8 Industry News Movers, shakers, legislation and news you can use
14 The Pizza Chef Streamline your operations
ONLINE
Rising labour costs ahead as minimum wages climb across Canada
New analysis from Technomic suggests minimum wage growth across Canada is set to continue into 2026, with several provinces already announcing other increases. Learn more about pizza industry happenings across Canada at canadianpizzamag.com.
ON THE COVER
22 Making Dough with Diane Preparing a yearly calendar for your pizzeria 18 18
Giovanni Campisi is our newest Chef of the Year and a second-time winner! Learn about his winning dessert pizza and his worklife balance at Il Fornello in Oakville, Ont. See page 10.
10 Chef of the Year times two!
Meet Giovanni Campisi, of Il Fornello in Oakville, Ont., and learn about his winning ‘Il Dolce Nido’ By Colleen Cross
16 Pizza Summit West Preview
We have great things planned for our Pizza Summit in Port Coquitlam, B.C., on June 1! BYOB for the Great Pizza Box Fold-Off, Lunch and Learn, tasty sampling and more. Get all the details!
By Canadian Pizza Staff
18 Pizza innovators
Meet our runnersup at Toronto Pizza Summit, Adam Ward, Hooray for Pizza Day, and Robert Rubino, Tanta Roba Chef Services and Catering By Canadian Pizza Staff
20
Black Cat Pizzeria a playground for new pizza styles
This busy St. John’s, N.L., pizza shop thrives on bringing new pizza styles like Detroit-style, Chicago thin crust and New York-style to the community By
Colleen Cross
FROM THE EDITOR
BY COLLEEN CROSS
Haunted by a pizza
Ifind myself wondering where a certain pepper-topped pizza went.
A pizza pickup on Christmas Eve got me thinking about order errors, how they are handled and how little margin for error a pizzeria has.
While doing last-minute shopping, on a whim, I stopped in at 2 p.m. to order a large pizza with barbecue sauce, chicken, sausage, mushrooms and tomatoes. My husband and I planned a quiet night in and were happy to treat ourselves.
When I returned to pick up the pizza at 5, I learned that, due to an error, a similar pizza had been made with peppers and another topping I hadn’t ordered. I was prepared to say, that’s OK, and take that alternative pizza. However, they had already prepared my correct pizza. They were offering the alternative pizza to me at half price.
It was just two of us to feed, so I declined. In hindsight, I would have bought the extra discounted pizza and found a neighbour or someone to share it with. I felt bad for the pizzeria having to eat the cost of that mistake.
And I wonder what happened to that pizza. Did staff end up taking it home? Could it have gone to a nearby workplace? It may have gone to a homeless shelter, but with only two staff on the shift to deliver and the pizza rapidly cooling, I doubt that was a realistic option.
This is not a critique of the operation. Mistakes happen. This one likely was the result of not paying close enough attention to the order or of hurrying on a day of distractions. In my opinion, it was handled as well as it could have been.
The employee corrected the error and made sure the pizza I ordered was ready on time. The pizza was delicious and the price was good price. But as a customer and reporter on the industry, I am haunted by the notion of waste and those thin sales margins being stripped away.
I’m curious to hear what you all think. Was there a way to avoid a total loss on that wrong pizza? How would you have handled this situation?
This talk of tight margins brings to mind a recent report that came out from food policy expert Sylvain
Charlebois featuring research from Statistics Canada’s monthly food and drinking places numbers. Charlebois doesn’t buy into Statistics Canada’s reports that the number of food-service establishments climbing and surpassing pre-2020 levels suggest the restaurant sector “has not only recovered, but expanded.” Instead, he argues that menu prices rising as profits fall is a sign not of growth but of distress. Charlebois writes, “On paper, the industry looks stable. On the ground, it does not.”
Based on comments I’ve heard from operators, this feels true.
Charlebois and his Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Halifax’s Dalhousie University analyzed cost trajectories, balance-sheet conditions and consumer behaviour to arrive at this worrying conclusion: “We expect Canada to lose roughly 4,000 restaurants on a net basis in 2026. This adjustment is already underway, even if it is not yet visible in headline statistics.”
This comment got our attention: “The losses will not be evenly distributed. Independent restaurants – those without scale, brand leverage, or balance-sheet flexibility – are likely to absorb the majority of the contraction. These businesses are also among the sector’s most important contributors to food innovation and culinary artistry. They are often the first to experiment, the first to take risks, and the first to introduce Canadians to new cuisines, flavours, and dining concepts that later become mainstream.”
At Canadian Pizza we focus on solutions to help all pizzerias, but especially the independents, survive and thrive. What can you do to make your pizzeria resilient while continuing to stand out from the competition and serving your community in a way that shows you are indispensable and muchloved?
