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ABOUT THE PIZZA

his special edition is all about the pizza! It’s less about the business of running a pizzeria and more about the process of creating menu magic in the kitchen. And it’s for you, Canadian operators and your teams. Come along on a virtual tour of pizza kitchens across this vast country to see what’s cooking, what’s in demand and what innovations in crust, sauce, cheese and toppings are going on. In this country, there is room for every kind of pizza. Pineapple belongs on pizza or it doesn’t belong. Same with brussels sprouts. To each his own is the Canadian way! From lobster pizza to crispy cheese crusts to pizza in a cone, we offer a snapshot of the Canadian pizza scene – a scene like no other that’s hard to sum up and, oh, so easy to enjoy! You’ll see two special profiles of top chefs Dean Litster and Giuseppe Cortinovis, crowned last year at our Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions. Dean and Giuseppe are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of pizza. These chefs help ensure pizza innovation is alive and well in Canada! If you want to pick up even more ideas, join us at this year’s Summit in Toronto on Oct. 21 (see pages 8-9 for details). It’s the very best place to watch some of the country’s top pizza makers at work – all in one place and on the same day! On that note, we announce an exciting event for 2020: We are thrilled to take our show on the road with Chef of the Year Competition West! It’s in the early planning stages, but be sure to stay tuned to canadianpizzamag.com for details. Meanwhile, enjoy this special edition, be inspired and continue to create great pizza! Colleen Cross, Editor, Canadian Pizza magazine

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THE QUEEN Giuseppe Cortinovis, Ignite Pizzeria VANCOUVER, B.C.

THE QUEEN (A TWIST ON THE MARGHERITA) DOUGH • 80% 0 flour • 18% semolina • 2% wheat germ • 75% hydration

• 48 hours of maturation at a controlled temperature

he Queen is a twist on the traditional Margherita. Our Chef of the Year – Traditional, Giuseppe Cortinovis, of Ignite Pizzeria in Vancouver, B.C., happily recalls the day this Napoletana pizza earned him top honours: “I was quite calm and I remember when I checked the pizza that day, I was quite happy. Sometimes you bake the pizza and you think it’s good or it’s not cooked or it’s overcooked? That time I took it out of the oven and it was just how it’s supposed to be,” the veteran competitor says. He used a round screen to help prevent the crust from burning, which he says is a common concern in competitions, where the oven temperatures are variable and must accommodate a lot of competitors. Cortinovis’ pizza was double-baked. First, he baked it with San Marzano tomatoes and pecorino romano cheese to about 80 per cent doneness. He then took it out, added buffalo mozzarella and cooked it another 20 per cent. After baking the buffalo mozzarella so that it didn’t melt too much and retained some texture, he added extra-virgin olive oil. The final touches are Maldon salt and basil. The basil is specially arranged as a metaphor for the evolution of the Margherita. “I put the micro basil close to the edge, then I put the big basil in the centre. By doing this, I would like to show the life of the basil from when it’s small to when it’s fully grown in the centre. “I wanted to make the Margherita as if it was invented today. Today we have micro basil, we have this amazing buffalo (mozzarella) with low moisture content . . . . I can use Maldon salt and pecorino to season the tomato. I think that’s how the Margherita would be if it was invented today,” he says.

TOPPINGS • San Marzano tomato sauce (DOP) • Buffalo cheese (DOP) • Grated pecorino cheese • Micro basil • Drizzle of olive oil (DOP) from Monti Iblei (Hyblaean Mountains in southeastern Sicily) • Touch of Maldon salt on finished pizza

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THE DEAN MARTIN Dean Litster, Armando’s Pizza WINDSOR, ONT..

