In an effort to promote celiac awareness, The United States Pizza Team (USPT)
made history by sponsoring the first National Gluten Free Pizza Competition.
The Gluten-Free Pizza Contest is an open competition held during the Orlando Pizza Show in September, which invites pizzaiolos to make their best-tasting gluten-free pizza. The goal of the competition is to promote celiac awareness and help show the versatility of gluten-free dough.
Local USPT member and owner of Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, David Smith II, paid the one hundred dollar entry fee for the competition, and competed against several pizza makers from across the United States. “I didn’t make gluten free pizza at my restaurant, says Dave, but I learned quickly and walked away from the competition with Fifth Best in the US. After winning Best in America twice, I was a little disappointed until I saw the judge’s scores. I made a spinach and raisin pizza with Feta cheese, and although all of the judges loved my crust, only two of the five raved over the pizza toppings.
The winner of the competition, Patrick Maggi of Maryland, taught Dave how to make a Canolli Calzone topped with brown sugar. Dave experimented with his employees as testers, and the dessert calzone is now available to the public for 3.99.
In other competition matters, the USPT introduced a brand new award called “the Sportsmanship Award”. This award goes to the competitor that shows the most team spirit, willingness to help others, and sets an example for the other competitors to follow. The recipient of this prestigious award is our own David Smith II, and can be viewed at the Pizza Palace entrance. Says Steve Lieber, USPT director of events, “Dave embodies everything we expect out of a competitor, and it’s an honor to have him on our team. We’re going to name the award after Dave and he will be responsible for choosing the recipient at future competitions”.
The next event the USPT will be attending is Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NY City, November 25th. Dave suggested the team do this a couple years ago to promote the team, and now it’s coming to fruition. Several members of the team will be in attendance, and will be marching the parade route while tossing throw dough, a synthetic form of pizza dough that will take the abuse of prolonged tossing. “The parade will be a couple hours long, and it would be impossible to maintain real dough,” says Dave. “We will also be debuting our new uniforms.”
Details of the Orlando Pizza Competition will be in the next issue of PMQ Magazine, or can be checked online at PMQ.com.
If you have celiac disease or know of someone with this condition, have him or her give the Pizza Palace Plus a call at 486-1819, and they will be happy to help out with some of the best pizza in America.
made history by sponsoring the first National Gluten Free Pizza Competition.
The Gluten-Free Pizza Contest is an open competition held during the Orlando Pizza Show in September, which invites pizzaiolos to make their best-tasting gluten-free pizza. The goal of the competition is to promote celiac awareness and help show the versatility of gluten-free dough.
Local USPT member and owner of Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, David Smith II, paid the one hundred dollar entry fee for the competition, and competed against several pizza makers from across the United States. “I didn’t make gluten free pizza at my restaurant, says Dave, but I learned quickly and walked away from the competition with Fifth Best in the US. After winning Best in America twice, I was a little disappointed until I saw the judge’s scores. I made a spinach and raisin pizza with Feta cheese, and although all of the judges loved my crust, only two of the five raved over the pizza toppings.
The winner of the competition, Patrick Maggi of Maryland, taught Dave how to make a Canolli Calzone topped with brown sugar. Dave experimented with his employees as testers, and the dessert calzone is now available to the public for 3.99.
In other competition matters, the USPT introduced a brand new award called “the Sportsmanship Award”. This award goes to the competitor that shows the most team spirit, willingness to help others, and sets an example for the other competitors to follow. The recipient of this prestigious award is our own David Smith II, and can be viewed at the Pizza Palace entrance. Says Steve Lieber, USPT director of events, “Dave embodies everything we expect out of a competitor, and it’s an honor to have him on our team. We’re going to name the award after Dave and he will be responsible for choosing the recipient at future competitions”.
The next event the USPT will be attending is Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NY City, November 25th. Dave suggested the team do this a couple years ago to promote the team, and now it’s coming to fruition. Several members of the team will be in attendance, and will be marching the parade route while tossing throw dough, a synthetic form of pizza dough that will take the abuse of prolonged tossing. “The parade will be a couple hours long, and it would be impossible to maintain real dough,” says Dave. “We will also be debuting our new uniforms.”
Details of the Orlando Pizza Competition will be in the next issue of PMQ Magazine, or can be checked online at PMQ.com.
If you have celiac disease or know of someone with this condition, have him or her give the Pizza Palace Plus a call at 486-1819, and they will be happy to help out with some of the best pizza in America.
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