We’ll provide more online content than ever in 2026. Some will explore imminent threats such as lack of reliable staff and the need for succession planning. Some will celebrate pizzerias that are thriving – and learning why. Some, it is our hope, will inspire you to climb to new heights in this passion- and pride-fuelled business. | CP
February 2026, Vol. 32, No. 1
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Chatham, Ont., connection to Hawaiian pizza to be featured in documentary; Emilio Finatti’s Langley, B.C., location reopens as mobile pizzeria after costly fire; Pasquale Visone wins AVPN’s Vera Pizza Contest in Italy | FOR MORE PIZZA NEWS, check out our website, canadianpizzamag.com
INGREDIENTS
Purple Tomato variety with deep colour, unaltered flavour, approved for sale in Canada
In October 2025, Health Canada approved for sale in Canada the Purple Tomato, which has been genetically modified using genes from snapdragon flowers to produce more anthocyanins and change the colour to deep purple without altering the taste.
In 2024, Health Canada received a submission from Norfolk Healthy Produce based in California to allow the sale of a genetically modified (GM) tomato variety referred to as Purple Tomato – Del/Ros1-N event.
To determine whether this GM tomato variety could be sold in Canada as food, the scientists at Health Canada conducted a scientific assessment to ensure the variety is safe for consumption, and to assess how the variety was developed and whether it can be toxic or cause allergic reactions.
The safety of the Purple Tomato for food use was assessed as part of the Health Canada-Food Standards
Australia New Zealand shared assessment process, Health Canada said in a news release. For this product, Health Canada was the primary assessor and conducted the safety assessment of this tomato line. FSANZ served as the secondary assessor, peer-reviewing Health Canada’s initial assessment report and providing feedback regarding the report.
The organization determined that “the changes made to this GM tomato variety do not pose a greater risk to human health than tomato varieties currently available on the Canadian market. In addition, Health Canada also concluded that this GM tomato variety would have no impact on allergies, and that there are no other differences in the nutritional value of this GM tomato variety compared to other traditional tomato varieties available for consumption.”
For technical information on Health Canada’s approval, visit Health Canada’s website.
TRENDS
Kids items, add-ons and sweet flavours drive menu growth at chains in Canada
Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, a quick-service chain specializing in artisanal pizza, recently launched keto and cauliflower crusts and a new line that reflects the company’s goal to be inclusive.
The Keto Crust contains just six grams of net carbs, Blaze Pizza said in a news release. Both new crusts are gluten-free appeared on the menu on July 16 for an additional charge. The brand is also introducing a
line only through Blaze Pizza’s mobile app and online.
The new Life Mode Pizzas include: Keto Pizza (Keto Crust, spicy red sauce, mozzarella, ovalini mozzarella, bacon, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach); Protein Pizza (Keto Crust, red sauce, mozzarella, Italian meatballs, smoked ham, grilled chicken, black olives, green bell peppers, oregano); Vegan Pizza (Origcheese, spicy vegan chorizo, drizzle); and Vegetarian Pizza (Cauliflower Crust, red sauce, onions, spinach).The new Life Mode Pizzas include: Keto Pizza (Keto Crust, spicy red sauce, mozzarella, ovalini mozzarella, bacon, cherry tomatoes, Pizza (Keto
PHOTO:
Crust, red sauce, mozzarella, Italian meatballs, smoked ham, grilled chicken, black olives, green bell peppers, oregano); Vegan Pizza (Original dough, red sauce, vegan cheese, spicy vegan chorizo, mushrooms, red onions, green bell peppers, basil, olive oil drizzle); and Vegetarian Pizza (Cauliflower Crust, red sauce, mozzarella, ricotta, artichokes, kalamata olives, red onions, spinach).
EVENTS
Las Vegas Pizza Expo schedule includes diverse demos, competitions, shopping and learning
The International Pizza Expo 2026 education schedule is here and this year’s lineup is one you won’t want to miss! New speakers and new topics have joined the tried-and-true curriculum to help you build and improve your pizza business.
From hands-on workshops to live demonstrations, there’s no shortage of content to be inspired by.
International Pizza Expo, set for March 24-26 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, is the annual gathering for every element of the industry.
LEARN from successful
peers, who give pizza-making demonstrations and offer advice on business-related topics in the seminars.
NETWORK with fellow pizzeria owners and managers who face similar challenges in different markets. Meet your current vendors and search for new suppliers.
SHOP as you explore different businesses on the show floor.
EAT as much pizza as you can! This is a great opportunity for you to try different type of pizzas.
Here are just a few sessions your pizzeria can benefit from:
• Collaboration Workshop
• Food and Labour Cost 101
• The Art of Upselling
• Exploring Today’s Top Pizza Trends
• Oven Management
• Detroit, Grandma and Cast Iron Pizzas
• Conflict Resolution in a Pizzeria
• Financial Literacy for Pizzeria Owners
Keynote speakers are Michelin-star chef Wylie Dufresne, who owns Stretch Pizza in Manhattan, and Hengam and Matt Stanfield of Mattenga’s Pizzeria, who were named Pizzeria of the Year by Pizza Today.
The Canadian Pizza team once again are proud to partner with Pizza Expo. Learn about the latest trends and best practices for your pizzeria and cheer on our Chefs of the Year Bart Nadherny, Fabrizio Busso and Giovanni Campisi as they compete for pizza glory!
Check out the full schedule at https://pizzaexpo.pizzatoday.com/ and register now to attend.
