Top culinary students from Johnson & Wales in Providence, RI, and Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago competed in a flatbread pizza competition at the New York Produce Show and Conference on December 3 at the Javits Center in Manhattan.
Designed to showcase how produce can bring vibrant colors, tempting textures, and appealing flavors to pizza, the competition asked four students from each school to work as teams to create pizzas in four categories: Red Sauce Pizza, White Sauce Pizza, Specialty Pizza, and Dessert Pizza.
“Produce Business works to support the next generation of leaders in the foodservice industry by creating opportunities like this that bring together students and produce industry leaders,” says Jim Prevor, publisher of Produce Business. “The invited judges complete the picture by providing ‘real world’ expertise on what the students did well and where they can improve when it comes to creating produce-centric menu items that will sell in today’s competitive foodservice marketplace.”
The competition started with students “foraging” from select exhibitors at the show. Students were able to choose from a wide range of fresh and value added processed produce items.
Judges included Suvir Saran, celebrity chef, cookbook author, and restaurateur; Bob Karisny, VP of Menu R&D for Taco John’s International; David Groll, corporate executive chef and director of culinary development for McAlister’s Deli; Gerry Ludwig, Corporate Consulting Chef for Gordon Food Service; Jesse Gideon, Chief Operating Officer for Fresh to Order; and Amy Myrdal Miller, President of Farmer’s Daughter Consulting.
The competition was fierce as each school showcased the talents of their students guided by seasoned faculty members. Judges ranked the entries on four attributes: appearance, texture, flavor, and overall appeal.
The two teams tied in the red sauce category. Le Cordon Bleu won the white sauce category, and Johnson & Wales won the specialty and dessert categories. The top scoring pizza was the Johnson & Wales specialty pizza, which featured kale roasted garlic, and sundried tomatoes.
“It’s not surprising that the winning pizza included kale,” says Amy Myrdal Miller, head of the judging committee. “While kale appears on less than 10 percent of menus in this country, menu mentions for kale have increased nearly 500 percent the past four years. It’s one of many produce items that both consumers and chefs are embracing.”
Source: PerishableNews.com
