PZ - April - May 2011 by annexbusinessmedia

Volume 17 Issue 3 April/May 2011

10 It’s showtIme!

Check out our roundup of all the excitement at this year’s International Pizza Expo and CRFA show.

14 sIblIngs sweep sIn cIty

Meet Pasqualino Oliveri, our Chef of the Year, in a tale of brotherly pizza.

17 the runner-up recIpe

Flip here for our runner-up recipe, created by a chef you’ll read all about in our June issue.

20 goIng frozen 17

Find out what price break you could get by offering a frozen pie.

24 best photo forward

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. What are yours saying?

www.canadianpizzamag.com ON THE COVER: Canadian Pizza magazine’s 2011 Chef of the Year Pasqualino Oliveri (right) with his brother Carmelo.

DEPARTMENTS 6

editor’s desk

pizza bites

canadian pizza online

the pizza chef

marketing insights

making dough

pizza on fire

April/MAy 2011 pizza 3

“Packed from Fresh Tomatoes, Not from Concentrate”...

President Tom Cortopassi (kneeling) and “Coach” Dino Cortopassi (standing) in one of our

Since 1942, our Restaurateur customers’ success has depended on the superior taste of the food they serve and of our products. As a family-owned business, it feels good knowing that so many of our customers have relied on our “Packed From Fresh Tomato” products from generation to generation.

Whether your restaurant has a long family history, or whether you’re the founder, you can depend on our family making the best “Real Italian” tomato products...always Packed From Fresh Tomatoes, Never From Concentrate...generation after generation!

Tom Cortopassi President/Owner

Dino Cortopassi Coach/Owner

Generation after Generation.

tomato fields in Stanislaus County, California

THE S

StaniSlauS E

O F

Q U

The “Real Italian” Tomato Company 1202 “D” Street

from the editor’s desk april/ may 2011, Vol. 17, no. 3

March of shows arch is a march of food shows. With the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and the CRFA show in Toronto falling back to back each year (and sometimes overlapping), we do our share of soaking up all there is to learn at these two important industry events in two fabulous cities. And here at Canadian Pizza magazine, we love getting out to events. It’s always a great opportunity to share face time with you, our valuable readers. In a world that feels increasingly digitized, personal networking feels priceless. The restaurant business is a people business, and the energy that pizza makers bring to a trade show is evidence of their passion for talking to people, which is equal to their passion for crafting your pizza. This natural enthusiasm translates into a customer service that is genuine. We all know sourpusses are a poor fit for a pizzeria. There have been many articles and books written on the subject of customer service. It seems the trickiest part is determining how to train your staff to share in and then impart your excitement for your product and your company. After that, it’s seamless execution of that enthusiastic and genuinely caring service from the first encounter to saying goodbye. If you think of your own experience with eating out, you’ll probably recall times the restaurant staff made real blunders. For example, recently I was out for a nice dinner. I was instantly impressed with our well-trained server. She knew the dishes front to back and had a real spark in her eyes when talking about the menu and assisting with wine selections. I thought to myself, “Now this is how you sell food.” We ordered sparkling water instead of flat, and over the course of the meal I was surprised at how diligent the bussers were in filling our glasses up,

6 pizza April/MAy 2011

even with only a few sips gone. I drank so much water I actually declined to order more wine, and because the bottle of sparkling water we ordered wasn’t on the table, I didn’t really think about how much was being poured. No one realized they poured $40 worth of fizzy water until the bill came. Not a catastrophe, but it was commented after the meal that this was definitely poor etiquette. After a bottle or two, I think most customers would like to be asked if they would like to order more rather than accept such speedy and automatic refilling of an item they are being charged for. This shady manoeuvre left a little bad taste in everyone’s mouth after what was otherwise a great meal with near impeccable service (the bill also arrived rather tardy and had to be asked for twice). This incident sticks out in my mind only because these gaffes were made by an employee who also did so many things right and had an excitement that got you jazzed up about the food. I guess the moral of this meandering tale is that a passion for food makes a memorable meal, but one hopes it does not come at the peril of basic good service in a restaurant’s quest to sell the food. I see the other side often as well – perfectly executed, but lifeless, service. In the case of this recent dining experience, the server’s attitude made up for the mistakes and this was neither my first nor likely will be my last visit to this establishment. However, in the future I will be inclined to order the city punch over the carbonated variety. Taking care of customers well is truly an art form, and a difficult one at that. Like the fired-up passion we saw so much of during March’s march of shows, it’s the genuine desire to take care of people that, coupled with your great food, keeps them coming back. •

editor Laura Aiken laiken@annexweb.com 416-522-1595 assistant editor Brandi Cowen bcowen@annexweb.com 888-599-2228 ext. 278 publisher Christine Livingstone clivingstone@annexweb.com 519-429-5173 888-599-2228 ext. 239 sales assistant Sandy Mels smels@annexweb.com 519-429-5183 888-599-2228 ext. 219 production artist Emily Sun group publisher Martin McAnulty mmcanulty@annexweb.com president Mike Fredericks mfredericks@annexweb.com mailing address P.O. Box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 PuBLICAtION MAIL AgrEEMENt #40065710 rEturN uNDELIVErABLE CANADIAN ADDrESS tO CIrCuLAtION DEPArtMENt, P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 e-mail: cnowe@annexweb.com Published eight times per year (Jan/Feb, Mar, Apr/May, Jun, Jul/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec), by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 1203-6838 circulation e-mail: cnowe@annexweb.com tel: 866-790-6070 ext. 207 Fax: 877-624-1940 Mail: P.O. Box 530, Simcoe, ON N3Y 4N5 subscription rates Canada – 1 Year $ 18.90 (includes gSt - #867172652rt0001) $ 20.34 (includes QSt/HSt) uSA – 1 Year $ 40.00 Occasionally, Canadian Pizza Magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2011 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. www.canadianpizzamag.com

