International Pizzaiolos Vie for America’s Plate on World Stage
Oxford, Miss. (March 6, 2007) – Just four days from now, the best pizza makers from around the world will gather at the Javits Convention Center, all vying to win the coveted America’s Plate. They’ll toss, they’ll sauce and they’ll top, all in an effort to win over the judges and earn their creation the title of Best Pizza in the World. Pizza makers representing the United States, Australia, Italy, France, Finland and China are scheduled to compete Monday, March 10 from 10 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The winner being announced at 1:30 p.m.
This year’s judges include the 2007 America’s Plate Champion from Spain, Fabian Martin; Chef-instructor Jeffrey Yoskowitz from The Institute of Culinary Education in New York, and seasoned pizzaiolos Salvo D’Aguanno and Pasqulale Loguidice.
Each participating country has selected its best pizza team from a series of sanctioned competitions. They have developed a specialty pizza to be evaluated by the expert panel following international judging criteria. Recipes are a closely guarded secret prior to the event, and teams often bring flour, seasonings and even water from their homelands to ensure flavor consistency and quality. Judging is based on appearance, taste and commercial viability.
The United States has never won the America’s Plate. It will pin its hopes on David Smith II of Smith’s Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, Pa., the Best Pizza winner at the American Pizza Championships in Orlando, Fla. last September. China’s team was dealt an unexpected blow last Thursday, when top chef Songlin Liu was denied a travel visa by the Consulate General of the U.S. This is the second consecutive year that the leading Chinese pizza chef was denied a non-immigrant visa. Other members of the Chinese team will participate.
The New York Pizza Show is sponsored by PMQ’s Pizza Magazine (www.pmq.com) and is held in conjunction with the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York March 9-11. For more information and press releases:
www.americasplate.com
www.newyorkpizzashow.com
www.NYNewswire.com
PMQ’s Pizza Magazine reaches 40,000 owner/operators each issue, 5,000 Web visitors each day, and 10,000 newsletter subscribers each week, helping to make it the official publication of the $33-billion pizza industry.
For more information contact Liz Barrett, 662-234-5481 x126, liz@pmq.com
