Thousands of industry professionals from across the country descended on Orlando, Florida, September 7-9 for the 2nd Annual Orlando Pizza Show and the 2007 Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show. “This year’s Orlando show was our best ever, hands down,” saysPMQ Publisher and Pizza Show Producer Steve Green. “There were more attendees, more interactivity, more exhibitors and more competitions. There were chances to win prizes just for standing around the Pizza Industry Information Center, and the crowd got into it more than any other show we’ve produced. The exhibitors, attendees and PMQ couldn’t be more pleased with the results.”

Attendees had the opportunity to taste hundreds of new foods from around the world, watch competitions for the U.S. Pizza Team, which included the American Pizza Championship Semi-Finals and Finals, attend seminars by Michael Rasmussen (Rasmussen Tax Group), Jim Millikin (Wheat State Pizza), Aaron Allen (Quantum Marketing Group) and Jeff Mandel (Heartland Payment Systems), work one-on-one with Jeff Zeak and Tom Lehmann (American Institute of Baking) and network with thousands of industry colleagues. 
During the show, PMQ held the U.S. Pizza Team Trials where dozens of dough-spinning pizza acrobats competed for a spot on the 2008 USPT and to win trips to Europe and New York City. In the USPT Acrobatic competition, John Howe of Domino's Pizza in Orlando, Florida, won the Fastest Pizza Maker competition with a blistering time of 28 seconds; Scott Childers of East Coast Pizzeria in Riverview, Florida, won the Largest Dough Stretch by stretching his dough ball 39.5 inches; and Ryan LaRose of Dallis Pizzeria in Lake Mary, Florida, won the Free Style Dough Tossing Competition. All three of these winners have been awarded a spot on the U.S. Pizza Team, which will represent the nation’s pizza industry in international competitions in Europe.
You may remember a story we featured in our last issue about a budding 10-year-old acrobatic dough tosser named Sam Niemeier who won a local talent show with his pizza dough tossing abilities (Sept., p.38). Well, Sam struck again in the Throw Dough National Championship in Orlando and won first place. This year’s USPT dough tosser Ryan LaRose better watch his back, because Sam says he’s eying the title of best acrobatic dough tosser.

The show floor (Pizza Show and Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show combined) hosted 650 exhibiting companies showcasing everything for the front and back of a restaurant and foodservice establishment with products ranging from equipment to gourmet foods. "The show was excellent, especially here in the PMQ section," said a representative from Dominix, known as the 'Eggplant People'. "I feel like the edible products really draw in the people. We were nonstop from 11:00 to 4:30...it just never quit."

At the close of the show, exhibitors donated 5,700 pounds of food to the Central Florida Food Bank. The donation is the equivalent of more than 4,400 full meals that will be provided to those in need in Central Florida. 

PMQ’s New York Pizza Show will be held March 9-11, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in conjunction with the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York. PMQ’s 2008 Orlando Pizza Show will be held September 5-7 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. For more information on exhibiting or attending either of these events, call 662-234-5481 ext. 136 or visit the official show web site at www.thepizzashow.com. 

Meet the Winners
American Pizza Championship (APC)
1st Place: David Smith II, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA
2nd Place: Jason Samosky, Samosky's Homestyle Pizzeria, Valley City, OH
3rd Place: Leah Scurto, Pizza My Heart, Santa Cruz, CA

Fastest Pizza Maker
1st Place: John Howe, Domino's Pizza, Orlando FL  
2nd Place: Roger McColly, Domino's Pizza, Upper Sandusky OH
3rd Place: Waleed Zarou, Don Carleones Brick Oven Pizzeria, Sterling, VA

Largest Dough Stretch
1st Place: Scott Childers, East Coast Pizzeria, Riverview, FL
2nd Place: Roger McColly, Domino's Pizza, Upper Sandusky, OH
3rd Place: Dan Saccone, Saccone's Pizza and Subs, Leander, TX

Freestyle Acrobatic
1st Place: Ryan LaRose, Dallis Pizzeria, Lake Mary, FL
2nd Place: David Albert, Bona Pizza, Tampa, FL
3rd Place: John Howe, Domino's Pizza, Orlando, FL

Throw Dough National Championship
1st Place: Sam Niemeier, 10 years old, Indialantic, FL

Virtual Show
If you didn’t make it to the show this year, you can still catch many of the highlights on www.PizzaTV.com. PMQ’s Pizza TV crew was roaming the show floor and you can review all of their best footage online.PMQ seminars, U.S. Pizza Team contests, industry leader interviews and comments from attendees right from the show floor will be available at the click of a mouse. Drop by www.PizzaTV.com and get a taste of what you missed. Then, for the full experience, plan to attend the New York show in March and the Orlando show next September.

America’s Best Pizza!
David Smith II from Smith’s Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, PA blew the judges away with his Cajun Chicken Pizza and walked away the winner of this year’s American Pizza Championship (APC). He started the day winning the APC Semi-Finals and just when the excitement started to settle in for that win, he beat out the APC undefeated champion, Jason Samosky and the Roma Pizza Contest and APC finalist winner Leah Scurto to be crowned the Best Pizza Maker in America. Now David will travel with the U.S. Pizza Team (USPT) to Europe to represent America there, and advance to the America’s Plate Competition at PMQ’s New York Pizza Show to compete against at least seven other countries for the title of World’s Best Pizza Maker in March. “I’m still ecstatic,” says Smith. “My results in Orlando will be hard to match in future competitions. Since the win, I’ve been featured in five newspapers, on two radio shows, and have been contacted by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno!”
Want to try your hand at David’s recipe? Get it online at www.uspizzateam.com.

David Smith’s Winning Recipe for Cajun Chicken
Ingredients for a 14-inch pie:
18 oz. dough ball
¾ c. Cajun Sauce (made from ketchup, brewed coffee, olive oil, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, crushed garlic, oregano, bay leaves, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, lemon juice and rosemary)
10 oz. shredded mozzarella and/or provolone cheese
6 oz. chicken breast, marinated in soy sauce, with fajita and Cajun seasoning, pre-cooked and cubed
¼ c. precooked bacon, chopped
½ c. chopped celery
Parmesan and/or Romano cheese
Oregano and/or basil
Bleu cheese dressing

Directions:
Toss out dough onto 14-inch diameter screen
Spread Cajun Sauce on dough
Cover sauce using half of the shredded cheese
Evenly distribute chicken, bacon and celery on top of cheese
Add remainder of shredded cheese
Sprinkle Parmesan/Romano, oregano/basil
Bake in preheated oven at 500F until crust and bottom are brown
After baked, drizzle with bleu cheese
Enjoy!
About the U.S. Pizza Team
The U.S. Pizza Team is a group of pizza makers and dough acrobats whose goal is to bring the world’s attention to the talent and camaraderie of the pizza industry. More information on the U.S. Pizza Team and its members can be found at www.uspizzateam.com
About America’s Plate
The America's Plate is an International Culinary Pizza Competition that is held in New York City every March at the New York Pizza Show. The trophy “Plate” now resides in Spain after their team was awarded the coveted prize for being judged the Best Pizza in the World, following a two-year streak from the Australians, which had taken the “Plate” each year prior. Each participating country has a structure of sanctioned competitions from which the best pizza team emerges. All the teams then converge on New York to battle for the chance to take home the prize. For more information, visit www.americasplate.com.

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