pizzabites Topper’s donates $10 grand opper’s Pizza kicked off the Canadian Cancer Society’s Daffodil Month for cancer awareness in April with a $10,000 donation to the society. The gift was presented to the Canadian Cancer society on March 25 at the company’s franchising office in Barrie. The money was raised after the company agreed to donate a portion of sales from its famous House Dip, retailing for the first time in a bottled format, for an entire calendar year. All 35 Ontario Topper’s locations participated. “We were very optimistic,” said Topper’s Pizza president Keith Toppazzini. “The product was so popular that we exceeded our sales goals for the first year leading to a much higher donation than anticipated. We couldn’t be happier.” Friday’s presentation marks the second donation of this size made by the company in the past four years. Canadian Cancer Society representative Francine Laroche and Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman were on hand to receive the donation. “The community of Barrie, including family-owned businesses like Topper’s Pizza, is a strong supporter of cancer initiatives throughout the province,” said Lehman, pointing to the new SimcoeMuskoka Regional Cancer Centre, part of Barrie’s Royal Victoria Hospital expansion, as one example. “It is an honour to celebrate the ongoing efforts of our constituents towards such a worthwhile cause.” The presentation, followed by refreshments and a light pizza lunch, marked the first public event hosted by Topper’s Pizza since relocating its franchising office to Barrie from Collingwood earlier this year.

8 pizza April/MAy 2011

Dual minimum wage debate he proposal from New Brunswick’s provincial finance minister calling for a two-tiered minimum wage system is receiving mixed reviews. Finance Minister Blaine Higgs raised the idea at a recent public meeting. He suggested that workers under the age of 18 should continue to be paid the current hourly wage of $9 per hour, while older workers should receive a minimum wage of $10 per hour. This would prevent an across-theboard hike to $10 per hour for all workers in the province, planned to go into effect by September. Luc Erjavec, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association’s (CRFA) vicepresident of Atlantic Canada, called the minister’s comments “positive for restaurants and all small businesses in the province.” He added, “A lower wage for inexperienced workers who earn tips is common practice in other Canadian jurisdictions.” Although the proposed two-tiered system has received some support, the idea

also has its detractors. The New Brunswick Union of Public and Private Employees warned that such a system would create division among workers, particularly younger workers earning less money for performing the same jobs as older colleagues. The Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, supported the idea of a lower minimum wage for workers who earn tips or are being trained. However, the group argued that assigning all workers under the age of 18 to the lower tier would not produce significant savings for small businesses. The chamber noted that young workers account for a small portion of payroll expenses for many businesses, and tend to work only part time. But Erjavec says the minister’s idea has the CRFA’s support because: “A two-tiered wage system recognizes the high cost of training inexperienced workers and significant income earned by tipped employees, and could help employers create new jobs across the province.”

pizzabites

CRFA applauds Ontario’s minimum wage freeze recent decision to freeze Ontario’s minimum wage at $10.25 per hour will provide much-needed certainty and stability after seven years of significant wage increases, according to the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). “The restaurant industry is a fundamental building block of local economies and a vital source of employment for thousands of Ontarians,” says Ron Reaman, the CRFA’s vice president for Ontario. “We’re very pleased the McGuinty government has responded to our concerns and taken action to create a more stable business environment for our members.” Labour costs constitute more than one-third of operating costs for the average restaurant, second only to food and beverage costs. More than 400,000 people are directly employed by Ontario’s $23-billion restaurant and foodservice industry. “Steep and successive wage increases have made it difficult for restaurants to keep their doors open, let alone expand and invest. This announcement sets the stage for our members to move forward with strategies to invest in Ontario and create more jobs,” says Reaman.

read these storIes and more at www.canadIanpIzzamag.com

news hIghlIghts •

LOCAL IS THE HOTTEST MENU TREND THIS yEAR: CRFA

•

SAPUTO AND KRAFT WEIGH APPEAL OF CHEESE RULING

•

CARIbbEAN, JAPANESE FLAVOURS INCREASE ON MENUS

•

DOMINO’S TO PLAy bALL WITH NCAA

•

A PIZZA A DAy SAVES WOMAN’S LIFE

read these storIes and more at www.canadIanpIzzamag.com

NEW PRODUCT Globe Food Equipment Company’s new line of gas countertop cooking products includes radiant and char rock charbroilers, manual and thermostatic griddles and hot plates. All products feature stainless steel construction and extended cool-totouch front edges. DIGITAL MAGAZINE Visit www.canadianpizzamag.com to sign up for your free trial.

April/MAy 2011 pizza 9

feature

It’s showtime! Pizza Expo and CRFA highlights BY LAurA AIkEN AND BrANDI COwEN

anadian Pizza magazine returned once again as a regular exhibitor to the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, which ran from March 1 to 3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center at the Hilton. This year’s show was a resounding success, with jammed aisles, many friendly Canadian and American faces, cool products and interesting seminars. Pizza Expo staffer Linda Keith shared with Canadian Pizza via e-mail that this year’s show broke every record standing, with more than 6,400 buyers and the largest exhibit floor and number of booths in the show’s history. Here are the highlights from our travels! OLIVERI CAPTURES SECOND IN VEGAS Pasqualino Oliveri, Canadian Pizza magazine’s Chef of the Year, clinched the silver spot in the Traditional Finals of the International Pizza Challenge held on the show floor. His final score was 63.5 and he earned a $2,000 prize. For the full story on Oliveri, see page 14. In a sibling sweep, Carmelo Oliveri, his brother, chef’s assistant and fellow competitor, earned the world pizza champion title in the Traditional category with a score of 66.3. He also won the blind box bake-off, bringing his prize money for the show up to $15,000. Marina Rondinelli, our Chef of the Year runner-up, also won a trip to Las Vegas and a chance to compete. Rondinelli, of Rondo’s and Pizza Plus in Bright’s Grove, Ont., competed in the Non-traditional category with the same Blazing BBQ pulled pork recipe that earned her second place in our contest. Rondinelli finished an impressive 28th overall with a score of 73. Other Canadians competing in the culinary challenge included regular contender