RESTAURANT INDUSTRY
Anthony Polci new executive VP of government relations at Restaurants Canada
Restaurants Canada has appointed Anthony Polci executive vice-president of government relations and public affairs effective Jan. 5.
Polci is recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Lobbyists and valued for his strategic judgment, coalition-building expertise, and ability to influence public policy through disciplined, measurable advocacy, said the organization representing restaurants in a news release.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Anthony’s calibre to Restaurants Canada to lead our advocacy team,” said Kelly Higginson, president and chief executive officer of Restaurants Canada. “Over the past year, the food-service industry has navigated a trade war, supply chain disruptions and rapid changes to immigration, among other issues. Our government relations and public affairs team has risen to the challenge, and with Anthony’s leadership, we will further strengthen our voice and impact with governments across the country.”
Sales at restaurants up slightly, led by full-service restaurants: Statistics Canada
Sales at food services and drinking places in Canada were $8.5 billion in October 2025, up slightly from sales in September following a relatively stable period that started in March.
Statistics Canada reported total sales in the food services and drinking places subsector increased slightly by 0.7 per cent in October from September sales.
Non-seasonally adjusted prices for food purchased from restaurants were up 3.2 per cent in October when compared with October 2024. Unadjusted prices for alcoholic beverages served in licensed establishments also increased, rising 3.1 per cent over the same period.
In October, the largest increase in sales in dollar terms came from full-service restaurants. Higher sales were also observed in special food services and drinking places. In contrast, sales at limited-service eating places declined slightly.
Further information is available in the “Food Services and Drinking Places Sales” dashboard, where users can consult data on sales for Canada and by province and territory. | CP
CHEF OF THE YEAR!
An innovative dessert pizza earned Giovanni Campisi his second title
BY COLLEEN CROSS
Giovanni Campisi has joined an exclusive club.
Campisi, who recently was crowned Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year at the Canadian Pizza Summit in Toronto in October, joins previous Chefs of the Year who have earned the crown multiple times: Diana Cline, Carlo Raillo and Giuseppe Cortinovis.
The energetic and hyper-creative
Campisi, who is currently head pizza chef at Il Fornello Ristorante and Pizzeria in Oakville, Ont., earned himself a second trip to compete at Las Vegas Pizza Expo in March where he’ll face some of the world’s best pizza makers.
The newest Chef of the Year, Campisi wowed the judges with his dessert pizza, “Il Dolce Nido” (“The Sweet Nest”), which featured a millefoglie pastry crust made with strawberry-infused double-zero flour topped with strawberries, mint, basil and caramel sugar nests containing white chocolate candy-coated eggs.
Il Fornello is an elegant Italian restaurant that seats about 125 with a bar and custom-built wood-fired pizza oven. When I visit, it is full of light streaming in from multiple large windows and features such as glowing schoolhouse-style lights and a mixture
Chef of the Year
Giovanni Campisi enjoys his work a shead pizza chef at Il Fornello Ristorante, an elegant Italian restaurant that seats about 125 with a bar and custom-built wood-fired pizza oven.
of black-and-white tile and polished wooden floors.
But back to that oven. It is toasty warm as Campisi helps bring it up to temperature. He’s come in to work to chat with us on his day off and decides to lend a hand. This oven was custom-built in the late 1980s at a time before wood-fired ovens were widely available, says Vito Martino, owner of the restaurant and a sister location in Richmond Hill, who took a quick break to say hello and express his pride in Campisi’s accomplishment.
The regional chain’s original restaurants opened in 1988. Fun fact: Il Fornello was the first pizza restaurant chain featured as a profile story in Canadian Pizza in 1995. Such dome-style ovens are now more widely available but back then they were a novelty.
“We were the first to serve pizza made in a wood-fired oven,” Martino says, taking time out from a busy morning to chat during our visit.
Typically, they make approximately 150 pizzas a day for a steady stream of seated guests and do take-out and catering jobs as well.
There are seven Il Fornello locations: Oakville and Richmond Hill are owned by Martino. The others are operated by franchisees. Some locations are corporate; others are operated by franchisees.
Martino says that after about 40 years in business, people still love wood-fired oven. “People’s palates are expanding,” he says, noting that Il Fornello also is known for accommodating customers’ various dietary needs. They offered gluten-free and vegan pizza long before it was common.
Campisi says he was hired, in part, to elevate the restaurant’s pizza menu. Under his guidance, they introduce at least one special pizza every month.
Campisi appreciates the modern equipment they have, including a dough rounder, which saves a lot of hands and help ensure a consistent
product. “The machines help,” he says. They also free up time and energy to train and teach recipes to other pizza chefs.
He is in charge of the dough recipe and one day a week another pizzaiolo makes the pizza. The kitchen team consists kitchen manager Nate Clark, two team members doing prep, three making entrées and two making appetizers.
At 53, he is one of the “elders” on staff he says with a smile.
His winning pizza, “The Sweet Nest,” was inspired by his work at Casa Mia Ristorante in St. Catharines, Ont., where he learned pastry from chef Olivia Mollica. “They made something similar there using chantilly cream,” he says.