ean Litster, our Chef of the Year – Open, is helping put Windsor-style pizza on the map. Litster is a laser-focused competitor with one thing on his mind: making the very best pizza he can. He did just that during the Pan division competition at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in March. “I feel like this is the best one I ever made,” he says of the pizza that earned him fourth place among 20 pizza makers, his second top-five finish in Vegas (the first was in 2014). Litster has worked in pretty well every position at regional chain Armando’s Pizza, from prep person to head chef to partner with John Pizzo, Andre Gerardi and Larry Vallieres in the Cabana Road location in Windsor. He also owns a location in Amherstberg. He credits Armando’s with giving him “constant support, mentoring and opportunities.” “I spend my days developing recipes, weighing out dough ingredients, kneading dough balls, stretching pizza dough and cooking pizzas,” he says. “Every day I pass on my tips, tricks and passion for pizza to the next generation of pizza

makers. It really is a lot of fun to do what you love every day!” He is a big believer in testing. To prepare for our Chef of the Year competitions last year, he made four different pizzas and asked his staff to test them. The Dean Martin is the one they liked best, so he developed it. That pizza won him Chef of the Year in Canada and he replicated it for Expo. “I decided not to mess with perfection,” he says. “To make a killer pizza, you need patience,” he adds. “Pizza is like a kid.” Litster’s winning pizza is a mixture of styles he describes as grandma/Sicilian Windsor-style deep-dish pizza. One secret: “In the bottom of the pan I sprinkle a light layer of cornmeal (that’s what makes it a Windsor-style),” Litster says. Next on the horizon for the brand is the opening of Armando’s Pizza Bar, which will offer four distinct pizza styles: wood-fired, Detroit-style deep-dish, Windsor-style deep-dish and Roman. “Pizza’s limits end only with your imagination,” he says. “I don’t want to keep the status quo.”

RECIPE: THE DEAN MARTIN DOUGH

TOPPINGS

• 70% hydration

• Mozzarella

• Prosciutto

• Spinach

• Salt and pepper

BASE

• Roasted portobello mushrooms

• Oregano

• Pesto

• Red onions

• Chili flakes

• Cherry tomatoes

• Fresh Parmesan cheese

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f you like your pizza with a little kick, Wow Pizza’s bestseller, the Achari Chicken Pizza, just might be for you. The pizza features sauce, mozzarella cheese, seasoned achari chicken, red onions, tomatoes, black olives and jalapeno peppers. Achar is a mixture of East Indian spices used to pickle a variety of ingredients, explains Sanjay Joshi, CEO of the pizza business. The chicken is marinated in house-made achari sauce that tastes a little tangy and a little spicy. The pizza also is available in a halal version. Joshi’s partner Gurwinder (“Goldie”) Singh is the chef, manages the store and carries out menu development. Joshi’s corporation is Wow Pizza Inc. and the first store opened in Saskatoon near the University of Saskatchewan in November 2018. “We’ve had a good response to our pizza,” Joshi says. Wow introduces one or new items every few months that replace its lowest-selling items. Two recent popular additions have been a mac and cheese pizza and a keto pizza. The keto, launched in July, features an almond and cauliflower crust and contains no carbohydrates. The about 16,000-square-foot pizzeria has four different crusts: the signature “Wow,” thin, sesame seed and gluten-free crusts. Most people request the Wow, which features is a blend of garlic powder and parmesan cheese sprinkled on the edge of the crust. It’s chewier, Joshi says. The pizzeria’s marketing focuses on kids, and the business. They give away pizzas to non-profit governmental organizations. “We haven’t spent a penny on advertising,” Joshi says, noting that kids follow them on Facebook, where they have a giveaway each week. Since opening, about 5,600 slices have gone out, Joshi estimates.