10 pizza April/MAy 2011

Pizza Prints Edible Images

Cory Medd of Two Guys and a Pizza Place in Lethbridge, Alta., and Alexandra Brunet of Alimentation Cinq Sens Inc. of Montreal. Canadian Pizza magazine would like to thank Saputo Foodservice, our 2011 Chef of the Year sponsor, for its support in showcasing Canada’s pizza makers. NEW PRODUCTS At the Thunderbird booth, we learned about the company’s new dough divider/ rounder, the TDR-1380. This machine makes dough ball sizes ranging from 1 oz. to 32 oz. and a rate of up to 1,600 balls per hour (www.tbfm.com). IceGreen, a Canadian company that makes reusable takeout bags, was showcasing its fully customizable goods. The idea is for customers to purchase a fully branded thermal take-out bag from your store for reuse when they pick up their pies. These bags keep the pizza hot while keeping your brand front and centre (www.icegreen.ca). We sampled some tasty gluten-free pizza crust at Kinnikinnick’s booth. These fellow Canadians are based in Edmonton, Alta., and offer a gluten-free crust in a regular or thin crust that is also dairy- and nut-free (www.kinnikinnick.com). Gluten-free had a strong presence from

both sides of the border in the show aisles. Canbrands Gluten Free Specialty Foods, of Gromley, Ont., was also on site with its gluten-free goodies that made for tasty samples too! Rounding out the Canadian exhibitors were Sutus Inc., a communications technology solutions provider based in Burnaby, B.C. We learned that Pizza Prints Edible Images decorations have been picked up by at least one Canadian chain, Mamma’s Pizza in Ontario. Pizzas can be decorated for holidays such as Halloween, birthdays or with sports and cartoon images (www. pizzaprints.com). Dino Ciccone, well-known Canadian pizza chef, stopped by our booth to share an update on his new television show in development, Pizza Rider, as well as a new website www.worldpizzamap.com. With a pilot completed, stay tuned for the launch date of the show (www.pizzarider. com). Through World Pizza Map, Ciccone is working on building the world’s most comprehensive online pizza directory. Visit the site for registration details. Belelact, the dairy division of the American company Alliance Enterprises, has developed unique new technology for the food industry that removes up to 90 per cent of the cholesterol from dairy products. The technology is patented, tested and works without chemicals, plant sterols or preservatives. Company literature says the proteins, calcium and vitamins are left intact and the product keeps its original taste and texture (www.benelact.com). Canadian Pizza also made it to seminars on online marketing, community marketing and viral marketing. Stay tuned in coming editions for articles sharing the great tips we learned.

Continued on page 27

the pizza chef

The trouble with tired Diana Coutu ace it: This is a multitasking business. There are always small things to do, big jobs to finish, phone calls to return, e-mails to deal with, errands to run, meetings to attend and, perhaps, some time with the family to squeeze in there too. Today’s operator must wear several hats in order to get the job done. In this business there is always more work than can realistically be done by one person and there is always work left undone at the end of the day. Many pizzeria owner/operators run themselves ragged trying to do it all by racing from one thing to the next, smoothing over upset customers and staff, and putting out fires. Sometimes it is out of necessity, but often it’s compounded by the accumulated effects of not taking proper care of oneself coupled with the stressful nature of our industry. What am I talking about? I’m talking about skipping breakfast because you don’t think you have time, yet funnelling a pot of coffee before noon (and another by 4 p.m. – gotta be ready for the supper rush, eh?) I’m talking about getting home after a long shift and staying up watching infomercials until the wee hours instead of going to bed. I’m talking about running on steam, getting less than six hours of sleep a night for weeks on end and operating on autopilot. Only you are not a robot, my friend, and your autopilot skills suffer greatly when you don’t feed the machine. Once you pass a certain point, you’re twice as likely to make poor decisions. This is how you burn out. Then one day you realize that you’ve lost the passion for your product, your customers and your staff. Burn out is when you feel like you’re getting beat up every day. Every operator experiences exhaustion at some time or another. It’s important to recognize the signs of when you are overly tired so that you can avoid making bad

12 pizza April/MAy 2011

decisions that will come back to bite you. Take one of our blunders. As new parents, my husband and I are sleep deprived, more so than from just operating the business. A yellow page rep took advantage of this distraction and had my husband sign a “placeholder contract.” Because his tired brain didn’t hear the word renewal, operating on autopilot he signed a paper she presented him. She left without giving him a copy and he subsequently totally forgot about it. Two months later she informed us that it was a renewal contract with 2011 rates, committing us to an ad that we had no intention of renewing at a cost of over $13,000. Imagine our confusion! Not only did my husband not remember signing any renewal, it seemed like so long ago he couldn’t even be sure of what had transpired during the meeting. Luckily, we caught it before the books were printed, but it was a battle and a half to get her to tear up the contract. This is a tough business, but it’s a lot tougher when you’re so darn worn out that you aren’t able to see the big picture and get lost in the weeds of daily minutia. You need to fill your cup first in order to have plenty left to fulfil the demands of the business. Unscrupulous people will take advantage of you in your weakened state. It’s the law of the jungle. The strong always prey on the weak. It’s imperative to schedule time for rest and good nutrition. There will be days that you aren’t at your best and you’ll know it. When you find yourself having one of those days, don’t skip meals! Actually, don’t ever skip meals! You don’t expect your car to run without gas, do you? A quick protein shake will fire up that machine and it’ll take less time to whip up than a pot of coffee. You can still have that pot of coffee, just put food in first. On days that you have

being chronically overtired is a reliable route to making mistakes and jeopardizing your health.

meetings scheduled, it’s in your best interest to postpone signing contracts, even ones presented as minor. If someone ever insists on a signature on the spot you should consider it a red flag and promptly end the meeting. Always get a copy of anything you’ve been asked to sign. It’s easy to put yourself by the wayside with a business, customers and staff depending on you. However, this is a surefire way to make major mistakes and put a strain on your health. Take care of yourself to take better care of your business. • Diana Coutu is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine chef of the year champion, an internationally recognized gourmet pizzaiolo, the co-owner of Diana’s Gourmet Pizzeria in Winnipeg, Man., and a member of the board of directors for the CRFA. In addition to creating awardwinning recipes, Diana is also a consultant to other pizzeria owner/operators in menu development, creating systems to run a pizzeria on autopilot, along with marketing and positioning to help operators grow their businesses effectively and strategically. She is available for consulting on a limited basis; for more information contact her at Diana@dianasgourmetpizzeria.ca.

