Judging the Restaurants Canada Pizza Competition
I was invited to be one of four pizza judges at the Restaurants Canada Show at the Enercare Centre in Toronto. A two-day competition with 20 contestants making traditional-style pizza, limited to two toppings on top of the crust and sauce.
Who was competing
Most notable for me: my favourite pizza, The Lock Wood Fired Pizza from Port Colborne, was competing, along with their neighbour Breakwall Brewing, plus a world's best cheese pizza winner from Hamilton.
The judges
I was judging alongside some of the most knowledgeable people in the business, including a multiple-time world pizza champion flown in from California, the owner of Toronto's first VPN-certified pizzeria, and a Toronto pizza veteran with over 22 years in the business. They taught me a lot.
How scoring worked
Each pizza was scored 1 to 10 on visual presentation, bake, crust, sauce, cheese and toppings, and overall taste.
The winner
Paolo Guerrera from Rosso Pomodoro took it with a fantastic pizza topped with 'nduja, cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella, winning prize money, cooking equipment and the bragging rights. Big props to every contestant. I hope they bring me back next year.
