the Video
PMQ videographer Greg Giblin captured most of the tours, sites and competition and has done a fantastic job of editing the trip into several videos that you can watch. To get a glimpse of the 2007 Italy Tour and the competition, which includes the winning performance in the team category, go to www.pizzatv.com and click on Adventures in Pizza. Here you can see and hear the processes for making Caputo’s “00” flour and how Bellopede produces buffalo mozzarella.
Thanks to the Sponsors
PMQ and everyone who traveled to Italy with the 2007 U.S. Pizza Team would like to thank all of the 2007 sponsors who make the U.S. Pizza Team possible each year. The sponsors have done a wonderful job of supporting our industry and the team in its effort to bring more attention to our industry. If you are in Orlando for PMQ’s Orlando Pizza Show, be sure to drop by the sponsors’ booths and support the companies who support our industry.