In the competition, Campisi used a reduction of cream and fresh strawberry juice. He dusted the crust with a mixture of brown and white sugar on top before baking. He then julienned mint and basil for bright contrast. The boiled and spun sugar nest was a last-minute idea.
Actually, the entire pizza in its final form was a surprise to the chef himself, who decided about a week before the competition that, win or lose, he wanted to present a dessert pizza.
This is a trait shared by several chefs who compete year after year: they seem to be competing against themselves and testing the limits of their own creativity and skills. Carlo Raillo earned the top award first with
“IL DOLCE NIDO”
Chef of the Year
Giovanni Campisi’s “Il Dolce Nido” (“The Sweet Nest”) was the result of the ambitious chef pushing himself to the limit: “I knew I wanted to do a dessert pizza.”
Crust:
• Strawberryinfused doublezero flour
• Millefoglie pastry made with dough fermented for three days
Toppings:
• Sugar base
• Strawberries
• Caramelized sugar nest
• White chocolate cream
• Mint
• Basil
• White chocolate candy-coated eggs
You can find Giovanni Campisi on Instagram at @giopizza_n1
a breakfast pizza, then a dessert pizza and again with a gluten-free pie.
We talk about Campisi’s unique career path. Immigrating to Canada from Italy in 2015, and opening Il Sorriso with then-partner Sofia Butera was a high point in Campisi’s life and career. He liked making decisions on all aspects of the business. He sees this time as an important step on his way up to becoming “the best he can be,” and, even though the partnership ended, he learned valuable lessons from the experience, such as the importance of clear communication.
The chef enjoys learning and networking. He recently took a course on making pasta with Patricia Santucci, who operates as Bella Farina. He taught her to make pinsa and she taught him to make pasta making, he says. And last year he catered an event by DIY celebrity Mike Holmes event for Ciao Bella Pizza Ovens.
Campisi is very happy in his current position. “That kitchen is the best,” he says, pointing nodding toward his coworkers. “Good people, good to work with.”
I ask him what he wants the general public to know about his work. “Some people think making pizza is easy,” he says, after some reflection. “There is a lot to it.” He says it’s important to focus on the flour. He likes to combine two flours: one strong flour and one medium flour. He prefers using Italian flours, finding some flours from Canada “too thin.”
“If you use too much strong flour, the fermentation happens too quickly,” he says of the three-day fermentation process. That’s why combing two flours works well.
The veteran pizza maker says he knows by touching the dough when it has come to temperature. When pressed for a number, he suggests, “23 degrees is the sweet spot.”
His best advice to pizza chefs looking to succeed: “Never stop learning.” | CP
EVENT
Toronto Bakery Showcase preview
If you’re curious about what’s new in baking – products, bakery and pizzeria equipment, trends, techniques, new talent and more – Showcase is for you. Bakery Showcase is set for May 3-4, 2026, at the Toronto Congress Centre.
If you’re looking to see what’s new in baking – products that might help your bakery work smarter, not harder; trends other bakers are talking about and what challenges and successes they are experiencing, Bakery Showcase is for you!
The first Bakery Cup of Canada will see six professional bakers make breads, croissants, artistic showpieces and more. Come watch!.
Here are a few of the sessions planned:
AGM and Meet-and-Greet: Find out what the hardworking BAC has been doing on your behalf and meet board members over morning coffee and pastries.
Educational Panel: Transitioning Your Bakery to an Employee, presented by FCC Food and Beverage.
share how they take their most successful desserts from conception to execution to plating presentation, what customers seek in a dessert and what trends they see taking off.
Panel: Farmer-Miller-Baker: Learn the benefits and challenges of working with freshly milled flours and sustainable partners.
Demonstration: Veteran baker Martin Barnett will show you how to bake bread using flour ground from purple wheat!
Panel: Successful Retail Operators: Bakery-café owners will share their experiences and what best practices are working for them. Looking to up your pizzeria’s game? Join us! | CP
Largest B2B Baking Show in Canada returns to Toronto
THE PIZZA CHEF
BY DIANA CLINE
Strategies to streamline your menu and operations
The start of a new year is the ideal time to review and streamline your menu and operations. Here are strategies many operators have used with success.
Update your food cost and increase menu prices
Grocery prices are at an all-time high for Canadians, and it’s no secret all your inventory costs have also increased significantly. If you haven’t already increased your menu prices to reflect the increase in your input costs, then you’re setting yourself up for major cash shortages. When you consider the increases to minimum wages in the past year, not to mention rising energy expenses, now is the time to review your food costs on most popular menu items and increase prices.
Don’t forget to look at packaging. If every item goes out the door in some type of packaging, then it needs to be factored in as part of the cost. Remember, a good rule of thumb is you need to keep your overall food costs to 25 per cent or less.
Reduce menu size to focus on core sellers
One of the most effective ways to streamline a pizzeria menu is to reduce the overall number of items and focus on core best-sellers. Large menus often overwhelm customers and slow down ordering decisions, while also increasing kitchen complexity. Analyze your sales data, identify which pizzas, appetizers, and sides consistently perform well, then eliminate low-performing items. Are you offering too many sizes? Is there a sauce or toppings that barely move
Diana Cline is a two-time Canadian Pizza magazine Chef of the Year, three-time winner of “Canada’s Best Pizza Chef” at international pizza competitions, a judge for international pizza culinary competitions in
Control waste, portion sizes
on the menu? Ditch them! A tighter menu improves speed, consistency, and quality, allowing staff to execute dishes more efficiently. Customers also benefit from clearer choices, which can lead to higher satisfaction and faster order completion times.
