Chefs, industry to unite at Canadian Pizza Summit

On Monday, Oct. 21, Canada’s top pizza makers will compete to be one of two Chefs of the Year in Canada at the Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions.

The top chef in each of two divisions – Traditional and Open – will receive a trip to Las Vegas to compete in the International Pizza Challenge in March 2020 and $500 to spend there!

A new Mystery Ingredient Challenge will see chefs think on their feet to create a one-of-a-kind pizza using specially chosen ingredients and a Mystery Ingredient that will be revealed the morning of the competition.

Fast folders will once again square off in the Great Pizza Box Fold-Off. They will try to beat last year’s record (10 boxes folded in one minute, 3.7 seconds) set by James Timothy of Zen’Za Pizzeria in London, Ont.? We are taking entries up to the day of the Summit! Register here: https://www.canadianpizzamag.com/pizzashow/event/the-great-pizza-box-fold-off

Experienced judges from different areas of the pizza industry volunteer their time for the industry event. Presiding over the Chef of the Year Competitions this year will be John Chetti of Queen Margherita Pizza in Toronto; Diana Cline of Diana’s Cucina and Lounge in Winnipeg; Joe Leroux of Amadio’s Pizza in Port Credit, Ont.; Tom Stankiewicz of Bondi’s Pizza in London, Ont. Judging the new Mystery Ingredient Challenge will be Marina Rondinelli, consultant and former owner of Rondo’s Pizza Plus in Bright’s Grove, Ont.; Giorgio Taverniti of Frank’s Pizza House in Toronto; and pizza historian Alex Hughes.

Competing this year are chefs from across the country:

Chef of the Year – Traditional
Fabrizio Arena, Emporium Microbrasserie, Quebec City, Que.
Aaron Gehrman, Emilio Finatti Pizzeria, White Rock and Langley, B.C.
Doug George, Maria’s Pizza West, Brantford, Ont.
Nina Lorefice, Trecce, Toronto, Ont.
Maurizio Mascioli, Maurizio’s Pizzeria, Parry Sound, Ont.
Jeremy Paone, The Lock Wood Fired Pizza, Port Colborne, Ont.
Jason Pizzolongo, Restaurant Fuoco, Varennes, Que.
Angela Risi, Maria’s Pizza West, Brantford, Ont.
Mauro Ritacca, Cucina Maura Catering, Thornhill, Ont.
Raj Sivasothy, The Good Son, Toronto, Ont.

Chef of the Year – Open
James Biello, La Cucina Di Ietta, Saint Leonard, Que.
Giovanni Campisi, Maurizio’s Pizzeria, Parry Sound, Ont.
Michele Casale, Redi Pizza, Montreal, Que.
Marco Caveglia, Tuscan Wolf Pizzeria, Whitby, Ont.
Khrystyna Collins, Applestone Pizzeria, Burlington, Ont.
Wayne deGroot, Zen’Za Pizzeria, London, Ont.
Rina Hayreek, Arcata Pizzeria, Windsor, Ont.
Lucy Lorefice, Trecce, Toronto, Ont.
Joshua Paone, The Lock Wood Fired Pizza, Port Colborne, Ont.
Rodolfo Santo, Posta Italian Grill (Posta Italbar Cucina), Port Credit, Ont.
Thomas Schneider, Timmy Tom’s Pizzeria, Winnipeg, Man.
Sunny Singh, Lina’s Italian Market, Calgary, Alta.

Mystery Ingredient Challenge
Josh Barrett, Budda Pie Pizzeria, Mississauga, Ont.
Seth Drogemuller, Zen’Za Pizzeria, London, Ont.
Dean Litster, Armando’s Pizza, Windsor, Ont.Jason Seitanidis, Matador Pizza and Steakhouse, Calgary, Alta.

The annual event will be held at the Faema Canada showroom, a century-old renovated Ford plant at 672 Dupont St. in Toronto.

The Canadian Pizza Summit and Chef of the Year Competitions are brought to you by Canadian Pizza magazine with support from Platinum sponsor Moretti Forni, distributed by Faema Canada; Gold Plus sponsor Parmalat/Galbani; Gold sponsors Ardent Mills and Stanislaus Food Products, Bronze sponsor Uber Eats, attendee bag sponsor MenuSano and lanyard sponsor Lallemand Baking. Our sponsors will be part of a trade show along with other pizza-focused suppliers.

Watch the magazine and website for details, sign up for our enewsletter to keep up to date and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Check out this video from last year’s Summit: https://www.canadianpizzamag.com/pizzashow/

Canadian Pizza magazine has been hosting the annual trade event since 2014 and has crowned Chefs of the Year since 2005. The magazine provides the Canadian pizza industry as a whole with a responsible trade journal that delivers the latest information on market trends, research, innovations, new products and current events. It serves as a link to unite each sector of the industry, from retail to wholesale to allied businesses through a broad range of communication methods. Canadian Pizza magazine is published by Annex Business Media.

For more information or photos, contact:

Colleen Cross, editor, Canadian Pizza magazine
519-428-3471, ext. 261 | ccross@annexweb.com
http://www.canadianpizzamag.com/pizzashow/ 
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