ACHARI CHICKEN PIZZA Wow Pizza SASKATOON, SASK.

ason Seitanidis, who owns and operates the Matador Pizza and Steakhouse in Calgary, regularly steps up to educate pizza lovers about the regional specialty of Calgary Greek-style pizza. Many of the early pizzerias in Calgary were Greek-owned, Seitanidis says. “Pizza in Greece today is a version of its Italian cousin’s styles,” he adds. “In Calgary, we see a lot of Roma-like style in the small bakeries and a New York-style in most pizzerias. We are seeing a surge of Napoli-style pizzerias opening in trendier districts.” According to the busy entrepreneur, “Pizzarias didn’t really flourish in Calgary until around the 1960s, and Calgary Greek is considered a 1970s style of pizza that has held its ground in ever since.” Greek-style pizza worked its way over to Canada from Greece via New England and eventually settled in central Canada in cities such as Saskatoon and Regina, but it really found its home when it hit Calgary, Seitanidis says. He describes it as a ciabatta-style crust with heavy toppings: “Calgary Greek-style pizza isn’t the toppings: it’s the way the pizza is topped and cooked. Hawaiian pizza, deluxe and plain all have a home in Calgary Greek Style pizza.” The thick, heavy ciabatta is cooked in a round pan, sauced, topped in a specific order, with meat toppings first, then vegetables, and covered in full-fat mozzarella cheese. It is cooked in a deck oven for about 30 minutes at 550 F. The Matador Special is just one version of the regional pizza on the menu at the Matador. The extra-topping-heavy pie features pepperoni, mushrooms, back bacon, salami, black olives, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapple, onion and home-ground Alberta beef.

THE MATADOR SPECIAL The Matador Pizzeria and Steakhouse CALGARY, ALTA.

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CAVOLINI Pizzeria Barbarella VANCOUVER, B.C.

izzeria Barbarella in Vancouver, which opened seven years ago, seats about 60 guests. It is family-oriented but with a youthful vibe. Barbarella serves up signature Napoletana pizzas, including several that cater to the vegan, vegetarian and health-conscious crowd. One such pie, Cavolini, features bocconcini, aged mozzarella, Grana Padano cheese, fresh garlic, brussels sprout leaves, pancetta and extra virgin olive oil. Cavolini is a unique, cheese-based pizza that gets a salty kick from pancetta. “People try it because they haven’t tried brussels sprouts on a pizza before,” says front-of-house manager Maddy Johnson. “Once people try it, they really like it. It’s something a bit adventurous. The crust is made using a sourdough starter, something the staff is very proud of, Johnson says. “We use local, organic flour. It’s crunchy on the bottom, but you still get the fluffiness.” There are 15 pizzas on the regular menu – among them the Divano featuring vegan alfredo, potato, BacUN bits, cremini mushroom, truffle oil, rosemary and green onion – and a special pizza (and special cocktail) every month. They also have an extensive craft beer menu that rotates regularly to bring in new brews. What beverage might a guest enjoy with the Cavolini? “We always have a nice variety of beers, but one that pairs well with this and other pizzas is Strange Fellows Talisman West Coast Pale Ale. It’s got a crispness.” With the brewing short walk from the pizzeria, there is definitely an emphasis on local.

TONY’S FAMOUS DONAIR PIZZA Tony’s Pizza HALIFAX, N.S.

ne of Halifax’s original pizza and donair shops, Tony’s Pizza has been run by the Salloum family since opening its doors in 1976. Located in central Halifax at the corner of Robie and Cunard streets, Tony’s is a landmark in the city, with locals often referring to the intersection as “Tony’s Corner.” Abraham Salloum started the business in 1976, and the whole family is involved in running it to different degrees. That includes wife Marie, their sons Sal, Leo and Tony, and sister Samar. Tony’s Famous Donair Pizza is a menu favourite. The donair, a Turkish tradition, is also known as a gyro in Greek culture and a shawarma in Lebanese or Middle Eastern culture. Donair meat is placed on a spit and is grilled. As the story goes, Peter Gamoulakos started selling Greek gyros from his restaurant in 1972 and with a few tweaks introduced the dish to Canada. The first donairs were made with lamb, then beef was added. Tony’s now uses 100 per cent beef flavoured by a dozen ground spices, formed into a big cone and cooked on a rotisserie, Salloum says. The thinly shaved meat is put on a grilled or soft pita or covers the entire pizza crust. Tony’s began serving donairs and subs, then got into pizza. The pizza features donair meat, onion, tomato, mozzarella and the signature sweet sauce. “Some people like tzatziki but we do a sweet, milk-based sauce with garlic,” he says. “Because it’s milk-based, the sauce is put on afterward or used as a dip. “The business and recipe has not changed hands,” Salloum adds proudly. “It’s a ritual for local families – some bring their kids here for their first taste of donair.”

