profiting from pizza toppings

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A guide from PizzaMarketplace.com

A complete guide to pizza toppings and their impact on operations — trends, tastes, cost, usage and marketing.

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Profiting with Pizza Toppings

http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/storefronts.php?sf_id=47

2© 2011 NetWorld Alliance LLC | Sponsored by Burke Corporation

Contents

Page 3 About the sponsors

Page 4 Introduction | Toppings make the bottom line

Page 5 Chapter 1 | Trends: Focusing on the numbers

Page 11 Chapter 2 | Cost and use analysis: Toppings profits Weighty matters In a pinch

Page 16 Chapter 3 | Marketing: As important as what is being sold Order taking Social media Widening the margin It’s what is being sold, too

1 Chapter 4 | Safe handling: As important as taste Not fail-safe, but close

Page 24 Chapter 5 | Meats: Still the top toppings Be specific Cost controls

Page 31 Chapter 6 | Vegetables and fruits: A healthy alternative Ship it or shape it? Heat-seeking customers Moisture mess

Page 36 Chapter 7 | Seafood: Gaining popularity For the shell of it Handle with care

Page 40 Chapter 8 | Healthful pizza: New dough and toppings Piling on the veggies Base case Profitable positioning Page 44 Chapter 9 | Multitasking: Salads, appetizers and entrées Finding the marketing benefit Looks matter

Page 49 Chapter 10 | Organic and sustainable: The new buzzwords Frequent deliveries a key

Profiting with Pizza Toppings

http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/showcase/81/Burke-Corporation


About the sponsors

Published by NetWorld Alliance LLC.© 2011 NetWorld AllianceWritten by Steve Coomes, contributor, PizzaMarketplace.com.Updated by Richard Slawsky, contributing editor, PizzaMarketplace.com.Dick Good, CEOTom Harper, presidentAndrew Davis, executive vice presidentJoseph Grove, vice president and executive editor

Burke Corporation manufactures and markets fully cooked meat products that can be used as ingredients in pizza, entrées and appetiz-ers prepared by restaurants, foodservice establishments and manu-facturers of prepared foods. Product lines range from traditional pizza toppings such as pepperoni and Italian sausage to other popular fully cooked meats, including beef crumbles, meatballs, Mexican fillings and breakfast meats.

PizzaMarketplace.com is the world’s first and only website devoted to publishing fresh, original news and in-depth articles centered on the pizza industry. Launched in November 2001, the website has quickly become a leader in electronic publishing for the foodservice industry. Its content, updated every business day, is free to site visitors and read by industry professionals worldwide.


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Introduction Toppings make the bottom line

Welcome to the latest edition of “Profiting with Pizza Toppings.” At PizzaMarketplace.com,

we constantly strive to provide readers with the most accurate and up-to-date information; therefore, we revisit our special publications annually to make sure they continue to provide the highest possible level of value.

In this guide, there are several updates and a host of new information.

To make a good pizza, it’s necessary to have dough, sauce and cheese. But to make a pizzeria a success, great toppings are needed. Unlike the past, when pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and green peppers were the only choices, today’s toppings reflect the cultural diversity that characterizes the United States. These days, pizzas are regularly topped with everything from Latin-American chorizo sausage to Asian-influenced teriyaki chicken.

Franchising grew the pizza industry and delivery made it unique. Over the years, pizza has evolved into the ultimate customizable food, and today’s pizzeria can transform dough, sauce, cheese and a dozen or so topping choices into innumerable dining options, with something on the menu to please nearly any palate.

While most customers still cling to the tried-and-true choices of old, operators are demonstrating that when offered variety, customers will try something new. Unique toppings generate a buzz in customers’ mouths and in their conversations. In other words, give them something tasty, and they’ll talk about it.

This guide is a tool for the business side of pizza. Chapter 2 provides simple, mathematical instructions on standardizing toppings amounts for every size of pizza, while Chapter 4 covers safe food handling. Chapter 5 outlines USDA specifications for different meats and their composition, while Chapter 10 provides tips and techniques for incorporating organic and sustainable products into a pizzeria menu.

Yes, toppings exist to add taste, but that taste can’t be taken to the bank unless an operator knows how to use and sell toppings effectively.

Bottom line: This guide is an information tool for operators. It tracks today’s toppings trends and examines their history. It details the ingredients of authentic Italian sausage and looks at whether fully cooked or raw toppings are best for an operation. In essence, it provides the same things toppings provide to customers: options, which lead to decisions and dollars.

PizzaMarketplace.com would like to thank Burke Corp., a fully cooked toppings manufacturer in Nevada, Iowa, for sponsoring this guide. The company’s generosity brings this guide to you at no cost.

By Steve CoomesContributing writer ,PizzaMarketplace.com

Updated by Richard SlawskyContributing editor,PizzaMarketplace.com

Unlike the past, when pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and green peppers were the only choices, today’s toppings reflect the cultural

diversity that characterizes the United States.



Restaurants, like almost every other type of business in the United States, have struggled in the face of

economic uncertainty over the past several years. Cash-strapped consumers have cut back on dining out, and many of those who continue to patronize restaurants are trading down to lower-priced alternatives.

The worst, however, could be behind us.

Restaurant operators began seeing increases in same-store sales and customer traffic counts in the latter half of 2010. The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index, a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry, hit a three-year high in November 2010. Fifty-one percent of restaurants reported an increase in same-store sales, and 41 percent reported increased traffic (up from 38 percent the previous month).

And the outlook continues to improve. According to the National Restaurant Association’s Expectations Index, 42 percent of restaurant operators expect to see higher sales in the first six months of 2011, while only 14 percent expect to see sales volumes decline compared to the same period in 2010.

By many estimates, pizzeria operators are especially poised to take advantage of improvements to the economic environment. At Domino’s, same-store sales increased 11.7 percent in the third quarter of 2010, compared with flat same-store sales for the same period in 2009. Pizza Hut saw its U.S. same-store sales increase 8 percent in the 2010 third quarter. Papa John’s same-store sales

dipped slightly in the 2010 third quarter, but the company is projecting North American same-store sales to increase from 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent and international same-store sales to increase as much as 30 percent in 2011.

And it’s not just the big three pizza chains that are seeing improvements. Even medium-sized chains report an increase in revenue, with Pizza Inn reporting sales increases of 20 percent in company-owned restaurants.

