Napa, Calif. – Using a revised bake-off format in line with the current Covid-19 protocols, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) awarded two contestants with $25,000, in the 2020 Real California Pizza Contest – an international search for the best pizza recipes using Real California Cheese.
Grand Prize winner Ricky Webster, former executive chef for SYSCO Spokane and current owner of Rind and Wheat Bakery in Spokane, Wash., took home the grand prize for his pizza, The Wharf. Competing in the REAL California category, Webster’s clam chowder-inspired pizza paired a sourdough crust and fresh clams with three California cheese and dairy products – crème fraîche, mozzarella, and heavy cream – to pay homage to the iconic San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf landmark. Webster received $5,000 for winning the category and an additional $10,000 for the grand prize distinction.
“I am beyond excited to have won the Grand Prize in the 2020 Real California Pizza Competition! My Pizza ‘The Wharf’ was truly inspired by growing up in the Bay Area,” said Webster. “Thank you to the CMAB for hosting this amazing competition and for still going through with it. It was such a positive event to be part of!”
Joining Webster in the winners’ circle was Lars Smith, a professional chef and owner of State of Mind Public House and Pizzeria in Los Altos, Calif. Smith won $10,000 for entries in both of the remaining two categories with the following pizzas:
- Elotero, a delicious interpretation of Mexican street corn that featured California Oaxaca, Cotija and Requeson cheeses alongside guajillo-braised pork shoulder, topped the Cal-Mex category by tastefully fusing California and Mexican cuisine; and
- Fire on the Mountain, which showcased California Oaxaca and crèma Mexicana to balance an assortment of produce-centric toppings including Fresno peppers and roasted cauliflower to win the Plant Forward category.
“Winning one of my categories would have been amazing but winning both categories wasn’t even something I considered a possibility. I also can’t stress enough how much winning in this specific competition means to me,” said Smith. “Using California cheeses and products in general is so integral to who I am as a chef. I’m so thankful I had the opportunity to show everyone that California makes some of the best, if not the best, cheeses in the world.”
The nine other finalists received $500 each for reaching the bake-off.
“This year’s contest highlighted several top trends in foodservice,” said Mike Gallagher, Business and Market Development Consultant for the CMAB. “The finalists impressed the judges with unique recipes, bold interpretations within our innovative categories, and an overarching commitment to the creative use of California dairy throughout each pizza.”
The contest, which awarded prizes totaling $30,000 for the most innovative use of cow’s milk cheeses from California and made with Real California Milk, was open to professional chefs and culinary students across the U.S. The socially distanced bake-off event was held at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Copia in Napa, Calif.
After an entry period that resulted in entries from 24 different states, 11 professional chefs were selected as finalists, hailing from California and as far away as Florida, Texas, Washington, and Mexico. Efren Ríos, a professional chef from Mexico City, earned his spot as a finalist by winning the “Campeonato Mexicano de la Pizza” competition in late 2019. The international expansion of the contest in 2020 represents the broad appeal and application of California dairy products within foodservice outside of the United States.
The Covid-19 pandemic demanded significant adaption to safely conduct the 2020 iteration of the contest. To prioritize the health of all participants, the finalists’ winning recipes were prepared and baked by chef instructors from the CIA. These adjustments were vital to responsibly hold the contest, which served as an opportunity for the CMAB to stand with the foodservice industry following months of hardship from the pandemic.
“Foodservice is a big part of total California dairy and, just as dairy farmers haven’t stopped producing nutritious milk during this uncertain time, the foodservice community has continued to step up and keep our communities fed,” said Bob Carroll, Vice President of Business Development for the CMAB. “Technomic estimates that total foodservice sales are going to be down 25% this year so continuing this contest and honoring the creativity and commitment of chefs and foodservice operators is one way we can help.”
A renowned panel of judges – Tony Gemignani, 13-time World Pizza Champion; Glenn Cybulski, certified pizzaiolo and award-winning executive chef; and Thomas Garnick, founder of Brava! Pizzeria and 2019 RCPC Grand Prize Winner – presided over the contest. The judges based their scores on a variety of factors including taste, texture and the inventive use of cheeses made with Real California Milk.
“When the pizza industry is healthy, the California dairy industry is healthy,” stated John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. “So much of our business goes into the pizza industry that it’s really important for California dairy farmers when we can help advance and innovate in the pizza category.”
The full list of finalists for the 2020 Real California Pizza Contest is as follows:
Cal-Mex
- CATEGORY WINNER: Lars Smith, a professional chef from Los Altos, Calif., is the owner of State of Mind Public House and Pizzeria. Smith was a finalist in the 2019 contest.
- Linda Ortega, a professional chef from Watsonville, Calif., is the owner of Fired Up Fresh.
- Jordan Lawson, a professional chef from Bellingham, Wash., works at La Fiamma Wood-Fire Pizza.
- Buffy Wimmer, a professional chef from McKinney, Texas, is the owner of Jersey Pies. She was a 2019 RCPC finalist as well.
The REAL California
· GRAND PRIZE AND CATEGORY WINNER: Ricky Webster, another 2019 finalist, is a professional chef from Spokane, Wash. who worked at SYSCO Spokane and now owns Rind and Wheat Bakery.
· Efren Ríos, a professional chef from Mexico City, works at Bottega Napule.
· Justin Wadstein, a professional chef from Santa Cruz, Calif., is the owner of Sleight of Hand Pizza.
· Phillip Ma, a professional chef from San Francisco, Calif, is the owner of Dough.
Plant Forward
- CATEGORY WINNER: Lars Smith, a professional chef from Los Altos, Calif., is the owner of State of Mind Public House and Pizzeria.
- Domenica Catelli, a professional chef from Geyserville, Calif., is the owner of Catelli’s.
- Anisha Blodgett, a professional chef from San Diego, Calif., is the owner of Powerhaus Wholesome Pizza & Eats.
- Joe Mialki, a professional chef from Port Orange, Florida, is the co-owner of Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza.
About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy families and is one of the largest agricultural marketing boards in the United States. With a mission to increase demand for products made with Real California Milk, the CMAB is celebrating 50 years of promoting California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs.
The Foodservice Division of the CMAB supports foodservice operators and distributors that use Real California dairy products. The CMAB offers marketing and promotional support for foodservice operators that purchase dairy products with the Real California Milk seal, which means they are made with 100 percent milk from California’s more than 1,200 family dairy farms.
For more information on sourcing cheese from California, please contact the foodservice team at 209.883.6455 (MILK), businessdevelopment@cmab.net or RealCaliforniaMilk.com/Foodservice.
