March 16, 2009, Ont. – Topper’s latest Build A Pizza contest
drew an enthusiastic response, with over 700 entries received from across
Ontario. Customers and staff were encouraged to create new and exciting pizza combinations.
The recipes were narrowed down to five customer and five
staff entries with a panel of judges conducting the final taste testing. The categories
they used to determine the winners were appearance, aroma, how appetizing it
was, taste and the overall experience.
The winners had the highest scores in all categories. The customer
pizza contest winner was Mark (who prefers to go by his first name only) from
Ottawa for his Chicken Club Pizza, which is a thin garlic butter crust pizza,
topped with roasted red peppers, nut-free red pepper pesto sauce, mozzarella
cheese, chicken strips, red onions, tomatoes and bacon. The staff pizza contest
winner was Gerry Cayen of Timmins for his Chicken Fajita Pizza, which is a thin
crust pizza topped with salsa sauce, mozzarella cheese, seasoned chicken
strips, onions, red onions and green peppers. Both winners received a $500 gift
certificate at a retailer of their choice and free pizza for a year for their
efforts. In addition, these two winning pizzas will be launched as specials on
the Topper’s menu until March 22.
“While the goal of the contest is to encourage the customers
and staff to play a more active role in helping to determine what’s on the
menu, the benefits are really much more far reaching,” observes Emaan
Toppazzini, research and product development manager for Topper’s Pizza. “Tastes
change – one year it can be all about hot and spicy, while the next year it can
be all about freshness and quality. This contest gives us an excellent
opportunity to listen to our customers and what they want, and adjust our menu
accordingly. Engaging our staff is also vital. They know our ingredients and
products so well and often come up with very creative combinations, so leveraging
their ideas and opinions is invaluable.”
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