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Shawn Randazzo, co-owner of Detroit Style Pizza Co. and the reigning Pizza Maker of the Year, will return to Pizza Expo 2013 and give a demonstration for attendees of the pizza that won him the International Pizza Challenge championship this past March.
Watch Randazzo prepare his winning pizza at Pizza Expo 2012.
Randazzo will make and bake the Tangy BBQ Chicken Pizza during a session on Wed., March 20, at Pizza Expo in the Las Vegas Convention Center. He bested the other three Pizza Challenge division winners for the grand prize with this creation and now offers it at the top of the Detroit Style Pizza Co.'s menu.
The Detroit-area pizza maker will also present seminars on maximizing delivery and online orders, two specialties of his company, at the next Pizza Expo.
To find out more about what's in store for you at International Pizza Expo 2013, click here.
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If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
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Exciting new seminars, workshops and competitions are in store for you at International Pizza Expo 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, March 19-21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
BREAKING NEWS: Pizza Expo will kick off with a special appearance by Chef Robert Irvine, host of Food Network’s prime-time series Restaurant Impossible.
A Craft Beer powerhouse panel discussion will make its debut at the 2013 Pizza Expo. Want to build a profitable craft beer program? Don’t miss this seminar.
The World Pizza Game return with the addition of a new “triathlon” category, comprised of box folding, dough tossing for a 16-inch screen and dough tossing for a 24-inch screen.
Find out more about the new additions to the 2013 Pizza Expo by clicking here.
To view a full schedule at a glance, click here.
International Pizza Expo® 2013, scheduled for March 19-21 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is the oldest and largest annual gathering of pizza professionals—and will draw approximately 7,000 attendees and 450 exhibitors to a show floor covering an area equal to 5½ football fields. In its 29th year, Pizza Expo attracts top independent and chain operators to do business in the exhibit hall, attend education sessions and take part in pizza-making competitions.
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Pizza Expo® has something for everyone –– whether you’re looking for new ways to create revenue or just want to find out about the latest industry trends and products. The one thing that really separates Pizza Expo from all of the other general foodservice shows is the fact that there’s only one tradeshow where you’ll find over 80 industry specific seminars, workshops and demonstrations, 450 exhibiting companies and 1,000 booths all devoted to pizza … and that’s Pizza Expo. Throw in the best networking event in the industry –– the Beer and Bull Idea Exchange –– along with all of our other great contests and competitions, such as the World Pizza Games, International Pizza Challenge, and the Great $20,000 Mega Bucks Giveaway, and you can see why industry veterans call Pizza Expo the “Show of Shows.”
This year’s Expo shattered all of our previous attendance records with nearly 7,000 attendees and 4,000 exhibitor personnel. And the international presence was astounding, with attendees from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway and Spain –– just to name a few –– making it a truly worldly experience for everyone! Pizza is indeed a universal food, and there was plenty of it to be found on our show floor that measured over 5½ football fields.
If you didn’t get the chance to attend this year’s show, you still have the opportunity to listen and learn by ordering recordings of some or all of the 50-plus educational sessions that were offered. You can order a Multimedia DVD-ROM or download directly to your iPod by going to the InteliQuest Media website at www. intelliquestmedia.com. It’s also a good way to revisit a seminar to hear what you missed or listen to one you couldn’t attend –– and we know there were several you probably wish you could have made it to during the show.
In addition, I want to thank everyone who attended this year’s Expo. Without the continued support of pizzeria operators, suppliers, manufacturers and industry experts, we could not have achieved the measure of success that makes International Pizza Expo the must- attend event of the year.
It’s never too early to start making plans for next year’s show, slated for March 19 – 21, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, so save the date! We’re already making plans for next year’s Expo, and we think you’ll be pleased with the changes we’re making. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how we can improve the show, please give me a call at (800) 489-8324 or drop me a note at BOakley@PizzaToday.com.
