Chef of the Year Open (competitors) announced

Mississauga, Ont. – The Canadian Pizza Chef of the Year competition is heating up, with the Open division filling up quickly and just over a month to the entry deadline of Aug. 31.

Vying for honour in the Open division at the Canadian Pizza Show are:

• Michael Bigras, BigBites, New Liskeard, Ontario
• Jamie Broderick, BigBites Pizzeria, New Liskeard, Ontario
• Cristoforo Calabrese, N’ata Cosa Ristorante, St. Catharines, Ontario
• Giuseppe Cortinovis, Hawksworth Group, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Philipe Gaudet, Big Ern’s, Mattawa, Ontario
• Joe Leroux, Amadio’s Pizza, Mississauga, Ontario
• Maurizio Mascioli, Maurizio’s Pizzeria, Parry Sound, Ontario
• Sandra Porretta, Maurizio’s Pizzeria, Parry Sound, Ontario
• Carlo Raillo, Carlo’s Place, Edmonton, Alberta
• Steve Silvestro, Scaddabush Italian Kitchen, Toronto
• Tony Vacchio, Zolas Restaurant, Ottawa, Ontario
• Taylor Walsh, Amadio’s Pizzeria, Mississauga, Ontario

Good luck to our Open competitors!

There are still spots in the new Pizza Napoletana division, which asks competitors to make a Napoletana or Neapolitan-style pie under the following guidelines:

Competitors may enter a pizza with any combination of up to three toppings that adheres to the basic tenets of a Napoletana pizza: use of wheat flour type “00”, natural yeast, mozzarella di bufala or mozzarella fior di latte, sea salt and EVO if required.  Dough should be hand kneaded or mixed on low speed, and then formed by hand. Pizza should be baked at a high temperature (800 F +). *Pizzerias do not need to be VPN certified to compete. 

The winner of the Napoletana and Open division winners will have a showdown at the end of the show to crown the Canadian Pizza magazine Chef of the Year. Both division winners win a trip to Las Vegas next March to compete in the International Pizza Challenge.

Also available are spots for Junior competitors (total of eight will compete).

Finally, the Great Pizza Box Fold-Off is filling up but has a few spots left. It’s open to anyone working in a pizzeria and is lots of fun. BYOB!

You’ll find the details – and rules – here.

The Canadian Pizza Show takes place at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont., on Monday, Oct. 17.