The Perfect Pizza
For me and I know for many of you, biting into a great tasting piece of pizza is a real culinary moment of joy, yet finding that “perfect pizza” can be a difficult task. After attending and being part of the 27th Annual International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas recently, I know what a great pizza should taste and look like and I want to share a little bit about this popular food item with you.
Wood Stove Pizza
This fun, informative and competitive trade show featured every element of pizza making you can think of from displays of pizza ovens, pizza making gadgets, pizza boxes, cheeses, toppings, sauces, and seasonings to new products like gluten free pastas, and deep fried Buffalo Style Chicken croquettes with bleu cheese. Besides seeing and tasting an assortment of the food products, another important part of the show is the prestigious pizza bake off between teams from around the United States, Australia, Canada and Italy to name a few.
There were six regional divisions with over 78 contestants’, each competing over bragging rights to making the Best Traditional Pizza and the Best Non- Traditional Pizza. Three judges sampled and rated 12 pizzas in 5 different judging panels for two days. This year marked my third year I was invited to be a judge and have found each show to be a real culinary adventure and challenge.
Each pizza was judged on Taste, (Crust, Sauce, Cheese, Toppings, Overall Taste and Creativity) as well as Visual Presentation/Appearance. Yes tasting 48 pizzas in two days may seem grueling to some but I loved every moment of it and the judging experience has taught me what a truly great pizza is all about. All of the winners of each division then compete on day three against each other resulting in the two top winners in each of the two categories.
In addition to the traditional pizza toppings we are all familiar with, there were pizzas with such unique and unusual toppings like scotch bonnet chilies, peanut butter, bananas, pistachios, figs, bacon, arugula, smoked portabella mushrooms, shrimp, calamari, crab, Kobe beef, smoked salmon, goat cheese and just about anything else you would never think of putting on top of a pizza. Believe it or not, the peanut butter & bananas (the Elvis Pizza) and the tasty cheeseburger pizza were two of my favorites and ones I wish more pizzerias would consider serving.
In between judging the pizzas, I had the opportunity of walking around the large show and I was impressed seeing the competitors, although serious and determined to win an award, lending a hand to fellow competitors either by giving them some products they needed or by giving others advice and tips while competing for bragging rights for the best pizza. This sense of community and friendship is what makes this show distinctively different from other food trade shows I have attended. For a brief few days, I actually felt Italian.
In addition to the pizza bake off and lots of helpful seminars and demonstrations, probably the most popular event of the show is the fast pace and entertaining World Pizza Games.
These popular and fierce events featured such contests as the Freestyle Acrobatics First Division, Fastest Dough, Largest Pizza Dough Stretch, Fastest Pizza Box Folding and Longest Pizza Dough Spin. Unlike the pizza bake off, each contestant tries to outdo the others with showmanship and their performances are encouraged by a loud and boisterous crowd of peers eagerly rooting for their favorites. It’s amazing what people can do with pizza dough besides eating it!
Here are two examples of award winning pizzas with one of the pizzas coming from a popular Yucaipa restaurant. The first is the winner of the Non-Traditional Pizza Western division, a wonderful sweet and savory pizza with candied bacon, black figs, and Greek Feta cheese finished with brown sugar and cayenne pepper and was from Pizza My Heart Pizzeria in Northern California. The second award winning pizza was Paulie’s Pesto Pie from AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza in Yucaipa who won the Best Traditional Pizza in the Western Division. This amazingly tasty pizza consisted of bell pepper and garlic infused crimini mushrooms, a rich red tomato sauce, pesto meatball & Italian sausage blend and mozzarella cheese on a delicious crisp herb crusted thin pizza dough. This is the second year in a row that Paul has won the award in this division.
Pizza Chef Paul Duran who created the pizza for AJ Barile’s has worked at this restaurant for approximately 4 ½ years and is very passionate about his pizzas. When asked what drives him to compete, Paul said with a boyish smile “I love pizza and creating the “perfect pizza” is my goal each and every time I make one” he went on to say that “I even go to sleep with a pad of paper next to me ready to jot down any ideas that I may have during the night”. He is already thinking about next year’s pizza and credits his love for what he is doing and not being afraid of trying new things for his success.
Owners Tina & Al Piser are really proud of Paul and value him as a person and employee. Al feels that “anyone can make a pizza, but to make that special one, you need lots of passion and love of what you are doing to succeed, important attributes Paul displays when working”. Tina chimed in saying “Paul is a perfectionist, is very persistent, and does not give up until he has perfected what he set out to do, still another quality that makes Paul so special and a two time pizza champion”. If you want to experience what an award winning pizza tastes like, you really owe it to your taste buds and visit AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, located at 32693 Yucaipa Blvd., Yucaipa 92399. Their phone number is (909) 790-0707 and you can visit their website at www.ajbariles.com