feature

Siblings sweep sin city BY LAurA AIkEN

asqualino Oliveri is explaining what makes a good pizza when he stops and says, “I talk too much.” Talking is good, I assure with a laugh, talk away. This is an interview, after all. He continues in well-articulated English accented by the musicality of the Italian mother tongue. Eyes lit and sentences punctuated by smiles, Oliveri’s enthusiasm for a life in pizza is about as hidden as a giraffe on an ant farm. It’s been a banner year for Oliveri. He won Canadian Pizza magazine’s 2011 Chef of the Year competition sponsored by Saputo Foodservice with his La Regina recipe. This honour netted him a trip to compete in Las Vegas with a guaranteed spot in the Traditional category finals of the International Pizza Challenge (IPC) and cool $1,000. He was signed up to compete in the Non-traditional division as well, so with category bases covered he packed his bags, missed a flight, prayed his dough would survive the delay and made it to the city that never sleeps in time to get some rest. Game face on, his brother Carmelo as chef’s assistant (and fellow competitor whom he, in turn, assisted) at his side, he put forth his best slices for the judges to weigh in on (Canada was present in the judging this year with Canadian Pizza columnist Diana Coutu on the panel). Oliveri captured the silver spot in the Traditional finals, adding $2,000 to his winnings. Carmelo won the kit-and-caboodle: first place in the Traditional division and the

14 pizza April/MAy 2011

blind-box ingredient showdown that gave him the world’s best pizza maker title and a total win of $15,000. It was a true Oliveri sibling sweep at the IPC for these charming Italian brothers with a long history of making great pizza together. In 1989, the brothers opened their first pizzeria together in Verona, Italy. Oliveri was just 19 and Carmelo was 20. They worked the business together for 20 years. Over time he attained certificates in bartending, sommelier, English, and food health and safety. In 2007, he earned a Professional Pizza Making “Artisan” Certifi-� cate Scuola Italiana Pizzaioli in Verona. A thriving business was built. Working with family can be trying, but it was, and is, a true partnership for the brothers. “We work well together; it was easy,” says Oliveri. “I feel we are exactly 50/50 so together we are 100 per cent.” In 2004 the brothers began competing, with Oliveri placing fourth at the World Pizza Championships in Salsomaggiore Terme, Parma, Italy. In 2006 he placed first at the European Pizza Championships in Paris. He scored high in further World Pizza Championships, European Pizza Championships and a previous IPC in Las Vegas. “You learn, you see other people and what they do and what they make,” he says of the value of competing. “I think you never finish learning, ever . . . . It’s good for the business and good for yourself.” Eventually the conversation between brothers came about of taking their pizza

tHE wINNINg ENtrY Pasqualino Oliveri, Authentic Italian Food, Catering and Consulting Ottawa/Montreal /Toronto and opening La Regina pizzeria, Ottawa www.pasqualinooliveri.com

La Regina this winning pie combines a tried and true family dough recipe with a creative cream of broccoli sauce, as well as red onion, grilled red pepper and sausage.

INGREDIENTS sauce Cream of broccoli pizza 14-inch dough ball Mozzarella Italian sausage grilled red pepper red onion in rings Parmigiano-reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS Open pizza dough to 14 inches. with a spoon, spread the cream of broccoli evenly over the dough but staying within a one-inch border of the dough. Evenly distribute mozzarella, sausage meat and onion rings. Place the grilled red peppers as if they were spokes on a bike around the pizza and in the middle make an X out of two grilled red peppers. Evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese. Bake in an oven (Oliveri uses gas) preheated to 271 C (520 F).

RECOMMENDED SELLING PRICE: $18

April/MAy 2011 pizza 15

success to another corner of the world. Carmelo, who is now a teacher at an Italian pizza-making school, has a wife and two children. With family rooting Carmelo in Italy, Oliveri took the reins in taking the pizza abroad. First he visited New York for a week, but says he found it too big. Then he visited Montreal and Toronto, which he also found to be on the chaotic side. And he spent one week in Ottawa in February. “It was cooooold!” he remarks, drawing out the wintry word in disbelief as if he is right back to the day he stepped off the plane and into sub-zero. “I didn’t know if I wanted to stay in this place.” He was born in south Italy and had the pizza place in north Italy, both a far cry from frosty February in Canada’s capital. Nonetheless, he liked the small-town feel of the city and decided to take a step, or in the case of Ottawa, a skate, towards his own restaurant overseas. First Oliveri visited with an immigration lawyer who suggested he apply for a work visa before opening a business. This would give him the opportunity to make his food here, see what people like

16 pizza April/MAy 2011

to eat and find out if it’s possibly just too darn cold for him to stay. Oliveri says he is grateful for the advice, for if he had opened right away it could have been a mistake. He got his visa and stayed, working as the kitchen manager and head chef at The Grand Pizzeria and Bar in Ottawa’s bustling market district. After three years the climate, Canada and its people became the right place for the pizzaiolo to stay. Oliveri decided the time had come to go back to being his own boss. “When you are owner of your business, it is not easy to go back and work for someone else,” he says. In 2010, he parted ways with The Grand and began his own authentic Italian food catering and consulting business serving Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, with pizza as the primary focus. He also registered his pizzeria, La Regina, and de-