Consider reducing your hours (or days) of operation
Cheese is one of the easiest ingredients to overdo... just one extra ounce of cheese on every pizza sold adds up to tens of thousands of dollars of lost inventory every year.
Pull a report to see which hours are your busiest sales hours and also take note of which days see the busiest hours. Most restaurants have their lowest sales hours on the last hour or two of the day. Do the math. Consider closing an hour earlier, saving wages.
Many independent operators I know have chosen to close one and even two days a week. At first, they were very reluctant to do so, worried that they would turn customers away and lose significant sales.
The opposite was true for all the operators I spoke with: their sales on the other days increased, and now they have the benefit of a full day off for themselves and their team members.
Standardize ingredients across multiple dishes
Streamlining ingredients is just as important as reducing menu items. Using the same core ingredients across multiple pizzas and dishes minimizes inventory costs and food waste.
For example, one type of cheese blend, a limited selection of vegetables and a few versatile proteins can be combined in different ways to create variety without excess complexity. This approach simplifies ordering, storage and prep work while maintaining menu diversity. Standardization also helps maintain consistent flavour and quality, even during busy service periods.
Food waste is one of the biggest profit killers. Standardize recipes, portion sizes and prep procedures to help ensure consistency. One of the best ways to improve efficiency in the pizzeria is to portion the cheese on every pizza. Some operators use cups; some use a scale. Whichever method you choose, it’s crucial to control the most expensive ingredient on every pizza. Cheese is one of the easiest ingredients to overdo, without even realizing it: even the most skilled pizza makers can misjudge, and just one extra ounce of cheese on every pizza sold adds up to tens of thousands of dollars of lost inventory every year. Portion your cheese and your proteins on every pizza. Use inventory tracking to identify slow-moving ingredients and adjust purchasing accordingly. Even small reductions in waste can lead to meaningful profit gains over time.
Improve labour efficiency without hurting service
Labour is a major controllable cost. Cross-train employees so they can handle multiple roles during slow periods, and schedule staffing levels based on sales patterns rather than fixed shifts. Streamlining the menu and kitchen workflow reduces prep time and errors, allowing fewer staff to handle higher volume without sacrificing quality or speed.
Inspect what you expect
Are your team members in need of additional training? The answer is always yes.
Are some of them increasing food waste by not prepping an ingredient properly? Trimming too much off heads of lettuce, peppers or tomatoes? Record a quick video with one of your top team members on the proper way to prep an ingredient, then share it with the rest of your team members. Inspect what you expect. | CP
Las Vegas, Italy and France, and a partner with Diana’s Cucina & Lounge in Winnipeg.
There’s a reason over 50,000 operators chose us for their hand-crafted pizzas. Old California® introduced clear, flexible packaging over 26 years ago. We wanted customers to be confident they were getting the vine-ripened quality of the reddest, richest, sweetest, California tomatoes available – freshpacked in efficient, easy-store, easy-open pouches. For quality ingredients you believe in, the choice is obviously clear –The Original Old California Freshpack Pouch from Neil Jones Food Company!
For more information, call 800.291.3862 | njfco.com/see2believe
JOIN US AT THE CANADIAN PIZZA SUMMIT WEST
Bring your team for a motivational pizza day and/or register to compete at Pizza Summit – a free event!
BY CANADIAN PIZZA STAFF
Make plans to join us at the Canadian Pizza Summit West on June 1 at Platinum Sponsor and Host Sysco’s facilities in Port Coquitlam, B.C.!
Designed to help independent pizzerias network and grow their pizza business through ideas and innovations, the Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions will take place on Monday, June 1, at our host and Platinum sponsor Sysco’s location, 1346 Kingsway Ave, Port Coquitlam, B.C.
What to expect
The Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions is a one-day event just for pizzeria and restaurant owners and operators offering:
• Exciting competitions featuring signature pies from diverse pizzerias!
• Ideas to take back to your pizzeria!
• Samples of delicious, cutting-edge pizza: the best Canada has to offer!
• Lunch and Learn about industry hot topics.
• Engaged sponsors and exhibitors specializing in and serving the pizza industry!
• Opportunities to network!
• Learn what other pizzerias are doing – all in one place on one day!
Who should attend?
Are you a pizzeria owner, operator or employee? Attend! Are you planning to open your own pizzeria or pizza franchise? Attend! Are you a food-service or catering owner or employee who has a focus on pizza? Attend!
What’s at stake?
Naturally the winner and top placers win bragging rights. Our new Chef of the Year West will receive a free trip to compete in the International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in March 2026. Canadian Pizza magazine will feature you on the cover! And of course, an award to display proudly in your pizzeria.
Great Pizza Box Fold-Off
Want to show off your box-folding skills? Enter!