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fter taking part in Prince Edward Island’s Burger Love festival in April, Nimrods’ quickly pivoted to pizza when offered the opportunity to create a floating pizzeria, complete with a 5,000-pound wood-fired pizza oven, in Charlottetown’s Peake’s Quay Marina. “We had four weeks to make that happen,” says Mikey Wasnidge, one of a trio of partners who operate Nimrods’ Pizzeria. This was their first season and successful one it was, with the energetic team selling about 8,500 pizzas from June to September. “I know it was that amount because we do a fundraiser where for every pizza sold we donate a pizza to a local soup kitchen,” Wasnidge says. “We update the public regularly so I am aware of how many we’ve sold at all times.” The partners are good friends. Wasnidge is the business manager, Jesse Clausheide, takes care of food development and Nigel Haan manages business growth. Wasnidge calls Clausheide the “obsessive pizza chef” trying to learn all he can about pizza. Nimrods’ lobster pizza was a hit this summer, Wasnidge says. It features fresh local lobster, sautéed sliced potatoes, a garlic cream base, mozzarella and is finished with a bright red claw on top and a sprinkle of Parmesan and chives. At $22 it’s the most expensive pizza on the menu. “We wanted to keep it pretty simple. The idea of putting potatoes on it was a way of highlighting Prince Edward Island,” he says. In closing out the season, they offered a free order of garlic fingers, another East Coast favourite, with every order of their signature lobster pizza.

LOBSTER PIZZA Nimrods’ Pizza CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.

he Phase Four is a top seller on the menu at Woodfire Restaurant and Catering on Gabriola Island, B.C. Owners Chris and Sharon Hooton have been back and forth from England since discovering the island, but 10 years ago settled in the beauty spot, which is home to about 5,000 people. “Chris wanted a new vegetarian pizza that wasn’t typical,” Sharon Hooton says, noting they already had two pizzas on the menu highlighting mushrooms and roasted vegetables. The Phase Four features fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, gorgonzola, parmesan, brie, roasted red onion balsamic jam and arugula. It is named for a phase of real estate on the island. All of the restaurant’s pizzas have names evoking beaches, roads, ferries and other geographical and cultural features. They had been making the jam, which is similar to caramelized onions but with balsamic vinegar, Hooton says. The next logical step was to include it in a dish. “It’s multiflavoured, with creamy brie, the tanginess of the gorgonzola, and the arugula, added after baking, gives the pizza a peppery taste and adds an element of freshness. The traditional Neapolitan style crust is available in a gluten-free version. The sauce is made using fresh Sardinian tomatoes. “Our style is Mediterranean-based with a West Coast North American flair,” Sharon Hooton says. “The Italian style tends to be simple; ours introduces a few more ingredients.” Many (sometimes initially skeptical) declaring it “their new favourite,” Hooton says. “We change our menu twice a year, but it’s getting harder and harder to do because so many of the pizzas have a following.”

THE PHASE FOUR Woodfire Restaurant and Catering GABRIOLA ISLAND, B.C.