Still, there are some challenges ahead. It’s a likely bet that menu labeling laws will eventually be enacted around the country. With literally dozens of variations possible for even the simplest of pizzeria menus, no one is completely sure how menu labeling will affect the industry.

Following are some of the top trends likely to affect pizzeria operators as a new decade opens.

Fluctuating commodity costs: After dropping to near-record lows in 2010, cheese prices rebounded in the fall of 2010 before dropping at the end of the year. Still, even at their highest levels, cheese prices were nowhere near the levels they reached in 2008. As of the beginning of 2011, cheese prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hovered around $1.47 per

Chapter 1 Trends: Focusing on the numbers

According to the National Restaurant Association’s Expectations Index, 42 percent of

restaurant operators expect to see higher sales in the first six months of 2011, while only 14 percent

expect to see sales volumes decline compared to the same period in 2010.



CHAPTER 1 Trends: Focusing on the numbers

pound, off from a high of $1.75 per pound in October 2010. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting prices in the high $1.50 range for the rest of 2011.

And flour prices are likely to rise in 2011 as well, thanks to rising demand and diminished harvests. A drought ruined wheat fields in Russia, while excessive rain hurt harvests in Canada. Still, wheat prices are about one-third of what they were in 2008.

Lower corn harvests are likely to boost expenses for meat companies as livestock feed prices rise. That in turn will affect the price of meat toppings.

According to USDA data, meat costs as much as 12 percent more than last year. Beef tenderloin has risen in cost by $2 per pound in recent months, while pork has gone up approximately $1 per pound.

The cost of fuel is likely to be the top commodity story of 2011. Oil prices approached $100 a barrel near the end of 2010, and some experts are predicting gasoline prices to top $4 a gallon in the upcoming year.

Importance of connecting online. Social networking applications such as Facebook and Twitter continue to play an important role in the restaurant industry. With the increasing prevalence of smartphones and their accompanying applications, restaurants are likely to become so interconnected to location-based networking that any restaurant could become a success — or a failure — merely by connecting with the right platform.

Hyperlocal coupons also are playing a role in the online world. Sites such as Groupon and Living Social offer users the ability to purchase items at a discounted price, encouraging visits to restaurants who offer the sales.

New technologies. “The app” is one of the latest phrases to become part of the American vocabulary, and there are few people who don’t know that apps are an essential element of the iPhone. Although the Apple product continues to dominate the mobile phone market, there are plenty of up-and-coming smartphone contenders. Ordering apps, restaurant locator services and mobile coupons are all likely to become another weapon in the pizzeria operator’s arsenal.

Apps on smartphones are becoming an integral part of pizza sales.




The Internet also has become a prime ordering channel for pizzeria customers. Domino’s surpassed $1 billion in online sales in February 2010, while Pizza Hut topped $2 billion in online sales a few months later. Papa John’s hit the $2 billion milestone in May 2010.

Keeping it close to home. Healthy, local and sustainable continue to be hot topics for restaurant operators.

According to the National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2011” survey,

the top menu trends for next year will be locally sourced meats and seafood, locally grown produce, sustainability as a culinary theme, hyperlocal items and children’s nutrition as a culinary theme.

Diet-specific recipes. Of particular concern to pizzeria operators is the increasing demand for gluten-free crusts. One out of every 100 Americans suffers from celiac disease and gluten intolerance, and their dining choices are likely to affect where the rest of their family goes to eat. Failing to incorporate gluten-free offerings

TACO PIZZA

INGREDIENTS 12" PIZZA 14" - 16" PIZZA PROCEDURE

Refried beans 1/4 cup (2 oz.) 1/3 cup (3 oz.) Mix refried beans taco sauce and (packed) (packed) pizza sauce together in small bowl.

Taco sauce, mild, bottled 2/3 cup (5 oz.) 1 cup (8 oz.)

Pizza sauce, canned 2/3 cup (5 oz.) 1 cup (8 oz.) Place crust on pizza pan and topor restaurant’s recipe with pizza sauce, spreading evenly over pizza surface.

Pizza crust 1 each (12 oz.) 1 each (1 lb.)

Tezzata Beef Mexican 2 cups (8 oz.) 3 cups (12 oz.) Spread meat and mozzarella cheeseMeat (3395) evenly over crust. Place in preheated pizza oven at 425˚ degrees. Bake 17- Mozzarella cheese, 1 1/5 cups (6 oz.) 2 1/4 cups (9 oz.) 20 minutes or until pizza is golden on the edges and crisp underneath. Let pizza cool 2-3 minutes. Cut intoTomatoes, diced 1 cup (5 oz.) 1 1/2 cups (8 oz.) slices, then sprinkle with lettuce, tomatoes, olives and cheddar cheese Lettuce, chopped 2 cups (2 1/2 oz.) 3 cups (4 oz.) in layers to create a taco appearance.

Black olives, sliced 1/4 cup (1 oz.) 1/3 cup (1 1/2 oz.) To prevent sogginess, add chips immediately before eating. GarnishTortilla chips with more tomatoes and olives as desired.

CHEF’S NOTE: Quantities and cooking times may differ from above, depending on variations in ingredients and ovens. For spicier pizza, use medium or hot taco sauce.Recipe courtesy of Burke Corp.




could have a significant impact on an operator’s business.

Diverse populations. According to the Pew Research Center, the population of the United States is projected to rise to 438 million in 2050, from 310 million today. More than 80 percent of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants.

The Latino population will make up the bulk of that population increase. Hispanics are projected to make up 29 percent of the U.S. population in 2050, compared with just 14 percent in 2005.

If anyone doubts the potential of the Latino market, they need look no further than Pizza Patrón, which markets itself as the “premier Latino pizza brand,” building stores in primarily Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. The Dallas-based company, which operates 100 stores around the country, has recorded several years of double-digit same-store sales increases.

“Our entire brand is strategically designed to fill a huge void we saw in the marketplace,” said Andrew Gamm, director of brand development for Pizza Patrón. “Obviously, there is no shortage of pizza outlets in the United States, but no one was specifically geared to serve the Latino-Hispano customer. That’s our niche.”