The Great Pizza Box Fold-Off is open to owners and employees of Canadian pizza operations aged 14 years and older. The Fold-Off will be held in the afternoon at the Summit while the Chef of the Year competition results are tabulated.
SCHEDULE
9:00 a.m.
Registration opens
10:00 a.m
Trade show floor opens
10-10:30 a.m. Welcome and keynote speaker
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Chef of the Year Competition begins (Flight 1)
12:30-1:00 p.m Lunch and Learn
1:00-3:30 p.m Chef of the Year Competition (Flight 2)
3:45-4:00 p.m Great Canadian Pizza Box Fold-Off
4:15 p.m Winners announced
4:30 p.m
Trade show floor closes
Prizes:
• Winner: A free trip (flight*, hotel, entry to Pizza Expo) to compete in the International Pizza Challenge at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Canadian Pizza magazine will feature you on the cover! And of course, an award to display proudly in your pizzeria. *The prize is $500 Cdn to be used towards your flight.
• Second place: An award to display proudly in your pizzeria.
• Third place: An award to display proudly in your pizzeria.
• All chefs: A certificate to recognize your participation in Chef of the Year.
• Great Pizza Box Fold-Off: $100 gift certificate from the Annex Pizza Bookstore
Who can attend?
This event is open to pizzerias and their teams from across Canada!
Can’t make it to B.C.? Come to our Canadian Pizza Summit in Toronto at Faema on Oct. 19 !
Thank you to our host and Platinum sponsor, Sysco, and our Gold Sponsors Lactalis Canada Foodservice and Ardent Mills for supporting this key industry event. | CP
Entry applications will be accepted first come, first served. Register now at canadianpizzashow.ca!
PIZZA INNOVATORS
Meet the Toronto Chef of the Year runners-up!
BY CANADIAN PIZZA STAFF
Second-place honours in the Chef of the Year competition in Toronto went to ADAM WARD, co-owner of Hooray For Pizza Day in Toronto for his innovative pan-style take on Hawaiian pizza.
The gregarious Ward handed out postcards featuring the elements of his pan pizza: “Mozzarella shred blend, signature tomato sauce, eight-hour roast confit pork shoulder, thinly shaved onion, housemade pineapple honey chili glaze, grated to order Grana Padano, fresh cilantro garnish.”
The pizza was inspired by Detroit-style deep-dish style and the iconic Hawaiian style born in Ontario.
Ward is head chef and co-owner with Sasha Warunkiewicz of Hooray For Pizza Day located inside the Comedy Bar Danforth in Toronto. The path that led to this business model and success is unique and inspiring.
“My wife/co-owner and I survived an arson attack started by our superintendent. The event made us re-evaluate what we were doing with our lives. Using food creation as therapy we pivoted to serving pizzas out of our house and became an early pioneer on the Cookin’ platform before they were acquired by CookUnity.
“Comedy Bar reached out to us to have us take over their kitchen and we are now headed into our third year. We’ve been able to serve freshly made bar food to weekly sell out audiences as well as visiting celebrities like Tig Notaro, Fortune Feimster, Alexander Skarsgard, and even Drake who forced us to re-open our kitchen so he could order more food for his entourage before his comedy show ended.”
Ward describes his competitive pizza, which is based on their love for the Hawaiian Pizza. “I LOVE that it’s a 60’s Ontario creation. It was perfect for our first competition. My wife and I absolutely love Mexican food so we wanted to lean into that. . . . We love spice for our food and the pineapple chili glaze we created really kicks up the pineapple element which can be lacking. We add a roasted onion, and garnish with fresh cilantro. It’s a new take on something you see at every pizza shop.”
You can find the pizzeria on Instagram at @hooray_forpizzaday. | CP
ROBERT RUBINO , owner of Tanta Roba: Chef Services and Catering in Toronto, earned third place with his potato pizza featuring a layering of flavours: marinated Spanish onions, duckfat caramelized onions, pancetta, nduja sausage, provolone and Parmigiano Reggiano.
Rubino was inspired by classic flavours of Calabria, where his family comes from. He tells Canadian Pizza. “Nduja was a product I was familiar with and you couldn’t get in Canada until more recently. It comes from my family’s home town, and my cousins still make it today. . . . It has such a wonderful spice level and fermentation on it. It really is hot but keeps you wanting more. With the pizza I wanted to balance the spicy with sweet onions and create a subtle base of marinated potatoes that could carry the flavours of the salty pork: both the nduja and the pancetta.”
Rubino credits the lengthy fermentation of his crust with winning over the judges: “You could really taste the sourdough-like bread flavours, it was cooked thoroughly and crispy but still retained just enough moisture to give it and airy chew and a light flop like a good pizza should have,” he says.
Rubino graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and trained abroad at Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy, France and Argentina.
Starting in 2014, Rubino owned and operated the award-winning Cellar Door Restaurant, an Etobicoke eatery featuring southern Italian fare with a focus on pizza and pasta. He sold it in 2022.
“Since then, I have been doing private events, as I had built a large and loyal customer base,” Rubino says. Working with his team, Rubino also caters backyard pizza parties.
