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Bright Lights, Big Pizza!
By Liz Barrett and Tracy Morin
What do you think about when you think about New York? Pizza, right? So it’s no
surprise that when New Yorkers hear about a pizza trade show happening in their own
backyard, they want to check it out. This year’s 4th annual New York Pizza Show hosted
hundreds of pizza people who fl ooded the aisles of the Jacob Javits Center on March 9
to 11 to see new products from pizza industry suppliers such as La Nova Wings, Fidelity
Communications, Moving Targets, F&A Dairy Products, Bolla Wines of Italy, Intura
Solutions, Italians: The Art of Food, Bakers Pride and more.
The aisles were a fl urry of activity as company representatives explained their products;
pizza spinners from the U.S. Pizza Team spun dough for impressed onlookers; Tony
Modica performed the “Pizza Dance”; and attendees taste-tested pizzas fresh out of the
oven from Tom “The Dough Doctor” Lehmann and Jeff Zeak of the American Institute of
Baking. All in all, we had a great three days, all in the name of pizza!
And the Winner Is…
A pizza show just wouldn’t be the same without a competition. So we invited a few
countries to duke it out in the on-site kitchens and then present their very best pizzas to
our sequestered judges, who had probably the hardest job of all—deciding who had the
best pizza when it came to taste, originality and marketability.
Knowing that we needed some highly trained taste buds, we chose our panel carefully
and ended up with the following panel: the 2007 America’s Plate Champion from Spain,
Fabian Martin; chef-instructor Jeffrey Yoskowitz from The Institute of Culinary Education
in New York; seasoned pizzaiolos Salvo D’Aguanno and Pasqulale Loguidice; and
corporate chef of Marsal & Sons Santo Bruno.
Food, Food, Everywhere
Running in conjunction with PMQ’s Pizza Show was the International
Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, celebrating
its 15th year and enjoying a 14% increase in attendance
over previous years. Attendees were invited to meet with 650 exhibitors
that showcased thousands of products, ranging from fi ne
French pastries to inventive new bagel slicers, and the show’s
opening day keynote address welcomed a standing-room-only
crowd for chef/owner of The French Laundry, Thomas Keller.
Highlights of the show included The Ultimate Barista Challenge
USA, the 19th Annual U.S. Pastry Competition, the New
York Wine Expo, the Japanese Demonstration Theater and Pavilion,
and the Photography for Philanthropy art auction. To find
out more about these events and next year’s show (to be held
March 1 to 3, 2009), visit www.thefoodshows.com.
Pizza Makes Waves Worldwide
When PMQ rolled into town for the New York Pizza show,
it wasn’t only big news in the pizza industry; it took the entire
city by storm, making headlines on some of the biggest nationally
viewed shows in the country. Members of the U.S. Pizza
Team—Chris Green, Casey Cole and Ryan LaRose—performed
on Good Morning America on March 10, showing hosts Diane
Sawyer and Chris Cuomo how to spin dough (though Cuomo had
enough trouble catching the Throw Doughs that flew toward his
face from off camera). The following day, John Howe, one of the
fastest pizza makers in the world, attempted to beat his own previous
record for pizza making (28 seconds) on Live With Regis
and Kelly, and succeeded with a time of 21.8 seconds. Afterward,
John gave the flour-smattered hosts a quick lesson on how to make
their own pizzas—
at a more leisurely
pace, of course.
John (left) is
fast, no question,
and he will continue
to chase the
20.37-second record
originally set
by his pizza making mentor Brian Edler (right) back in 2003. Everyone
is looking forward to a possible face off between the two
at our upcoming Orlando Pizza Show in September.
The rest of the world also reverberated with hype from the
show when news of Jarmo Valtari’s win in the America’s Plate
competition spread throughout Europe. Valtari, from Finland,
received press from thousands of miles away, from MTV3 in Finland
as well as news offices from as far as St. Petersburg, Russia.
Meanwhile, fellow competitor David Smith II received his own
share of press for competing in the America’s Plate, in Forbes
Small Business magazine. Casey from the Pizza Team was recognized
by New York’s Daily News and The Cincinnati Enquirer
for his first-place win during the team tryouts, while John scored
a spot in the pages of the Orlando Sentinel. Other media placements
for the pizza show included CNN, the Culinary Media Network,
NHK Japan, and several Finnish websites.
Time Out to Enjoy Some Pie
PMQ couldn’t go to New York and not partake in some good
old-fashioned New York-style slices. So PMQ staffers and friends
worked up a good appetite at the show each day and took some
time off in the evening to enjoy wonderful feasts with our New
York hosts Tony Modica at La Bella Vita, John Brescio at Lombardi’s
and Ric Mancini at John’s Pizzeria.