The company garnered widespread attention, along with a few death threats, in 2007 when officials announced restaurants would accept pesos along with U.S. currency as payment for pizzas. The Pizza por Pesos program, as it was known,

proved to be so popular it has become a permanent fixture at the chain.

In what was perhaps a nod to the increasing diversity in the United States, Pizza Patrón announced plans to begin targeting English-speaking customers in addition to its Spanish-speaking base. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the company noticed that a growing number of younger Hispanics were bilingual and bicultural.

Beyond the simple influence of population changes, demographic diversity is increasing interest in ethnic flavor profiles among mainstream consumers as well.




By Liz Hertz, marketing director, Burke Corp.

Attempting to stay one step ahead of consumer trends and a changing industry, operators are using innovation to create a point of differentiation. But for established pizzerias, do they really have an opportunity to innovate and differentiate?

Four trends provide a perfect starting point for pizzerias seeking to set themselves apart from the competition.

1. Flexibility

Offering new dining options to meet ever-expanding consumer demand for flexibility and choice.

Identified trends:

¾ Portion sizes

¾ Customization

¾ Dayparts

¾ Classic menu items alongside upgraded items

¾ Side-by-side better-for-you and indulgent items

Pizzerias and flexibility:

The opportunity for flexibility on pizza menus goes beyond size and topping options. Innovative pizzerias are testing even more options on their menus — breakfast, premium and better-for-you pizzas. Flexibility may also mean enhancing the non-pizza portion of the menu with entrée salads, soups, sandwiches and calzones.

2. Accessibility

Making restaurant dining more convenient to use

Identified trends:

¾ Opening earlier, closing later or expanding to 24-hour service

¾ Ordering via the Internet, text messages and apps for smartphones

¾ Multiple format concepts, partnering traditional casual dining operations with fast-casual restaurants

Pizzerias and accessibility:

To increase accessibility, operators should first evaluate their customer base to determine their needs. Successful expansion of store hours into the breakfast or late-night dayparts requires the ability to bring in traffic at these new times.

3. Individuality

Promoting signature or unique dining experiences and products

Identified trends:

¾ Specialty pizzas: Chicago-style, nontraditional, natural/organic or flavored crusts

¾ Gourmet burgers: Specialty toppings and unique proteins, such as buffalo

¾ Local foods and beverages: Farmers’ market produce

Innovating to differentiate: Staying one step ahead of trends




Pizzerias and individuality:

Pizzerias have a long history of signature pizzas that create a point of differentiation. Limited-time offer specialty items are a great way to test new signature pizzas and other menu items that create individuality for the brand.

4. Hospitality

Taking care of patrons in a way that addresses very specific needs or delivers a “wow” experience

Identified trends:

¾ Meeting special dietary needs, such as food allergies, weight loss, heart healthy, diabetic and low-sodium guidelines

¾ Meeting religious dietary requirements, such as halal (Islamic) and kosher (Jewish)

¾ Featuring menu items based on hallmark local cuisine

¾ Creating a “third place,” away from home and work, with a warm, inviting environment

Pizzerias and hospitality:

While hospitality comes naturally to the foodservice industry, sometimes it needs fine-tuning. Operators that are in touch with their customer base will see opportunities to better meet the needs of those customers — whether it be halal or heart-healthy or a home-like atmosphere. Pizzerias and pizza are the perfect place and product to implement these innovations.



Choosing the right topping isn’t as simple as selecting the one the operator thinks tastes best. The

consumer must like it, and it must fit a predetermined cost parameter that meets profit-margin goals.

According to Dave Ostrander, a former operator turned consultant, four tipping points influence an operator’s toppings choice: product quality, ease of use, market demands and price point.

Just as important in toppings selection is portion control. Figuring out how much is needed on each pizza — as well as getting the staff to put the same amount on every time — is a must in establishing consistency in the finished product and in food cost.

John Gani, director of operations for Seagle Pizza Inc., a 21-store Domino’s Pizza franchisee based in Bowling Green, Ky., said his cooks train with a scale to “develop a good eye for what we use” but then assemble pizzas without it during business hours. “We don’t pre-portion, either,” Gani said, regarding pepperoni and sausage use.

Ostrander believes operators need to go further, however, to ensure consistency. He stresses the use of measuring tools (such as an electronic scale, ladles, spoodles and cups) and a calculator.

“If you’re going to replicate something hundreds of times a week, you need a tool to do that,” said Ostrander. “The two eyes God gave you aren’t accurate enough, unless they’re bionic.”

Weighty matters

Years ago Ostrander learned to build consistent pizzas with an electronic scale and a 14-inch corrugated pizza circle (the size of his most popular pizza). Using a marker, he drew a line on the circle to represent the pizza crust edge, where no sauce or toppings should fall.

He placed the circle on a scale, zeroed it (typically done by hitting the “tare” button) and applied the desired amount of sauce, which, in the case of Big Dave’s, was six ounces for a 14-inch pizza.

He then took another corrugated circle, drew the same crust line and weighed out

Chapter 2 Cost and use analysis: Toppings profits

“If you’re going to replicate something hundreds of times a week, you need a tool

to do that. The two eyes God gave you aren’t accurate enough, unless they’re bionic.”

— Dave Ostrander, pizza restaurant consultant

Figuring out how much is needed on each pizza — plus getting the staff to put the same amount on every time — is a must in establishing consistency in the finished product and in food cost.



CHAPTER 2 Cost and use analysis: Toppings profits



the desired amount of cheese (10 ounces), brushed the cheese off, and placed on the desired number of pepperoni slices (25 to 30, which weighed two ounces), sausage (four ounces), bell peppers (two ounces) and so forth.

Once the weights were recorded, Ostrander devised ways to pre-portion all toppings quickly. A level ice-cream scoop of sausage, for example, portioned out four ounces, which he then pressed into patties placed between sheets of waxed paper. Pepperoni slices were weighed and placed in waxed paper, and cheese was weighed and placed in plastic cups. Two scoops from a two-ounce liquid-measure spoodle yielded two ounces of peppers and so on.

But the real key to his portion-control system, Ostrander said, came from his grade-school math lessons on finding the area of a circle. By applying the formula pi (or π, which represents 3.14) times the radius squared, Ostrander figured out the area of his 14-inch pizza, and saw how to convert toppings portions easily and quickly for every size of pizza he sold. (See tables on pages 12 and 13 for multiple examples.)

