TABASCO® Pepper Sauce flavors inspired the winning pizza recipe at The Culinary Institute of America’s annual student Pizza Cook-Off held earlier this month in Hyde Park, N.Y. Team Show Me the Pizza cooked up a Korean-inspired pizza featuring TABASCO® brand Garlic Pepper Sauce, tomato sauce, Saputo® Premium Gold Mozzarella Cheese, kimchi, shaved fennel, bulgogi beef, pickled mustard seeds and dill on a sesame-seed crust. Bold and flavorful, the pizza took first prize, awarding the team $1,000 and bragging rights. The second-place winners also took an ethnic approach to their pizza recipe—Team Harizza created a Middle Eastern–style pizza.
With global flavors driving some of today’s biggest culinary trends, it should come as no surprise that an Asian-inspired pizza was awarded first place at the CIA Pizza Cook-Off. As American palates evolve and demand increases for variety, chefs are experimenting with a range of ingredients to create inventive, artisanal pizzas.
“McIlhenny Company has been a great partner over the years,” said Lee Ellen Hayes-Kirk, the CIA’s senior advancement officer for corporate relations. “The students always get excited for our culinary competitions. Ingredients like TABASCO® Pepper Sauce flavors help drive student creativity.”
Pizza is booming, especially in the fast-casual segment, but foodservice operators must be ready to innovate and adapt to consumers’ evolving demands for unique, high-quality and better-for-you pizza ingredients and add-ons. According to Technomic, more consumers now opt for non-traditional pizza ingredients, with 39% of consumers, up from 32% two years ago, saying that new and innovative toppings are highly important in creating a good pizza.1 CIA students certainly confirmed this growing trend, with the top two winning pizza recipes featuring non-traditional ingredients.
“It’s great to see our students taking a traditional pizza and putting their unique culinary spin on it,” says Lee Ellen. “From pickling vegetables to using Middle Eastern spices, the students raised the bar this year, demonstrating both their creativity and knowledge of industry trends.”
All CIA students were invited to attend the event, which included tastings, games and prizes. To generate awareness and create excitement, TABASCO® brand paired up with Saputo Cheese Inc. to bring students an interactive cheese tasting, pairing various cheeses with different TABASCO® Pepper Sauce flavors and pepper jellies. Between sampling the diverse selection of pizza, students lined up to test their pepper sauce knowledge at the TABASCO® trivia wheel—prizes included branded carabiners, backpacks and recipe books. One lucky winner was awarded a $50 gift card for coming closest in a “Guess the Minis” challenge.
Along with Saputo Cheese Inc. and Cento, TABASCO® Foodservice was a proud sponsor of the 2016 CIA Pizza Cook-Off. Not only do events like this support culinary education, but they also push the envelope for creativity and give students the opportunity to share their passion for food and knowledge of the industry.
About McIlhenny Company
McIlhenny Company produces TABASCO® brand products, which are sold in more than 165 countries and territories around the world and labeled in 22 languages and dialects. The 148-year-old company makes a line of pepper sauces, including its world-famous TABASCO® Original Red, Green Jalapeño, Chipotle, Buffalo Style, Habanero, SWEET & Spicy and Garlic Pepper Sauces. The pepper sauce that Edmund McIlhenny created in 1868 is the same TABASCO® Original Red Sauce that is produced today. It's still made from tabasco pepper mash that's been aged up to three years in white oak barrels and mixed with distilled vinegar and a small amount of salt. This unique aging process delivers unmatched concentration and piquancy. Visit www.TABASCOfoodservice.com for more information.
About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to driving leadership development for the foodservice and hospitality industry, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts; bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary science, and applied food studies; and executive education through its Food Business School. Its conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, world cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence & innovation. The college also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its worldwide network of 48,000 alumni includes leaders in every area of foodservice and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore. For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu.
Source: McIlhenny Company