“Currently I am in the process of procuring a new space to focus solely on pizza, more relaxed service, larger family-style pies, hybrid neo-Napoletana style again, but this time with an electric oven to streamline and be able to put out more pizzas each night.
“We will maintain a similar philosophy of using locally sourced ingredients to maintain quality and create balanced and exciting pizza flavours.”
You can find Robert Rubino on Instagram at @chefrobertrubino. | CP
Robert Rubino displays his balanced potato pizza.
First-time competitor Adam Ward displays his pan-style twist on Hawaiian pizza.
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BLACK CAT PIZZERIA A PLAYGROUND FOR NEW STYLES
This busy St. John’s, N.L., pizza shop thrives on bringing new pizza styles like Detroit-style, Chicago thin crust and New York-style to the community
BY COLLEEN CROSS
Pizza styles often begin as regional favourites then show up in unexpected places after a pizza chef discovers them while travelling and brings them home.
Black Cat Pizzeria in St. John’s, Canada’s most easterly city, is home to three unique styles (and counting). We spoke with owner Albin Jose Toms by phone about bringing Detroit-style pizza to the friendly city, what styles he likes to experiment with, his career path and more.
The independent shop, which is primarily pick-up and delivery but also has seating for abcout 20 that fills up fast, has operated at 13 LeMarchant Rd. since March 2024.
When Toms immigrated from Kerala, India, years ago, he encountered what he calls “Newfoundland style” that is widely served in the province and essentially a pan pizza: Greek-style with a thicker crust. While working at a pizzeria, he used his spare time to learn to make Detroit-style pizza, a specialty on which he built Black Cat.
Black Cat’s styles and unique selling proposition
What makes this pizzeria’s product unique? “The first thing that comes to mind is our use of sourdough,” Toms says. “Our dough is really nice. The base is a big part of it – we use all-natural fermentation and we make sure there are no enhancers to get a good, healthy product.”
“I see this as a new age of D-style pizza,” he says. He credits award-winning pizzaiolo, the late Shawn Randazzo, president of Detroit Style Pizza Company, with starting a new age of D-style.
The style is distinctive for its square or rectangular shape, thick, airy crust, crispy caramelized cheese crust and sauce ladled over cheese and other toppings. It’s also practical, says Toms, “D-style can handle more wet toppings and still hold up. For customers, it’s a lateral move from what they’re used to.”
Lately they’ve been making three distinctive styles using three different doughs: Detroit-style, Chicago thin crust,
Black Cat Pizzeria, owned and operated by Albin Jose Toms, offers customers in St. John’s multiple styles.
PHOTO: BLACK CAT PIZZERIA
served on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and New York-style slices for Thursday lunch.
Toms says making multiple styles requires planning and offering some styles in a limited way helps. “With Chicago and New York, you can get by making dough only once a week,” he says. “We have to put all of our effort into our D-style because it’s what we’re known for.”
He enjoys the challenge of making New York-style, which he describes as “finicky” and shares knowledge freely with his team. “It’s like an Open Source when you’re working with me. When they are ready and when it is time, I want my team members to be better than me. We want the dough to taste a certain way, so we push the fermentation to the limit – which is nice for taste and nutrition.” However, he cautions that, after a certain point, dough will start losing strength and become hard to stretch.
They make sourdough garlic knots from New York dough. “It’s malleable for that – something about all the folding,” Toms says.
The entrepreneur enjoys experimenting with new and interesting flavours. “I was always interested in incorporating local ingredients into the pizza: garlic scapes, wild ramps, chanterelles, local lamb for sausage,” he says.
Cat’s Favourite is a bestseller. “It’s not a very spicy pizza but [people like] the saltiness of the pepperoni, the sweetness of the honey and the smoothness of the ricotta. It’s a very balanced pizza.”
An experienced pizzeria operator, Toms opened Black Cat in 2021 as a pop-up one day a week in collaboration with Terre fine dining restaurant. On Tuesdays, when Terre was closed, Toms would take over. In the summer, they operated dinner service on the patio.
They spent a year at Terre and another year sharing space with a doughnut bakery that was open during the day while the pizzeria operated at night, he says.
He says this approach can be challenging but a good way to test if your business is viable. “We had a contract, operating two businesses in one,” he says. “It’s a hard thing to achieve. Most people wouldn’t do it, but it was right for us.”
The move to an independent space didn’t go the way Toms expected. With rent so high, he planned to buy a location. “I knew from projections that the business would make money. I was adamant that I wanted to own the building. I spent time building up capital.”
However, many buildings were not suitable for a kitchen. “I found a space to rent from a compatible, likeminded business. They knew my reputation was good in working with others. They knew the products because they were customers already.”
Toms studied mechanical engineering at Memorial University of Newfoundland. “I came to St. John’s to do a course and
took a job at a pizzeria. I completed my course. Job opportunities were a little sparse, but I really like Newfoundland and wanted to stay there.”
He advanced quickly to become the manager and was offered a long-term job in exchange for help with their PR.