“Pizza is made by the square inch, but sold by the diameter,” he said. “So use pi times the radius squared (πr2), to get the area of a 14-inch pizza (3.14 x 7 x 7 = 154 square inches).

“Then if you drop down to a 10-inch (3.14 x 5 x 5 = 78.5 square inches), you see you’re at almost exactly half the area of a 14-inch pizza. If you do the same for a 12-inch pizza (3.14 x 6 x 6 = 113 square inches), you’re 25 percent smaller than a 14 inch, and 25 percent larger than a 10 inch.”

Knowing that allowed Ostrander to adapt his portion controls easily to whatever size pie was ordered.

“Now I can accurately say that if I’m using six ounces of sauce on a 14, then I’ll need three ounces on a 10. If I’m using 10 ounces of cheese on a 14, I’ll use five on a 10. Two ounces of pepperoni on a 14, one ounce on a 10. It works out perfectly.”

For his least-ordered pies, 12-inchers, his cooks eyeballed a 75-percent-share of the toppings needed for 14s. For example, since the sausage patties he prepped for 14-inch pizzas weighed four ounces, the amount needed for a 12-inch pie was three-fourths of that.

“Visualize that sausage patty I talked about: I used a whole one for a 14-inch, a half for a 10-inch, and 3/4 for a 12-inch,” he said.

Leftover pieces were used on other pizzas.

In a pinch

While there are still some operators willing to gamble on raw pizza toppings, Chuck Thorp, CEO of DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks in Austin, Texas, said the need for speed weighed more heavily in that company’s selection of a fully cooked sausage and other toppings.


Performance in the oven is the real test for all meat toppings. Customers expect meats to look better coming out of the oven than when they went in.



“It’s just simpler to use, and I think it’s the best-tasting sausage out there,” said Thorp.

The price also met DoubleDave’s food cost parameters, making it “a pretty logical choice for us,” he said.

Liz Hertz, marketing director at Nevada, Iowa-based Burke Corp., said new technology has allowed Burke to offer Hand-Pinched-Style toppings, a trademarked product line that allows operators to combine the labor-friendly aspect of fully cooked toppings with the appearance and texture of raw sausage that was pinched directly onto the pizza.

Julian Angelone, owner of 16-store Ronzio Pizza, agreed. Fully cooked meats simplify “the whole operation. I don’t want the potential problems you can run into with grease in the exhaust hood. If you don’t have to, why bother?” he asked.

Mark Slaughter, foodservice director of sales for Sugardale Foods in Massillon, Ohio, said make line “handle-ability” of fully cooked toppings is an added labor savings over using raw product.

“You’ve got to have a product that’s easy to work with on a Friday or Saturday night when you’re doing a large volume of business,” said Slaughter. “With our bacon, you don’t have to separate the pieces; they can be dealt on top of the pizza easily.”

While some believe that fully cooked toppings are more expensive, the operator must take into consideration shrinkage and labor costs to analyze the true cost of using raw products. The Burke Corp. website

offers a number of resources, including an online calculator for analyzing the true cost of using raw meat (www.BurkeCorp.com/TrueCostofRaw).

To manage the cost of pepperoni, it’s critical for operators to be able to know a true piece count along with the weight of the product package in order to accurately calculate costs. A true piece count pepperoni can be a valuable tool for portion control.

No cost analysis is complete without looking at quality. Slaughter said performance in the oven is the real test for all meat toppings. Customers expect meats to look better coming out of the oven than when they went in.

“It can’t be greasy or charred when it comes out the other end of the oven; it should be nicely browned,” he said.

And properly shaped, in the case of pepperoni, said Angelone.

“If we have cupping, that means we have a problem with the pepperoni, because we don’t want that,” he said. “We do put pepperoni above the cheese to get that browning we like, though. It gives it a good flavor.”

But for others, a cupping pepperoni is just the look that the pizzeria wants to achieve.

The bottom line is that operators now have the choices available to find the products that are the right blend of aesthetic characteristics, convenience and price to fit their needs.




In a phone-order-driven business like pizza, operators have frequent opportunities to drive incremental

sales or add-ons, and pizza toppings are a great example of these.

In the span of a brief phone call, good order-takers can grab a buck or two extra from customers. And over the course of days, weeks and months, those incremental sales can add up to significant profits.

Kamron Karington, a Las Vegas-based marketing consultant, knows that suggestive selling works well when it’s done right. After several years of operating two pizzerias and later selling them, Karington compiled his best pizzeria marketing tips in “The Black Book: Your Complete Guide to Staggering Profits in Your Pizza Business.” The key to upselling, he said, is asking persuasive questions.

“On the phone, you don’t just say, ‘Would you like extra cheese on that?’ You say instead, ‘Extra cheese on that?’” said Karington, who also consults with large corporations outside the foodservice industry.

Suggestive sales pitches also hinge on well-placed voice inflections.

“Say you’ve got a one-topping pizza special, and you’ve got them on the phone; tell them, ‘I can make that a triple pepperoni for only $2 more,’” Karington said. “That changes the emphasis and is much better than, ‘Would you like extra pepperoni?’”

But whether those suggestions are made on the phone or face to face, order-takers

need to be both quick and courteous when upselling, Karington said.

“You’ve got to work hard to find that balance between upselling them at every opportunity and not driving them crazy,” he said. “And let’s face it, you’ve probably got other customers wanting to order, and you don’t want the phones tied up any longer than they have to be. So pick a limited number of things you want to upsell, stick with those for a time and then try some others.”

Online ordering also increases the ability to upsell. Unlike over-the-phone or face-to-face encounters, a website will never forget to upsell. Also, because it’s not a personal interaction, people feel less pressure, and are, conversely, more likely to agree to order more. As mentioned above, however, it’s important to word the upsell offer carefully, to ensure maximum participation.

Social media

With the growing popularity of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, operators now have an additional opportunity to market high-margin items.

Hideaway, a nine-unit chain based in Stillwater, Okla., solicited entries of pizza ideas from the more than 1,600 people

Chapter 3 Marketing: As important as what is being sold

In the span of a brief phone call, good order-takers can grab a buck or two extra from customers. And over the course of days, weeks and months, those

incremental sales can add up to significant profits.