Last but not least, please remember International Pizza Expo is a tax- deductible working vacation.
It’s all Pizza and it’s all for YOU!
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
Executive Vice President
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If you were in Las Vegas, then you know that International Pizza Expo® was the THE place to be. You could feel the energy and pizza enthusiasm from the moment you walked into the Las Vegas Convention Center.
There was something for everyone at International Pizza Expo® 2012, whether you’re a veteran or just opening your first store. When the show closed on Thursday afternoon, nearly 7,000 buyers had visited more than 930 exhibits and attended more than 80 educational sessions. Rounding out the experience were numerous culinary competitions, contests, demonstrations and other special events.
The Traditional Division of the International Pizza Challenge™ had the following regional winners and wild cards that advanced to the finals:
Real Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA - Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Nima’s Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA - Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ontario - Mid-America Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza Plus, Chardon, OH - Wild Card
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy - International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA - Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY, - Southeast Region
The Non-Traditional Division of the International Pizza Challenge™ had the following regional winners and wild cards that advanced to the finals:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA - Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA - Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR - Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH - Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY -
Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Japanese Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan -
International Region
Alexandre Brunet, Pizza Stromboli, Montreal, Quebec - Wild Card
Tim Silva, won the Traditional Division and $7,500, Andrew Scudera, won Non-Traditional Division and $7,500, Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza, St. Clair, MI, won the American-Pan Division, and Umberto Fornito won the Italian-Style Division and $4,000.
Following the International Pizza Challenge finals, the winners in each division squared off in the Pizza Maker of the Year competition. Contestants were presented with a table of ingredients from which to choose. There were no restrictions for toppings, but all contestants had to use the secret ingredient – Cattlemen’s® Carolina Tangy Gold™ Barbeque Sauce. Shawn Randazzo walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker of the Year and an additional $5,000. We also introduced a new competition this year called the Best of the Best, where four past World Champions squared off to see who would be named the Master Pizza Maker of the Year. The inaugural winner was Tony Gemignani, of Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco, California, who walked away with $2,500.
The Winners in the World Pizza Games® were as follows:
Freestyle Acrobatics –– Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan,
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics –– Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch –– Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding –– Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch –– Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin –– Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Start making plans now to attend International Pizza Expo® 2013, which will again be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 19 – 21.
Sincerely,
Bill Oakley
In This Issue
More Articles
If you’re a student of the pizza industry, chances are you’ve probably heard of a little show called International Pizza Expo. If you were one of the nearly 7,000 people who attended, you experienced first-hand the knowledge, expertise and excitement the annual show brought to the Las Vegas Convention Center last March.
“This year we had attendees from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and 23 other countries,” says Bill Oakley, executive vice president of Macfadden Protech, parent company of International Pizza Expo. “We even had a group from the largest pizza company in Mongolia, Mr. Pizza, make the long trip to Las Vegas to experience everything Pizza Expo has to offer. As a result of their experience, they’ve already implemented some of the ideas they picked up at Expo.” Show organizers say that 25 percent of show-goers were first-time attendees, and the show designated a day devoted entirely to those looking to start pizzerias. “Based on the comments to date, it was a huge success with 684 attendees taking part in this day-long educational program,” Oakley says. “This stimulating day of educational sessions and workshops was followed by a reception where attendees could network with fellow ‘newbies,’ industry experts and event sponsors.” Keynote speakers for the three-day show included Nick Sarillo, owner of Nick’s Pizza & Pub in Illinois, and Marla Topliff, president of Rosati’s Pizza. Bruce Allar, vice president of meetings and conferences for Macfadden Protech, says the 2012 line-up of Pizza Expo speakers placed more emphasis on successful pizzeria owners, making International Pizza Expo a true peer-to-peer experience. “The buzz of activity never abated among buyers and sellers on the show floor, or among pizza professionals networking and learning at other Expo gatherings,” says Allar. “Pizza Expo maintained a powerful momentum from the opening bell on Tuesday morning all the way to its conclusion on Thursday afternoon.”