veloped the menu, with plans to open the restaurant this year. But it will be more than just a place to dine; it will also be a place to learn. Oliveri plans to open a pizza-making school right alongside it. “We don’t want to keep the secret,” he says of his desire to help other pizza makers learn how to make a better pie. He says it’s important to learn the fundamentals of the chemical processes of the dough and then bring your own creativity and culture to it. With many ethnicities running pizzerias in Canada, the options to infuse the food with different flavours is vast. He says people decide for themselves and for the business what kind of pizza they want to make, but dough science is the backbone. To make more digestible dough, one must understand the chemical process of yeast and the qualities of different flours. This is what Oliveri will be striving to teach. “We need to teach why you need to wait at least 24 hours before making your pizza. I make the dough Saturday for the pizza I make today [Tuesday of the IPC], he says. “That’s why we want to do this school – to teach the people in the west why they loved the pizza they ate in Napoli. You can eat Italian pizza anywhere in the world. It’s all in how it’s made.” Oliveri got to spend a few extra days in Vegas celebrating with Carmelo before the brothers parted ways, undoubtedly looking forward to the next visit. Oliveri has returned to the challenging task of opening the pizzeria and school. He envisions a family-friendly place where he can enjoy conversing with the customers. Talking is one of his favourite parts of the job, even handling the complaints, which he counts on to be able to improve. “I love it; this is an art [pizza making]. I love this job. I love the feeling that when I make something, and the people eat it, and they like it and they keep coming back, when they say ‘wow!’ That’s what I love about this job.” •

Look in the June issue of Canadian Pizza for recipes from our two finalists, rick Nixon of Itza ristorante & Pizzeria in Nelson, B.C., and Canadian Pizza columnist and 2009 Chef of the Year tom Stankiewicz of Bondi’s Pizza in London, Ont.

tHE ruNNEr-uP Marina Rondinelli, Rondo’s & Pizza Plus, bright’s Grove, Ont. www.pizzaplusbrightsgrove.com

SubScribe TODAY ! only

1800

(GST $18.90; QST/HST $20.34) US $40.00 (USD) • Foreign $50.00 (USD)

Name: ________________________________ Business: _____________________________ Address: ______________________________ City: __________________________________ Prov: _________________________________ P.Code:________________________________ Tel: __________________________________ Fax: __________________________________ e-mail: ________________________________

Blazing BBQ Pizza Forty Creek whisky barbecue sauce and hot banana peppers give this mushroom, roasted red pepper, pulled pork and bacon topped pie a bit of delicious bite. INGREDIENTS sauce Forty Creek whisky barbecue sauce (house-made blend of the whisky and barbecue sauce, combine to taste) pizza 16-inch dough ball Cornmeal

Shredded pieces of blazing barbecued pulled pork Freshly sliced portobello mushrooms thinly sliced roasted red peppers thinly sliced red onions Hot banana peppers Crumbled smoky bacon Mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS Spread cornmeal on a wooden paddle. Stretch dough through a dough roller twice, then hand stretch until you have a 16-inch pizza crust. Spread sauce evenly, then cover with half of desired mozzarella cheese. top with remaining ingredients in the following order, being sure to spread evenly: pulled pork, portabello mushrooms, red onions, roasted red peppers, hot banana peppers, smoky bacon and remaining cheese. Preheat oven (rondinelli uses stone gas) to 288 C (550 F) for two hours. Cook until golden brown (10 to 12 minutes), turning pie so it cooks evenly, and burst any bubbles that arise in the dough.

RECOMMENDED SELLING PRICE: $29.95

1. NATure OF buSiNeSS: (Select only one): ❏ independent Pizzeria ❏ Pizza chain/Franchise ❏ Gov’t, library, school ❏ Other ______________________________ (Specify) 2. JOb TiTle: ❏ Owner ❏ restaurant Mgmt ❏ Other – allied to the field ______________________________________ (Specify) 3. Years in business: ❏ under 5 years ❏ 10-19 years ❏ 35+ years

❏ 5-9 years ❏ 20-34 years

4. Annual Gross Sales: ❏ less than $250k ❏ $500k-$750k ❏ Over $1 million

❏ $250k-$500k ❏ $750K-$1 million

PAYMeNT: cheque - Payable to Annex Publishing & Printing inc. Visa Mc Account #: _________________________ expiry: _________________________ Signature: _________________________ Date: _________________________

TO SubScribe:

Tel: 866-790-6070 Fax: 877-624-1940 Mail: canadian Pizza Magazine c/o Annex Publishing & Printing inc. P.O. box 530, 105 Donly Dr. S., Simcoe, Ontario N3Y 4N5 e-mail: cnowe@annexweb.com

www.canadianpizzamag.com

GST/HST#867172652RT0001 • QST#1036778161

0411PZ

April/MAy 2011 pizza 17

marketing insights

Michelle Brisebois re you a restaurateur or a retailer? Or both? You may argue that a foodservice operation is vastly different from traditional retailers such as Chapters but, in doing so, you may be missing an opportunity to increase sales. Retail spaces are defined as the locations where goods or commodities are sold in small quantities directly to consumers. Therefore, restaurants are a form of retailing. Every successful retailer understands that a properly merchandised store can function like a silent salesperson, helping to convert shoppers into buyers. However, for many operators, merchandising tactics are strangled by decorating techniques. As the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with this week’s decorating trend.” Conversely, the road to profitability is paved with solid retailing strategies. It’s about communication, not just looking pretty. Restaurants are retail operations, but unlike at the grocery store or The Gap, the slow seduction towards final purchase is more of a cerebral experience than a tactile one. At The Gap you can touch the jeans, try them on and even return them if you get them home and decide that they’re not right. Ordering a new entrée from a menu is a bigger leap of faith because it can only be experienced after the order has been placed. This is why everything in your restaurant must help to minimize any discomfort your customers may have about choosing items. Organize your signage and menu in a customer-centric manner that appeals to how they go about deciding what to eat. Place your menu outside your front door in an acrylic holder so people can mull it over and be enticed inside by your offerings. Your menu is your most important retailing tool, so make sure you leverage it.