CHAPTER 3 Marketing: As important as what is being sold

who follow them on Twitter. The winning pizza, selected from more than 100 entries, was dubbed the “Tweetza.”

“We have always had a pizza contest with our employees where they come up with their own pizza, so we thought we’d try it on Twitter as an experiment to see how people would respond,” said Janie Harris, Hideaway Pizza’s marketing director. “The winning pizza is going to end up in our menu insert where we would normally put our employee’s winning pizzas, and if it holds its own it will make it to our regular menu.”

New Orleans-based Naked Pizza, which advertises its Twitter feed on a billboard in front of the restaurant, has been tracking the amount of sales generated by its tweets. According to co-founder Jeff Leach, a Twitter-only promotion the restaurant ran in May 2009 generated about 15 percent of the store’s business the day it ran.

The company ran a second Twitter-only promotion later that month and asked customers to reference Twitter when placing their order. To Leach’s amazement, the store set an overall one-day sales record the day the promotion ran.

“A whopping 68.6 percent of total dollar sales came from customers who said ‘I’m calling from Twitter,’” Leach said. “Of the 26 new customers who had never been in the store before, 22 of them were from Twitter. All in all, ‘Twitter Friday’ was an eye-opener for us.”

Widening the margin

Toppings equal increased value and thus offer high-margin potential when sold incrementally and in combinations. Sales strategies include encouraging additional toppings (i.e., two-, three- or four-topping pizzas), giving specialty pizzas prime positioning on the menu and offering premium-quality toppings at a premium price.

While higher quality and upscale toppings — seafood, game meats and roasted vegetables, for example — may initially seem to drive up food costs, they also offer great opportunities to increase margins.

Social media offers operators additional marketing opportunities.

Multiple-topping specialty pizzas can be highly profitable not only because of their higher price points but also because fewer toppings are required to cover each pie.




A $7.99 one-topping special, for example, has a decent margin built in. But every additional topping only builds on that margin, since all the other components of the pizza are paid for in the original $7.99.

Multiple-topping specialty pizzas — most of which typically have an attractive name, such as The Supreme or The Works — can be highly profitable not only because of their higher price points but also because fewer toppings are required to cover each pie. For instance, while it may take four ounces of any single topping to cover a 14-inch pizza, a three-topping pizza won’t require twelve ounces of toppings to appear full. Adding the full amount of all three — let’s say, sausage, pepperoni and mushroom — could overwhelm the crust and not bake out fully or in the same time as the crust and cheese.

“I learned to back off about 25 percent of each topping when somebody wanted three or four on there,” said pizza industry consultant Ostrander. “It’s just too much to put on there all at once.”

Several operators said posting a toppings list separately, either on a menu board or on table menus, encourages customers to search for interesting offerings and then customize their pizzas.

Howard Olivier, owner of Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise, Idaho, does just that. But he also trains his counter workers to lead customers to combinations of toppings — be they premade or a la carte — that are best for them.

“We first try to get a sense of what they like and then lead them to a pizza we’ve already

got on the menu or suggest some toppings that go well together,” said Olivier.

And, whenever those customized or predefined specialty pizzas include premium ingredients, the price should reflect the added value. Savvy pizza shop operators quickly learn which toppings customers perceive to be worthy of a higher cost — while realizing the higher margin they bring as well.

Online calculators on the Burke website (www.BurkeCorp.com/Tools) can help the operator conduct a cost-benefit analysis of higher quality ingredients, as well as assess the profit potential of the addition of “gourmet” or specialty items to the menu.

The flip side — using basic toppings— works just as well to increase margins. For example, if an operator wants to increase the coverage of the standard sausage topping without increasing the actual portion size, a finer crumbled sausage (or ground beef or diced pepperoni) can be used. The result is better coverage and improved value perception (i.e., sausage in every bite), without increasing the food cost.

It’s what is being sold, too

David Yudkin has two kinds of pepperoni on the menu at Hot Lips Pizza in Portland, Ore.: a standard manufactured variety and his own “house-made pepperoni.”

“I’m making 100 pounds of it every other week now,” said Yudkin, who also makes his own prosciutto. “It’s incredibly popular.”





There’s nothing limiting about limited-time offers (LTOs). They offer operators an opportunity not only for menu experimentation and creativity but also for increased sales. And yet a successful LTO is not as simple as featuring the latest recipe development idea coming from a creative chef. When operators do due diligence on idea development, operational execution and marketing support, the sky’s the limit on the success of LTOs.

Idea development

¾ Listen. Regardless of how great the idea sounds, success requires a good fit with the customer base. So always start by listening to the customer, and then augment that with information from employees, suppliers and other industry resources. One way to find interesting combinations that appeal to consumers in the area is to look at menus in other segments, such as fine dining or sandwich shops.

¾ Find a fit. The most successful menu ideas provide a good fit with the restaurant concept. For example, when Stone Hearth Pizza in Sudbury, Mass., a Neapolitan-style pizzeria, added a barbecue chicken pizza, the recipe featured other ingredients that are regularly used in the restaurant, such as white beans, broccoli rapini and artichokes.

¾ Start with the ingredients. Guidelines for ingredient selection include:

• Pair on-trend items with familiar ingredients that are already found on the menu (andouille with more traditional meat toppings, for example)

• Choose ingredients that are traditionally paired together (steak and potatoes, beef and bacon)

• Showcase seasonal or regional favorites (locally grown fresh tomatoes, Texas or Kansas City BBQ)

• Experiment with cheese (regional cheeses or trendy cheeses found on other local menus).

Operational execution

¾ Plan. Whether it’s a single operation or a large multi-unit, take time for adequate planning and include individuals with responsibility for all functional areas. R&D, marketing, purchasing, operations, training and finance all play an important role in the success of the LTO.

¾ Train employees. Successful execution of an LTO requires training. Back-of-the-house employees need to know how to prepare the new menu item, while front-of-the-house staff must be able to tell the customer about the new menu offering.

The sky’s the limit on limited-time offers




Not only does his pepperoni “taste like nothing else I’ve had,” it’s made from 100 percent organically raised pork, something highly eco-conscious Portlanders appreciate. Yudkin also is well-known in the community for his support of local farmers, and those efforts have garnered Hot Lips the kiss of endorsement from a dedicated following.