Contestants vied for supremacy in the International Pizza Challenge, a series of culinary competitions designed to highlight the best of the best.
In the traditional division, regional prelimary winners included:
Reál Varela, Brooklyn Pizza & Pasta, Los Angeles, CA – Southwest Region
Tim Silva, Pizza My Heart, Los Gatos, CA – Northwest Region
Mark Briand, Bondi’s Pizza, London, Ont. – Mid-America Region
Giovanni Gagliardi, Pizzeria La Leggenda, San Felice, Italy – International Region
Marlene Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA – Northeast Region
Keith Coffman, Lost River Pizza Co., Bowling Green, KY – Southeast Region
Frank Baird, Franco’s Pizza, Chardon, OH – Wild Card
Silva took home the title of World’s Best Traditional Pizza Winner.
In the Non-Traditional Division, preliminary winners were:
Joleen Pisner, AJ Barile’s Chicago Pizza, Yucaipa, CA – Southwest Region
John Cammack, Lefty’s Grill, Nevada City, CA – Northwest Region
Rick Mines, Nima’s Pizza & More, Gassville, AR – Southeast Region
John Gutekanst, Avalanche Pizza, Athens, OH – Mid-America Region
Andrew Scudera, Goodfella’s Brick Oven Pizza, Staten Island, NY – Northeast Region
Tsutomu Inayoshi, Home Delivered Pizza, Aichi, Japan – International Region
Scudera took home the title of World’s Best Non-Traditional Pizza.
In the new American-Pan division, finalists included:
Shawn Randazzo, Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair, St. Clair Shores, MI – 1st Place
Matthew Heard, Humble Pie, Edmond, OK – 2nd Place
Alex Abellan, Pizza Zone, Victoria, BC – 3rd Place
The Italian-Style Division Finals Winners were:
Umberto Fornito, Italy – 1st Place
Saverio Ciampi, Italy – 2nd Place
Alessandra DeBellis, Italy – 3rd Place
Finalists from each division competed in a blind-box challenge in the Pizza Maker of the Year Bake-Off. The competition’s mystery ingredient, Cattlemen’s Carolina Tangy Gold Barbeque Sauce, proved to be a challenge for the four finalists, who presented the judges with unique pizzas created from a table of provided ingredients. Shawn Randazzo of Cloverleaf Pizza of St. Clair in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, walked away with the title of World Champion Pizza Maker and a cash prize. The International Pizza Challenge also pitted four former winners –– all industry experts in their own right. Tony Gemignani of San Francisco-based Tony’s Pizza Napoletana was named the “Best of the Best” Master Pizza Maker of the Year.
The popular World Pizza Games trials culminated at an event on Wednesday, March 13. Winners were:
1st Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Masters Division Freestyle Acrobatics: Jay Schuurman, Pizza Rock, Sacramento, CA
Fastest Dough Stretch: Ingrosso Simone, Pizzeria Del Mille, Italy
Fastest Box Folding: Jimmy Xang, Pizza Guys, Rancho Cordova, CA
Largest Dough Stretch: Mario Sigmorile, Pizzeria Del Centro, Italy
Longest Spin: Kazuya Akaogi, Red Japan Co., Japan
Throughout the three-day event, show attendees visited sponsoring booths and turned in gamepieces for the $20,000 MEGA BUCKS Giveaway. Frank Sastano of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Savastano’s Pizzeria took home the cash prize.
“This year’s Pizza Expo was the biggest and best show ever, breaking records for attendance with 6,901 pizza professionals, 940 booths and tons of excitement,” says Oakley. “Words just don’t do it justice; you really have to experience Pizza Expo to understand the interaction that takes place between our attendees and exhibitors. Everyone is truly anxious and motivated to get into discussions about new products, new technology, the latest industry trends and hot-button issues facing the industry today.”
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