18 pizza April/MAy 2011

Think retail to boost sales Retailing expert Paco Underhill refers to “adjacencies” when he speaks of effective merchandising techniques. Items on display should be grouped as people use them. In other words, you need to understand what customers’ priorities are when it comes to a menu choice. A dietary restriction may be top of mind or maybe they’re in the mood to splurge. Pizza is a food that’s often shared, so perhaps they’re wondering if the toppings can be split half and half. Here’s a hint: you can usually tell what’s on your customers’ minds by the questions that are asked when somebody new comes in for the first time. Try organizing your menus or menu boards according to these segments instead of by entrée type. This is known in retailing lingo as wayfinding. In other words, help the customers quickly find their way to exactly what they need. You also need to have a sensible, logical order of presentation to increase sales. Sometimes irrational combinations will also work if you want to coax a consumer to purchase a more profitable item. An example of this strategy at play would be where a drugstore places the generic pain reliever next to the brand name. The consumer will be drawn in by the brand name but choose the generic option because of the cheaper price. It would seem to be a loss for the retailer because the sales value is lower, but because the generic pills are more profitable to the retailer, the consumer winds up doing exactly what the retailer wanted. Conversely, promote the chicken wings close to your pizza menu because the two logically go together. Never underestimate the power of song. Music is an incredibly effective retailing tool. It sets the mood and can help to create a celebratory atmosphere that encourages a larger check. A study in the

journal Nature found consumption of French or German wines could be “radically shifted” by 35 per cent or more just by playing identifiably French or German songs in the store. This could be a potent tactic if you happen to have a nice French wine that sells at a higher price point than the other options. On the flip side, a 2009 study found that two in five U.K. shoppers (40.2 per cent) reported walking out of a store because of its music. Of those customers who bailed, people over the age of 55 (48.1 per cent) were the most likely to walk out. This was followed by the 40- to 55-year-old demographic (43.4 per cent), those in the $30 to $100K income range (42.4 per cent) and frequent shoppers (41.4 per cent). Women and men were equally likely to walk out because of a musical choice, at 40.4 per cent and 40.1 per cent, respectively, while those with household incomes over $100K (40.9 per cent) were slightly less likely to walk. The least likely to leave were the 21 to 39 age group (28.2 per cent) and those earning less than $30K (29.2 per cent). The lesson here is to consider your target tribe when choosing your playlist. Last, but most certainly not least, food and wine retailers know that samplings or tastings can help to minimize the risk for the customer, so the most successful stores rely heavily on sampling to help pave the way to a purchase. An amuse-bouche will help drive trial of a new menu item or a dessert add-on. Think like a retailer and you’ll be able to move towards a fatter bottom line. Décor is a wonderful thing but in the end it’s really just window dressing. • Michelle Brisebois is a marketing professional with experience in the food, pharmaceutical, financial services and wine industries. She specializes in retail brand strategies.

feature

Going frozen BY JIM CHLIBOYkO

Pizza Patrón’s frozen pizza line offered in U.S. supermarkets is one way the chain creates multichannel brand awareness. Photo credit: Pizza Patrón

rozen pizzas in the supermarket at super low prices are a threatening competitor to their fresh counterparts. Some operators and chains are tackling the challenge head on either by putting themselves in the grocery store or by selling their own frozen pizzas instore. There can be several reasons for a chain, or a single restaurant, to go the frozen route. We looked to our neighbours to the south for examples of chains that have made their way into the aisles. California Pizza Kitchen (CPK), a chain which rolled out a frozen pizza several years ago only in supermarkets, did so with the main motivation of, simply, profit. “The Kraft relationship was rolling along, really doing great, but with the introduction of the thin and crispy, it rocket shipped,” says Rick Rosenfield, co-presi-

20 pizza April/MAy 2011

dent and co-CEO, in the video of the 2007 CPK annual report, referring to their (at the time) new, frozen offering. “It’s a very high-margin revenue stream. It runs about 95 per cent, and it diversifies the portfolio nicely,” adds Sue Collyns, CPK’s CFO, in the same annual report. In the case of Pizza Patrón, the company has its own reasons for selling frozen pizzas. According to the chain’s brand director, it’s a relatively “little guy” up against the bigger, better established chains. “It’s a completely different channel of business for us; it’s only sold in retail grocery stores,” says Andy Gamm, from his Dallas office, of his chain’s frozen pizzas. Pizza Patrón itself is a mid-sized, 25-yearold pizza chain with almost 100 locations in seven states in the American south. It self-identifies as a Latino restaurant with a

new motto of “Latin Life, Enjoy”. The chain made the news a few years back by accepting pesos in its outlets, and currently it’s the official pizza of American Airlines Center, home to both the NHL’s Dallas Stars and NBA’s the Dallas Mavericks. “We’re a small company, and we have a vision to become a nationally recognized brand,” says Gamm. “One of the ways to make that happen is to consider multichannel growth, finding other ways to get our brand in front of consumers’ eyes.” But, Gamm says, getting a retail version of what one produces in-store is quite a lengthy process that includes developing the specific recipes (which will differ from the in-store product), and finding a distributor and manufacturer. “We’re just getting started. It’s a challenge getting shelf space. We’re in a number of

different markets here between Dallas and Houston, and we’re expanding into some bigger chains.” To that end, Gamm says other considerations with a retail offering include how to roll it out to the supermarkets and how to decide which supermarkets to deal with. “When we started, our focus was to expand awareness in the Hispanic segment, through Hispanic grocery stores. Since then, we’ve had opportunities to get into the more general market,” said Gamm. “It really came down to brand strategy. We’re going up against very large chains with deep pockets. This was a way for us to multiply the awareness of our brand without a significant investment, like the kind needed to build stores.” In the case of Canadian independent Diana Coutu, her motivation was a bit different. For her, it was all about the cheese. The Canadian Pizza columnist, pizza award winner, and owner and operator (with her husband Pierre) of the single-

outlet Diana’s Gourmet Pizza in the Winnipeg neighbourhood of St. Vital was inspired by a certain price break for cheese she heard about.

there’s explosive growth in the frozen pizza market. we thought we could make a better [frozen] pizza with the cost savings, and pass the savings on to our customers.