“The really big benefit of something (like the house-made pepperoni) is that it creates a buzz. People are talking about it, and that’s great P.R.,” said Yudkin. “It’s also fun for me to do it, though it’s very labor intensive.”

While Olivier said customers still love meat toppings more than anything, he said they also like occasional variety. Flying Pie

has a weekly Gourmet Night, when cooks experiment with new ideas for a pizza buffet. Those that sell well often make it to the menu.

But perhaps his best attention-getter is Flying Pie’s annual habañero festival in July, when the ultra-hot red and orange peppers are in season and flown in fresh from Mexico. The festival draws people from as far away as 200 miles, Olivier said, but in the process, Flying Pie gains repeat customers.

“It’s interesting to see the (long-term) impact of something as simple as a pepper topping,” he said. “It shows that different things, now and then, get people’s attention. It keeps things fresh.”



While the proliferation of fully cooked topping varieties and their ease of use made them

attractive choices two decades ago, food safety concerns — especially in the wake of many raw-meat-related E. coli poisonings — fuel their popularity today.

“You can do all the (temperature maintenance) of raw products just right and still face cross-contamination,” said Casey Frye, vice president of research and development at Burke Corp. “You’ve still got people topping pizzas, taking money and touching everything; spreading those pathogens is just that easy.”

Seagle Pizza’s Gani said his company abandoned raw meat toppings years ago.

“Our founder, Tom Monaghan, used raw sausage when he started, but the company stopped it for safety issues,” he said. “It’s just not worth the risk to us.”

Not fail-safe, but close

While no topping or sanitation system is foolproof, combining the best safety information with the safest products available, Frye said, dramatically reduces the risk of food poisoning.

He supplied the table included in this guide to illustrate the difference in microbial counts between raw pizza sausage and fully cooked pizza sausage. As striking as those differences are, John Olson, Burke’s vice

president of technical services and quality assurance, said even pizza cooks who use fully cooked toppings must be mindful of where they put their hands at all times.

“You still have to be concerned about where those hands were before they handled the product,” he said. “But if that product is fully cooked, at least it should have a low microbe count.”

Chapter 4 Safe handling: As important as taste

Industry Industry Typical Burke parameter standard count

Aerobic plate count <20,000/gm <100/gm Coliforms <100/gm <10/gm Generic E. coli <10/gm <10/gm Salmonella Negative Negative Listeria Negative Negative

Raw pizza sausage

Parameter Typical result

Aerobic plate count 10,000 to 1,000,000 /gm Coliforms 100 to 5,000 /gm Generic E. coli 100 to 5,000 /gm Salmonella May be positive (up to 33 percent in pork, up to 10 percent in beef ) Listeria May be positive (about 1 to 5 percent)

Fully cooked pizza sausage



CHAPTER 4 Safe handling: As important as taste

There are many advantages of using fully cooked meat toppings and fillings. Here are the top four:

1. Food safety

Stories of contamination problems and food-borne illnesses due to uncooked or undercooked meats, or cross-contamination of raw meat to fully prepared foods, appear on television and in print news almost weekly. In some instances, the severity of illnesses led to death. Raw meat contains high amounts of bacteria, but proper cooking destroys the bacteria that cause food-borne illness and food spoilage. Using fully cooked meats reduces the risk of introducing microbial dangers and cross-contamination problems into the operation.

2. Product stability

Fully cooked meats have a longer shelf life than raw meats due to the slower oxidation rate occurring in cooked meats. In addition, while raw sausage products are often frozen to increase shelf life, the product stability and flavor deteriorates since raw sausage takes much longer to freeze than fully cooked toppings.

3. Convenience

Using fully cooked meat toppings and fillings is much more convenient than using uncooked meat products. Right after cooking, Burke fully cooked meat toppings and fillings are individually quick frozen, locking in freshness. Consequently, the meat nuggets and crumbles can be kept frozen until needed and are pourable in the frozen state. In fact, they can be placed on the pizza while still in the frozen state. However, frozen raw meats must be thawed before using, creating purge loss (moisture runoff ), reduced freshness, risk of bacterial growth and cross-contamination, and reduced “in-process” inventory. And with the convenience of fully cooked meats, pies are assembled more quickly, resulting in quicker throughput and faster table turns.

4. No waste

With fully cooked meats, the operator uses just what is needed; the rest remains in the freezer for another day. An additional benefit is the lack of waste or grease. And there is no excessive grease on top of the pizza or make table.

Courtesy of Burke Corp.

Advantages of fully cooked meats



CHAPTER 4 Safe handling: As important as taste

The U.S. Public Health Service has identified several microorganisms as being the biggest culprits in food-borne illness. Here’s a short list of what could result from poorly handled pizza toppings.

Campylobacter: Most common bacterial cause of diarrhea in the United States. Sources: raw and undercooked meat and poultry, raw milk and untreated water.

E. coli 0157: A bacterium that can produce a deadly toxin that causes approximately 73,000 cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States. Sources: meat, especially undercooked or raw hamburger; produce and raw milk.

Listeria monocytogenes: Causes listeriosis, a serious disease for pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. Sources: soil and water. Found in dairy products, raw and undercooked meat, poultry, seafood and produce.

Salmonella: Most common cause of food-borne deaths. Responsible for millions of cases of food-borne illness annually. Sources: raw and undercooked eggs, undercooked poultry and meat, dairy products, seafood, fruits and vegetables.

Staphylococcus aureus: This bacterium produces a toxin that causes vomiting shortly after ingestion. Sources: cooked foods high in protein, such as meats, as well as salads, bakery products and dairy products.

Shigella: Causes an estimated 300,000 cases of diarrhea-related illnesses. Sources: salads (potato, tuna, shrimp, macaroni and chicken), raw vegetables, milk and dairy products and poultry, as well as poor hygiene, which passes shigella from person to person.

Vibrio vulnificus: Causes gastroenteritis or a syndrome known as primary septicemia. People with liver diseases are especially at high risk. Sources: raw or undercooked seafood.

Frightening food-borne pathogens



When operators are asked what toppings sell the best, meat toppings are it.

When PizzaMarketplace.com asked pizzeria operators which topping was the most popular among their customers, the answer was pepperoni. According to the 2010 Pizza State of the Industry report, almost 200 pizzeria executives surveyed for the study ranked pepperoni as their most popular topping.