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THE PIZZA KONE Tricity Kono Pizza KITCHENER-WATERLOO, ONT.

or fans of the folded New York slice, here is another highly portable pizza: the pizza cone. Taneng Lynhiavu, who owns Tricity Kono Pizza, is beyond enthusiastic about the product. “It’s the cheesiest thing you’re ever going to eat,” he says, referring to the 40 grams of cheese in a typical cone. Based in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., the busy entrepreneur has been running his franchise for four years. He gets around the province to community events using his bus or trailer. Kono Pizza was conceived in 2002 by chef Rossano Boscolo as a turnkey catering business with 150 franchisees worldwide. Lynhiavu encountered the concept in Thailand and worked with the franchisor in Italy to bring it to Canada. Kono Pizza has been getting some attention this fall after recently appearing on the Food Network television show Carnival Eats. Last winter they debuted the Snow Kone, which features chicken, alfredo sauce, mozzarella, provolone and parmesan cheeses with basil on top. Lynhiavu describes the process: “Our cones are shipped from Italy ‘pre-coned.’ We put cheese in the bottom, to prevent leaks, then spread sauce around the inside walls of the cone. After we’ve added toppings and cheese, the cones are cooked for about three minutes in a special oven made in Italy that holds them upright.” He recommends eating the cone around the edges, as you would eat an ice cream cone. “Eat with ease, don’t squeeze,” he cautions. What’s next? They are working on a layered pizza cone and may experiment with lactose-free cheese.

M SPRUCE TIP AND RIVER MINT PESTO PIZZA Pi Gourmet Eatery ST. JOHN’S, N.L.

eghan O’Dea, owner of Pi Gourmet Eatery in St. John’s, N.L., is not just on trend – she makes her own trends! These days she’s tantalizing her customers with spruce tips – the buds of spruce trees – and mint grown along the St. John’s River. The spruce tips taste something like lemongrass, says the chef, who finished as top international pizza maker in the non-traditional division at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in 2014. The greens have found their way onto O’Dea’s Spruce Tip and River Mint Pesto Pizza and loyal Pi customers cannot get enough of the unique pie, so much so that it’s often a challenge to keep up with demand. The pizza also features walnuts, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto ham, leeks, sliced apples and brie. She gets the spruce tips from forager Shawn Dawson, who is writing a book on foraging. “The smell is unreal,” O’Dea says. O’Dea enjoys using foraged plants on her menu. In 2017 finished strongly at the Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year Competitions with her Vegas Special featuring a mint and lemon balm pesto base. “I just made a chanterelle mushroom soup foraged by my dad,” she says. “It tastes like butter – golden yellow. It’s such a versatile mushroom and very high-end.” To foster creativity in her pizzeria, which opened in 2008, O’Dea holds a contest for her staff every summer. Each staff member creates a pizza and whoever sells the most of their special pizza receives $500 and gets the honour of seeing it on the Pi menu. Also popular on the menu is the Fibonacci, which features a compote of caramelized pear and red onion braised in port, baby greens, toasted walnuts and gouda cheese. O’Dea makes and bottles the compote herself.

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THREE LITTLE PIGGIES Milda’s Pizza and More FREDERICTON, N.B.

t Milda’s Pizza and More in Fredericton, you get pizzas you can’t get anywhere else because they come from the imagination of Milda Titford. She and husband Cedd established the 33-seat pizzeria in Fredericton, N.B., four years ago after more than a dozen years of restaurant and mobile unit operation, starting in England and continuing in Fredericton. The pizzeria has a tightly curated menu of regular pizzas and announces daily specialty pizzas on the day they are offered. This creates high demand, Titford says. When demand rose for one such specialty pizza, Three Little Piggies, they added it to their regular lineup. The porcine pizza features ham, bacon and bacon marmalade on an olive oil base topped with brie and arugula. “It was a risk and it’s paid off,” Titford says. “About 20 per cent of our sales comes from this pizza.” They took Three Little Piggies, not to market, but to the local Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. Milda’s mobile unit, which features three wood-fired ovens, travels to many community events. They ran the mobile unit for many years before opening a bricks-andmortar shop in a lively arts centre in a remote residential area. The goal is not to expand too quickly but to keep things manageable and special. “We believe if you constantly expand, you’ll have less control of the quality and the quality will suffer,” she says. “I enjoy being in the physical process of producing pizza,” Titford says. “We make everything from scratch. We bake our own bread, make our own soups, buy local chicken and beef and roast it ourselves. We buy vegetables from a local farm. The whole creative process when you test and experiment is extremely rewarding.”