“We do a take and bake, anything off our fresh menu. And we have a frozen line, with five types of pizzas and seven types of panzerottis,” she says. “Cheese

for a frozen pizza is 30 per cent less than cheese for a fresh, fully baked pizza.” Coutu says that it seems a lot of pizza makers don’t know about the price cut you can get in your own store, and not just the grocery store. It’s the Canadian Dairy Commission that has set two prices for cheese, one for manufacturers and one for everyone else. “Canadians pay some of the highest dairy prices in the world. We pay twice as much as our American friends do.” The way Coutu explains it, in the early 1990s, a lot of frozen American pizza was coming over the border. The Canadian Dairy Commission was created at about that time, setting the price for dairy products every year. “One price is for further processors, and providing they apply for the proper permits, they can purchase this cheese under these permits, for 30 per cent less. It’s a 5A permit for frozen pizza manufacturers. We are purchasing mozzarella for

How to Open a Financially Successful Pizza & Sub Restaurant Item#: 0910627800

I Price: $43.95

The explosive growth of the pizza and sub shops across the country has been phenomenal. Take a look at these stats: Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day, or about 350 slices per second. Pizza is a $32+ billion per year industry. Pizza restaurant growth continues to outpace overall restaurant growth. Pizzerias represent 17 per cent of all restaurants. Pizza accounts for more that 10 per cent of all food service sales. Here is the manual you need to cash in on this highly profitable segment of the food service industry. This book is a comprehensive and detailed study of the business side of the restaurant. This superb manual should be studied by anyone investigating the opportunities of opening a pizza or sub restaurant. It will arm you with everything you need including sample business forms, leases, and contracts; worksheets and checklists for planning, opening, and running day-to-day operations; sample menus; inventory lists; plans and layouts; and dozens of other valuable, time-saving tools of the trade that no restaurant entrepreneur should be without.

pizza BOOKAD APR10.indd 1

April/MAy 2011 pizza10:58 21 25/03/10 AM

feature $3.41 a pound (saving a little over a dollar per pound).” Coutu, though, the priority wasn’t to profit from pizzas made with the monetarily cheaper cheese, or to expand her brand (though there’s nothing wrong with that). Rather, she was interested in offering a price break to her customers. “There’s explosive growth in the frozen pizza market. We thought we could make a better [frozen] pizza with the cost savings, and pass the savings on to our customers.” While Coutu’s fresh-baked pizzas run at about $15 for a pepperoni, her frozen variation only costs $11.50. “And there are no taxes because it’s considered groceries,” she adds. Coutu says her frozen pizza sales have increased by two per cent since moving to a new, larger location that can accommodate more frozen pizzas. She estimates she goes through 380 pounds of cheese a week for fully baked pizzas, and 45 to 50 pounds for the frozen.

22 pizza April/MAy 2011

“What we found with our frozen line, it doesn’t cannibalize our fully baked line. The frozen line attracts a different mindset of customer: ‘I’m going to eat it later, or just have them in my freezer.’ People started asking about things they could bring to the office, or put in the freezer. Once we launched it, we found that there was a pent-up demand for a better-quality frozen pizza and panzerotti.” One hurdle, though, on her quest for the cheaper cheese, was that there was a lot of paperwork and it took a long time to track down the proper information about permit 5A. Applicants also have to make a claim of something called “a proof of injury,” that “a U.S. import is hindering your ability to make something for Canadian consumer,” explains Coutu. “I’d say, beginning to end, it probably took six months. It really was buried. You have to go through the forms, understand the info. Each pizza and panzerotti we make has its own permit.”

In the meantime, Coutu says that she’s not interested in going the retail route. “We wanted to go into that avenue, and get into supermarkets. There was some interest in the past, but the conversation (with the supermarkets) usually goes like this: we really like your product, can you make us a pallet, and what we don’t want we’ll send back.” Coutu says she also didn’t want to deal with wholesale pricing or the highly specialized equipment required to make the retail pizzas. After all, the whole point of Coutu’s business is to make everything by hand. But the store did invest in a shrinkand-seal tunnel machine for the frozen pizzas she sells now. However, Coutu has another motivation for selling a frozen pizza. “Frozen makers have been given an unfair advantage over a fresh pizza maker. They don’t put as much into it as a fresh pizza maker does.” It’s something she’s obviously hoping to change. •

making dough with Diane

8 tips to revamp your restaurant Diane Chiasson pring is here, which usually brings to mind one thing: spring cleaning! It’s important not only to physically clean up your pizza operation, but to also clean up other areas of your business, including your marketing, advertising, promotional and website materials.

bACK AND FRONT OF HOUSE Now is the perfect time to clean your operation from top to bottom. Wash behind the hot line to get rid of grease buildup. Clean out your freezers, and empty and sanitize the ice machine. Sharpen the meat and cheese slicer, change any pest traps, and restock your first aid kit. Scrape out any burned pieces of crust and cheese from your oven. Clean the pilot lights on gas kitchen equipment. Call someone to clean your hoods. Wash all the walls and ceilings. Move everything out of your pantry and dust off all those big cans of tomato sauce. Wipe down the dry storage area and throw out any products that may have expired. Get rid of all your clutter. A clean kitchen will feel like a new kitchen. In the front of house, wipe down all your menu boards, scrape all the gum and other dirt off your tables, chairs and floors, clean your windows, dust your display units, and ensure that all your promotional materials are up to date. OUTSIDE Make sure that your patio is in good condition. This might mean touching up the paint on your fence, cleaning all your tables and chairs, and scraping up any pieces of gum or other dirt on the sidewalk. You also might want to consider sprucing up your outdoor area by planting some flowers. Don’t forget to hose off all the salt and dirt collected on your outside signage so that your pizza operation stands out shiny

and clean on your block. You might even end up attracting new customers! LIGHTING/ELECTRICAL Walk through your entire operation. Check for any bulbs that have burned out. Get on a ladder and wipe down all your lighting fixtures. Consider taking this opportunity to switch to environmentally friendly bulbs, or look into how you can reduce energy costs in your operation by turning off appliances that you don’t use on a regular basis. Install an automated light switch in your washrooms so that the lights only go on when the washrooms are in use. Calibrate the temperatures in your refrigerated units and ovens. Be sure to check your fire suppression system and all your fire extinguishers. DATAbASES Don’t waste time and money by sending email or direct marketing to customers who don’t exist anymore. Delete all the contacts with e-mail addresses that are undeliverable, or mail that gets returned. Clean out your inbox. Make sure that you have replied to all your customers and filed their information. Add any new contacts that you have collected. WEbSITE Just like a house, your website needs a thorough cleaning at least once a year. Ensure that there are no old promotions or menu items displayed, and that all prices are correct. While you’re at it, update your content. This will also help with search engine optimization. After you have completed your website maintenance, track the results of your efforts. Check to see whether or not you have had an increase in visitors. If not, you will need to consider stepping up your efforts.