Though the birthplace of pizza is credited to Italy, according to Evelyne Slomon, meat toppings are America’s contribution. Slomon’s doctoral thesis focused on the history of pizza and eventually became the seminal work The Pizza Book.

“You look at wherever pizza is, and what’s on it is what the people there eat most,” said Slomon. “Italians aren’t the meat-eaters we are here in the U.S., so you see pretty simple toppings there: basil, good cheese, some seafood and occasionally a little meat.”

Slomon said she hasn’t been able to pinpoint when pepperoni first appeared on pizza, but she believes it was sometime between 1930 and 1950. During that time, pizza’s popularity began a westward crawl from East Coast cities heavily populated with Italian immigrants to Midwestern cities where it had never been served before. Near those cities were vast herds of livestock, and in the cities were slaughterhouses and food production plants churning out large quantities of meat.

As far as anyone can tell, such abundance eventually inspired a pizza maker

somewhere to think, “I’ll bet this (fill in the blank) would taste good on a pie.”

In the decades since, pork sausage, ground beef and pepperoni have become the standards for pizza toppings. Beyond the also-popular mushroom, demand for nearly all other toppings is much smaller.

“Pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms,” wrote Steve Wollmershauser, owner of Antonio’s Pizza in San Antonio, in an e-mail asking for the most popular toppings at his restaurant. But that doesn’t mean he’s not serving more adventurous meat toppings. Along with Antonio’s Taco Pizza (taco meat is seasoned heavily with

Chapter 5 Meats: Still the top toppings

Pork sausage, ground beef and pepperoni are the standards for pizza toppings. Demand for nearly all other toppings is much smaller.



CHAPTER 5 Meats: Still the top toppings

cumin and chili powder), he offers gyro (pronounced “eeyro”), a Greek favorite made from heavily seasoned minced lamb that’s roasted on a spit and sliced off in strips.

Over the past decade, chicken toppings have taken off as well. At DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks in Austin, Texas, barbecue chicken pizza is a strong seller, and garlic chicken strips sell well on pies at Shotgun Dan’s in Sherwood, Ark. Many customers are drawn to chicken as a perceived “healthier” topping.

Chicken is currently the third most popular pizza topping, according to the 2010 Pizza State of the Industry report, up from fifth place in the 2007 study.

But as the general manager of the three-store Shotgun Dan’s points out, winged toppings will never fly like those made of beef and pork.

“We’re kind of known for the amount of toppings we pile on here,” said Gary King, Shotgun Dan’s general manager. “We put our toppings above the cheese and below it. There’s just a lot on there.”

The Federal Hill pizza sold at Ronzio Pizza in Lincoln, R.I., gets a heaping helping of bias-cut Italian sausage links. According to owner Angelone, the sliced links reflect the Italian restaurant heritage of the Providence neighborhood after which the pizza is named.

“Our other sausage comes in pretty good-size chunks, but (the bias-cut links) are something we think adults here like,” Angelone said. “It’s sort of traditional.”

While sausage has reigned as the most favored pork topping, Sugardale Foods’ Slaughter said bacon has become the fastest-growing meat topping category in the past 10 years. The company produces fully cooked toppings, such as diced bacon.

“We cut it so it looks like somebody fried it up in the back room and chopped it up with a knife; it’s got a natural look to it, not a cookie-cutter look,” he said.

Pizza toppings have taken an ethnic turn in recent years as well. Hispanic-influenced sausages such as chorizo have become popular pizza toppings, according to the Pizza State of the Industry study, as have Italian-inspired meats such as salami and prosciutto.

Be specific

Choice and customization of fully cooked meat toppings has changed the industry significantly over the past 25 years, said Burke’s Hertz. What began as a move toward convenience has become an opportunity for operators to ensure


It’s no surprise that pepperoni is the favorite meat pizza topping of the U.S. consumer and that sausage comes in as a clear second. However, this is not the whole story, as preferences for meat toppings vary regionally. Visit the Burke Corporation website at www.BurkeCorp.com/trends to find a summary of some of the findings from The Pizza Consumer Trend Report, conducted by Technomic Inc., revealing national and regional consumer pizza-topping preferences.

Meat topping preferences by region




consistency and “dial in” their exact taste, texture, color and performance preferences. No longer are manufactured meat toppings one-size-fits-all.

“The operator has hundreds of options when it comes to toppings,” Hertz said. “Especially with something like sausage … flavor, shape, size, color, look, you name it, it’s done today.”

Indeed, the company’s sausage, pork and beef toppings line alone provides an array of flavors and textures. The company also offers pepperoni, meatballs, Canadian-style bacon, salami, chicken strips, beef strips, Mexican-style meats and more.

“You can’t come to a toppings company any longer and just say you want the Italian sausage,” said Hertz. “When selecting fully cooked toppings, operators need to think about what flavor profile and product characteristics best suit their needs.”

Cost controls

For operators who are looking for a way to reduce topping costs, the addition of extenders such as soy-protein products can be a possible solution.

According to Burke’s Frye, three basic extenders are used in pizza toppings: soy flour (about 50 percent protein), soy concentrate (about 65 percent protein) and soy isolate (about 90 percent protein).

The trick in using extenders, Frye said, is to replicate the meat texture as closely as possible without adding too much soy flavor.

“They really can drive down costs,” said Frye, adding that a large number of Burke customers request extenders. “Extenders also allow for the addition of water, which helps moisture retention. And if you reduce that loss, you get a greater cooked yield.”

Taking time to understand extenders, as well as all-meat products, will help operators in both purchasing and naming their toppings. The USDA’s standards of identity define products such as sausage, and strict adherence to ingredients

Recipe courtesy of Burke Corp.



Bacon: Describes the cured belly of a swine carcass. If meat from other portions of the carcass is used, the product name must be qualified to identify the portions, e.g., “pork shoulder bacon.”

Barbecued meats: Barbecued meats, such as product labeled “beef barbecue” or “barbecued pork,” must be cooked by the direct action of dry heat resulting from burning hard wood or hot coals for a sufficient period to assume the usual characteristics of a barbecued item, including a brown crust on the surface and the rendering of surface fat. The product may be basted with a sauce during the cooking process. The weight of barbecued meat cannot exceed 70 percent of the weight of the fresh, uncooked meat.