BROWN SAUCE PIZZA Acropole Pizza PICTOU COUNTY, N.S.

f you want to try brown sauce pizza, we suggest you head out to Pictou County in Nova Scotia. The famous sauce originated with the recipe that’s been in the Cougias family for some 40 years. Many of the pizza places in the area are owned and operated by members of the family, including Acropole Pizza, which has four locations in Westville, Pictou, New Glasgow and Truro. Tommy Cougias runs the Truro location. There’s a lot of history there: be sure to ask if you visit. Andre and his wife Rhonda run the Westville store, and the next generation – six siblings – are involved at this and other locations. Now to the brown sauce, which is actually orange sauce: “We start with fresh vegetables, seasonings are imported, it cooks and we simmer it for three hours in 80-quart batches that last for two to three days. As the vegetables boil the sauce thickens.” “If you make brown sauce, there’s a very good chance you are related!” he says. “Each person puts their own spin on it.” They’ve been using smoked pepperoni from Brothers in Halifax exclusively for 40 years, which gives the pizza a smokey flavour. Ingredients go under the cheese, except bacon and hamburger. “Hearty and filling” is how customers describe it, he says. “There are a lot of ingredients in there. Pepperoni, cheese, crust and sauce equal about four pounds.” They sometimes deliver beyond their area. Last year they began making group deliveries to Halifax and they’ve shipped brown sauce pizza (and special kits) as far as Calgary. Excited Facebook followers have posted videos showing themselves making the pizzas from kits. They have more than 1,000 followers in Alberta, many of them transplants. “They are missing home,” Cougias says.

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izzaio has been operating in Quebec City for 30 years. Marco-Christian Gallegos and Gina Salvatori took over the pizzeria seven years ago. They like its location downtown near the train and bus stations because they feel it announces to customers that this isn’t a tourist trap but an established pizzeria. Pizzaio, which focuses specifically on pizza, is a cosy 22-seat spot where they take customer satisfaction seriously. “There are more than 300 restaurants in Quebec,” Gallegos says. “It’s a big responsibility if people choose our restaurant. “We are smaller, we do not overbook and we want guests to have a good time,” he says. “No pretension with a lot of attention,” he adds, quoting one regular visitor’s description. Pizzaio’s centrepiece is an electric oven with an inch-and-ahalf thick stone that can bake six pizzas at the same temperature. Their approach to the dough can be summed up as “less dough, more flavour.” They use a low-fat cheese (15 per cent) and spread the cheese to the edges of the crust so that it in effect becomes the crust. The reduced fat content ensures it’s crispy on the edge. The signature pizza, Di Marco, features tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, fresh cheese, arugula and a drizzle of spicy balsamic-caramel sauce. The white fat of the prosciutto prevents it from being overcooked, Gallegos says: “You want just the right balance of tastes. Less cooking means less salt.” They serve an original nightly mise en bouche such as bruschetta. “My advertising is what we serve,” the chef says. “We focus on details. That is something you can afford to do on a small scale. It doesn’t’ take much time but it makes a big impression.”

DI MARCO PIZZAIO QUEBEC CITY, QUE.