The skills he developed working on mechanical engineering projects have helped drive efficiency in the kitchen. Says Toms, “There are a lot of key concepts in terms of how you make a product, workflow, how much movement is involved. You need open, clear communication between team members. I find it really cool, but there is a caveat: if you push it too far, you may end up sacrificing quality for efficiency.”
He and his team still shred their cheeses by hand and use sourdough. Says Toms, “It’s such a finicky thing to do fermentation on a commercial scale. Those are the inefficiencies that we happily accept to make our product better.”
In future, the team plans to continue innovating. “We are always pushing to have new products,” Toms says. “We’re not super interested in opening another location. I’m not motivated by a lot of things that a new location would bring me: more people management, more stress. I’d rather have something really good and continue being good to our employees.” | CP
D-style pizza can handle more wet toppings and still hold up.
MAKING DOUGH WITH DIANE
BY DIANE CHIASSON
Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality, and retail operators increase sales for more than 35 years by providing innovative and revenue-increasing foodservice and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her at 416-926-1338, send her an email at chiasson@chiassonconsultlants.com or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com.
Five easy ways to prepare a yearly calendar for your pizzeria
Ayearly calendar is your visual roadmap for planning promotions, events, menu changes and content creation. It will show you which holidays, special events, marketing dates, and other ideas to promote, when to plan them, and when to send or post each of those campaigns. Whether you’re an independent pizzeria owner, franchisor, franchisee or manager, remaining super-focused on your operation year round will help you stay profitable.
Here are five easy ways to prepare a yearly calendar for your pizzeria.
1. Create your yearly calendar
You will easily find a free month-bymonth template online. A pizzeria should have a yearly calendar because it is a strategic tool that drives consistency, organization and revenue. A pizzeria’s annual calendar is a strategic planning tool for mapping all your staff and client suggestions, promotions, special events, trade shows, marketing campaigns, social-media campaigns and important dates throughout the year.
It will help you align marketing efforts within your operation, capitalize on key dates and seasons, and manage resources effectively to avoid last-minute stress. You should plan what event to promote, when to promote it and which channels to use to drive sales and repeat visits.
Your calendar should include special holidays such as Christmas, Passover, Easter, Hanukkah, Super Bowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and any appreciation days and weeks, like Teacher Appreciation Day and National Volunteer Week. There are also significant events and celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, or milestones,
Advantages to having a yearly calendar:
• Stronger brand awareness through consistent, timely campaigns
• Regular website updates, which will encourage frequent search engine crawling
• Improved SEO performance through fresh, relevant content
• Potential for higher sales driven by seasonal menus
• Increased online reservations with better visibility
• Room to test and refine campaigns
involving gatherings, food, and music to share happiness and create memories, national festivals, wedding season, indoor picnic season, baby and bridal shower season, graduations, and communions, key pizzeria dates, special menus, and themed events that attract customers for a timely experience.
Advantages to having a yearly calendar include building stronger brand awareness through consistent, timely campaigns, potential for higher sales driven by seasonal menus and increased online reservations with better visibility.
2. Maximize seasonal and event-based revenue
As you know, dining patterns shift with seasons and holidays. A calendar will help you identify and prepare for high-impact opportunities like the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, Canada Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day, National Acadian Day in the Maritimes, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec, Winterlude in Ottawa or National Pizza Month in October. This will allow you to create specific, limited-time offers and event themes that attract customers seeking a timely experience.
Write a list of special moments that genuinely align with your brand and cuisine.
3. List digital channels
First, choose the platforms or channels you plan to use. List all the different marketing channels. First, optimize your Google Business Profile with accurate hours, high-quality photos and encourage reviews to rank higher in local searches.
Facebook and Instagram remain the top platforms for restaurants. Use your social media channels to promote your pizzeria by posting high-quality,
mouthwatering food photos and videos on Instagram and Facebook.
Consider using TikTok for marketing because it’s a highly effective platform for visual food content, driving massive organic reach, building brand awareness and converting views into sales. It appeals to younger demographics who then bring in families and older customers. Effective TikTok content could be behind-the-scenes short-form videos showing dough-making, ingredient choices, sauce preparation or oven action. TikTok also is a great place to show your signature dish and highlight your unique pizzas or specials. Work with local food bloggers or micro-influencers to build trust and attract new customers.
4. Use emails and SMS marketing
List all the different marketing channels in which you can promote your pizzeria. Use email blasts, social media posts, WhatsApp for restaurants, website updates, menus, advertisements, radio ads, billboards and direct mail pieces. Use email marketing to tell stories, share updates, announce upcoming campaigns and offer special announcements and offers.
Use Short Message Service (SMS) marketing, a direct-to-consumer channel in which businesses send promotional messages, reminders and updates via text to customers who have explicitly opted in. SMS messages are ideal for time-sensitive offers and direct communication.
5. Use local strategies
Use a loyalty program to reward repeat customers with points, free pizza, items or discounts. Sponsor events or local sports teams. Partner with schools and local businesses for fundraisers or participate in community events.
Stick to your calendar! It will help keep all of your staff and client suggestions, ideas and projects on track, and your pizzeria profitable. | CP
Round pizza, Roman-style, Neapolitan? Modern bakery or traditional pastry? Multi production or single product? The possibilities are many.
