IT'S SHOW TIME!
November 1st and 2nd is just a couple of weeks away and we here at PMQ couldn't be more excited. Having just returned from Sydney, Australia, to witness the Caboolture Cheese Best of the Best pizza competition, I was thrilled to hear the energetic buzz about the New York Pizza Show that's even going on Down Under. We've been receiving calls and email from both exhibitors and attendees with questions and interest in the show. With more than 20 super seminars, U.S. Pizza Team tryouts, seven countries participating in the America's Plate competition, at least seven finalists in the American Pizza Championships, appearances from the Italian Pizza Acrobatic Team and an amazing line-up of exhibitors, we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first pizzeria in America, located right there in New York City – Lombardi's Pizza. We look forward to seeing all of our loyal readers, international friends, supportive advertisers, exhibitors, associates and new friends in New York City at the Jacob Javits Center for the New York Pizza Show. REMEMBER NOVEMBER!
The World of Pizza
You'll see a little extra international coverage in this issue of PMQ as we would like to show just how far pizza has spread in the past 100 years. PMQ spends a lot of time and resources traveling to Italy, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand exploring what the world of pizza is doing in all corners of the globe. In the process, we see lots of new ideas and approaches to pizza and meet some very informative experts. In this issue, we are featuring articles from China, New Zealand, the UK and Brazil in addition to features from across the U.S. We are also announcing the launching of www.pmq.cn, a website dedicated to the rapidly growing pizza industry in China. If you visit the site, you'll be hard-pressed to understand it – unless you can read Chinese. That's because we have employed Weihua Watson to develop this new addition to the PMQ family. We hope you will enjoy this international content and understand a little more about what is happening in the World of Pizza.
U.S. Pizza Team Continues to Amaze
A big, gracious thank you to all of our U.S. Pizza Team sponsors. Because of them, the U.S. Pizza Team has been able to travel all across the nation demonstrating the fun, flare and excitement of pizza. As I write this, the team is on the road performing Maryland, New Jersey and headed to San Antonio, Texas, in about 10 days. In their wake, they are creating headlines and appearing on television at just about every stop they make. We can't wait to see who will be part of the 2006 U.S. Pizza team. If you would like to tryout, be sure to register for the trials at the New York Pizza Show. For more information, call Caroline Felker at 662-234-5481 ext. 125, email caroline@pmq.com or visit www.uspizzateam.com.
Pizza Cruise
The Pizza Cruise is a go, but due to Hurricane Katrina and changes in cruise ship schedules out of New Orleans, the trip has been rescheduled for 2007 and will depart from Port Canaveral just outside of Orlando, Florida. You can read more about the excitement of the Pizza Cruise on page 73.