izza lovers are dining al fresco in rural Manitoba thanks to a wood-fired oven named Hildegard. She can be found at Integrity Foods, a retail organic bread and pizza business run by the Friesen family on their farm outside Riverton, Man. The Friesens, who started the bakery in the 1990s, built the oven outside during a workshop they commissioned in 2002 from expert baker and oven builder Alan Scott. Scott, who has since passed away, also prepared for the Friesens an organic spelt desem – unleavened, or sourdough – starter. Friesen calls it “the heart and soul of our bakery.” The pizza crusts, which are made from this starter, contain organic whole-grain spelt flour, water and sea salts. “People were asking for naturally leavened bread,” Friesen says. Pizzas are made on weekends from the third weekend of June until the third weekend in November. “It’s our summer,” she says. On pizza nights, guests are encouraged to relax, tour the grounds and have a picnic on the farm. A gazebo with tables, chairs and umbrellas ensures diners stay dry as pies are pumped out, rain or shine. The pizzas are sold whole and boxed but not by the slice, Dora says, and the experience is kid-friendly, Most of the vegetable toppings come from that garden. Perhaps their best-known pizza is the Garden Special. People take a basket and walk the garden, filling their basket with whatever vegetables they choose. They bring their selection to the oven area where staff use them to create a pizza that is about as custom-made as they come. What are the most popular vegetables? “People seem to like the beets,” she says.

THE GARDEN SPECIAL Integrity Foods RIVERTON, MAN.

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THE BEAST The Copperhouse Eatery and Lounge YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T.

he Beast lurks at The Copperhouse Eatery and Lounge in Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. The formidable pizza features marinara sauce, house-made bison chorizo, roasted garlic, bacon, capicola and oregano. Copperhouse serves an Italian-style thin crust baked at 300 F in a Woodstone oven that is central to their open kitchen and casual dining room. After opening 15 months ago, it is moving toward a more refined menu and ambiance, owner Mark Henry says. The city is home to many government workers and definitely has a blue-collar feel about it, Henry says. Although it’s a diverse clientele, many guests may be described as 35 to 50 years old, educated and well-travelled. Chef James Burnett took a menu favourite – Meet the Meats featuring pepperoni, sausage and ham – and put his own spin on it. “I wanted to incorporate our local game into the pizza. When I was in California I learned from Hispanic friends the tradition of making chorizo sausage, so that’s something I brought back with me,” Burnett says. They go through about 20 kilograms of the sausage each week and he makes a batch at least that often. “We want to be that more refined market to differentiate ourselves,” Henry says. “We’re trying to create pizzas using unusual ingredients,” Burnett adds. This and a pizza featuring wild boar are their top two sellers. Tourists, especially those from Asia, seem to enjoy sampling the game. The restaurant does a special tour menu that features wild game, they say.

THE KAHUNA Pizza Projekt LONDON, ONT.

ineapple does belong on pizza, as many diners at Pizza Projekt in London, Ont., will confirm! Jake Allison built the now-busy pizzeria from the ground up (he is a carpenter and contractor) to supply Fleetway Bowling with pizza. It now generates a healthy business for itself and for the bowling centre not far from Western University. The pizzeria seats about 88 people with room for 24 more on the patio. The bowling centre is family-oriented facility that limits its alcohol offerings to wine and beer. Food and beverage items purchased from the onsite Pizza Projekt and Dairy Queen restaurants can be brought to the lanes for customers to enjoy while bowling. “We make a unique pizza,” Allison says. We make our own sauce, refrigeration creates a crust like Neapolitan but we use a conveyor oven. It’s a unique experience for London vegans and vegetarians,” he says, adding that sales from their vegan menu have almost eclipsed other pizza sales. Popular sides are the apple pecan pear goat cheese salad, wings and batter-dipped mozzarella. The Kahuna, the pizzeria’s take on Hawaiian pizza, is one of its bestsellers. It features white sauce, mozzarella, diced ham, smoked bacon, chicken, pineapple and red onions. Allison’s method is to refrigerate the dough for two days – three at the most – and put it directly into the oven with no warming-up period. Customers can choose from a dozen signature pizzas, five deep-dish pies, or countless build-your-own creations with their choice of traditional, thin-crust, whole wheat or gluten-free crusts. About 75 per cent of customers choose to build their own pizza. “If the bowling alley is busy, we’re busy,” he says. “If it’s not, we’re not. It’s as simple as that. It’s a direct correlation.”

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