WORK WITH yOUR TEAM You won’t be able to achieve all the goals in your spring cleaning campaign without the help of your staff. Cleaning out a restaurant is hard work and a lot of labour is involved, so try to make it as fun as possible. Consider bringing in your whole team on a day when your restaurant is closed to the public. Crank up the tunes and order in some good food. This would also be a good time to do some team building and allow the staff members to get to know one another on a more casual basis. Make sure you reward your team for its efforts. INCLUDE CUSTOMERS Once you’ve completed your spring cleaning, encourage your customers to get started on their own. Offer a special spring cleaning pizza party promotion built around the idea that your customers can make it a fun time, invite their friends and family to lend a hand, and at the end of the day, hold a pizza party to celebrate a job well done. CLEAN FOR CHARITy Another way to encourage your customers to do their spring cleaning is to have them donate their old clothes, electronics, and other working and usable items, to charity. Collect the donations at your pizzeria, and offer a free soft drink or slice of pie to people who bring items in. Use these tips to help get a fresh start on summer and give your business a boost. • Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping restaurant, foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 25 years. Her company provides innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns, and much more. Contact her at 416-926-1338, toll-free at 1-888-926-6655 or chiasson@chiassonconsultants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.

April/MAy 2011 pizza 23

feature

Best photo forward BY JuLIE FItz-gErALD

n image is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes. With just a glance, photographs displaying your top-selling dishes can conjure up intense feelings in customers, making their mouths water as they rush to grab a seat or causing them to head for the exit. With images holding prominent positions on menu boards, flyers and websites, it’s crucial to ensure they’re sending out the right message. Many in the foodservice industry share a common belief that a bad photo is worse than no photo at all. Geoff Wilson, president of the foodservice consulting firm fsSTRATEGY, notes, “Poor picture quality implies that the restaurant is not committed to

24 pizza April/MAy 2011

quality. If you’re not going to do them right, don’t do them at all.” By ensuring the photos representing your menu items are of professional quality, you can take comfort in knowing that your customers’ taste buds will be teased and pleased even before the dish has arrived at their table. Anita Whyte, a food stylist based in Toronto, says, “A photo certainly whets the customer’s appetite. It makes them curious about the product.” With images influencing customer decisions, it’s important to remember that high-quality photos are an investment and, if done properly, they can increase your sales. For an independent restaurant, a food photographer can cost between $3,000 and $6,000 for five to six photos, which would translate into a fullday shoot. This price would typically include a food stylist, basic props and a meeting prior to the shoot to discuss the vision and layout. It’s of the utmost importance that the food photographer understands your menu and the actual product that is served to customers. “The better the image, the more you sell, but you have to make sure that you don’t over-amp promise,” explains Michael Kohn, a food photographer based in Toronto. “You have to deliver what you’re showing.” Wilson agrees, emphasizing, “Whatever pictures an operator has taken of their food should represent the way the food actually looks when it is served. If it looks better than or different than what ends up being served, the consumer is left scratching their head. It’s important for the operator to have a heavy play in deciding how things are going to be done.” Achieving tantalizing food imagery while staying true to the appearance of an item, as the customer will see it, can be tricky. The expertise of a food stylist can help make this complicated task a little less complicated. “A food stylist enhances the food to give it appetite appeal in a credible context and makes the food and the product look to its best possible potential,” says Whyte. “As a food stylist, even though [the client] would normally put a half cup of sauce over a dish, I would use a bit less and paint it on to give the idea of sauce, but I also want to see the protein, let’s say it’s shrimp or chicken . . . you don’t want to drown it.” Food stylists are often hired by the photographer but can also be hired directly by the client. Their rates can range from $500

ticularly the famous cheese pull. Gooey cheese stretching from a piping hot pie to the slice being torn away is sure to have customers salivating and eager to order. “It’s what every food stylist worries about,” says Whyte. “The cheese pull is always something, because you get one good shot at it and it’s really hard to place it back . . . there’s a subtlety to it, I would say.”

Food photography is a unique form of art with many variables to consider. While great photos can have a positive effect on customers, the opposite is true of bad ones, proving that using experts in this field is a wise decision. Kohn sums it up nicely, saying, “It’s just a part of putting your best face out there all the time, that’s what it’s about. Your images are your face.” •

Capturing the stretching cheese is always a coveted shot.

to $800 per day, which includes a short consultation prior to the shoot to ensure a good grasp of the concept and layout. The food stylist will arrive at the photo shoot armed with various tools to primp the food of choice, including items like food colouring, dried herbs and condiments. The result is a set of photos that will have tongues wagging and customers ordering. “I would say a superior photo would drive sales far more than a photo that doesn’t quite grab me or falls short. It really is a small investment in the whole scheme of things,” Whyte adds. As a photographer, Kohn highlights the logistical importance of having a food stylist on set. “Anytime I’m handling food I [use one] because I shouldn’t be doing both. I have my own worries on the set with lighting and making sure everything works.” Hiring a professional food photographer and a food stylist to capture the essence of your best-selling dishes ensures that your photos receive the level of expertise they deserve. While it may be tempting to try your hand at food photography, the impact a photo can have raises the stakes. In Whyte’s experience, there are elements to a photo shoot, such as lighting, that undoubtedly require an expert. “Lighting is very important and. as an amateur. you don’t necessarily understand good lighting,” she explains. “That’s where a photographer really comes in with their expertise . . . when you get the right light on [a product] it’s like wow, it looks fantastic.” Even the professionals find certain food images challenging to capture, par-

April/MAy 2011 pizza 25