Canadian-style bacon (from the United States): Canadian-style bacon is made from a trimmed boneless pork loin. The tenderloin and the flesh overlying the blade bone are excluded. The surface fat (and false lean when necessary) must be trimmed. A sweet curing ingredient, such as sugar, may be used.

Canadian-style bacon made with or from pork sirloin hips: The sirloin is obtained by removing a short section of the pork loin immediately in front of the hip or pelvic bone. The sirloin hip is obtained by removing the half of the sirloin, which comprises the posterior end of the pork loin. The tenderloin is not included. The labeling must bear a qualifying statement, adjacent to the product name, clarifying

that pork sirloin hips are included or that the product is made entirely from pork sirloin hips, e.g., “Canadian-style bacon — includes pork sirloin hips” or “Canadian-style bacon—made from pork sirloin hips.” A sweet curing ingredient, such as sugar, may be used.

Ham shank roll: A lower-cost alternative to Canadian-style bacon using ham shank muscles.

Capaccollo, cooked (also known as capicola, capocolla, capacola, capicollo, cappicola, capacolo): Boneless pork shoulder butts cured and then cooked. The curing process may be dry curing, immersion curing or pump curing. The cured product is coated with spices and paprika before cooking. This product must be labeled with “cooked” as part of the product name.

Chorizo: Can be used for any type of chorizo sausage that is cooked, dry, semidry, cured and fresh, without further product name qualification. Other requirements for various types of chorizo apply, including the sausage standard. It is seasoned with Spanish pimento and red pepper. Partially defatted pork fatty tissue is acceptable in chorizo.

Extenders/binders/soy protein products: Whenever extenders such as soy flour, defatted soy grits, soy protein concentrate, isolated soy protein and similar products are used as ingredients in meat and poultry products, they must be called by their

Standards of identity




common or usual name (e.g., soy flour, soy protein isolate, etc.). According to the classification or standard for these items, soy flour is considered to have approximately 50 percent protein; soy protein concentrate contains a minimum of 65 percent protein moisture-free basis; and soy protein isolate contains a minimum of 90 percent protein moisture-free basis. Two percent isolated soy protein is equivalent to 3.5 percent binders. If soy extenders products are textured, then “textured” should also be included in the name. Use of the term “textured vegetable protein” (TVP) is acceptable when the textured soy products are mixed with spices, colorings, enrichments, etc., and the ingredients of the TVP are listed parenthetically. “Vegetable protein product” (VPP) is an acceptable declaration for a soy product fortified in accordance with USDA Food and Nutrition Service regulations. The ingredients of the VPP must be listed parenthetically, however. One other extender commonly used in low-cost ham products is carrageenan, which is made from seaweed.

Ham: Fresh ham that has been cured and may be either smoked or unsmoked.

Parma ham/prosciutto di Parma: Ham, when labeled “Parma ham” and/or “prosciutto di Parma,” can only be that which is produced in the region of Parma, Italy, in accordance with Italian law.

Meatballs: Uncooked or cooked pork, beef, veal and lamb, and other ingredients in a ball form. Product must contain at least 65 percent meat. Binders and extenders are limited to 12 percent of the total product (6.8 percent of isolated soy protein is

considered the equivalent to 12 percent of the other binders or extenders). The permitted binders and extenders include, but are not limited to, cereal, breadcrumbs, cracker meal, soy flour, soy protein concentrate, isolated soy protein and TVP. Seasonings vary widely but commonly include herbs, garlic, onions and pepper.

Ground beef: Beef of skeletal origin used in the preparation of chopped beef, ground beef or hamburger. Heart meat and tongue meat as organ meats are not acceptable ingredients in chopped beef, ground beef or hamburger. May not contain added fat. Maximum total fat is 30 percent. No level of seasoning or extension is allowed in ground beef.

Pepperoni: A dry sausage prepared from pork or pork and beef. Combinations containing more than 55 percent beef are labeled pork and beef pepperoni. Pepperoni made exclusively with beef must be called beef pepperoni. Extenders and binders are not permitted in pepperoni. Hearts, tongues and other byproducts are not acceptable ingredients. Typically seasoned with black pepper, red pepper, garlic and paprika (the seasoning that gives it its rich, red and recognizable color).

Pepperoni with poultry: Poultry may be added to pepperoni if properly labeled. If the meat block contains 20 percent or less poultry, the product is labeled “pepperoni with turkey (kind) added.” When poultry over 20 percent of the meat and poultry block product is labeled “pork and turkey (kind) pepperoni,“ an MPR of 1.6:1 is applied. If the amount of poultry exceeds that of the meat, the product label reads “turkey and pork pepperoni.“ This would carry a poultry legend.




Salami, beef: A cooked, smoked sausage, usually mildly flavored, in a large casing, containing coarsely ground beef. Cereals and extenders are permitted. May contain fat. Product does not have to be labeled cooked.

Salami, Italian: A dry salami that is typical of the San Francisco area. Traditionally it was distinguished by its covering of a white mold, but this is not required. This salami consists of about 80 percent finely chopped pork, to which a small amount of pork fat may be added. Nonfat dry milk can comprise 3.5 percent of the finished product. The remainder consists of chopped beef, seasoning, salt and curing agent.

Sausage, fresh: Made of fresh, uncured meat, generally cuts of fresh pork and sometimes beef. Its taste, texture, tenderness and color are related to the ratio of fat to lean. Trimmings from primal cuts, e.g., pork, loin, ham and shoulders, are often used. Typically seasoned with black pepper, sage, sometimes red pepper for spicier preferences and occasionally ginger. Dextrose may be added to assist browning.

Sausage, Italian: Italian sausage products are cured or uncured sausages containing at least 85 percent meat, or combination of meat (beef, veal and/or pork) and fat, with the total fat content constituting not more than 35 percent of the finished product. Such products shall contain salt, black pepper and either fennel or anise, or a combination of fennel and anise. May contain any or all of the following optional

ingredients: spices (including paprika) and flavorings, water or ice, red or green peppers, dehydrated or fresh onions, garlic, parsley, sugar, dextrose, corn syrup, corn syrup solids, glucose syrup, monosodium glutamate and antioxidants. According to Frye, one quick way to determine how an Italian sausage may taste is by looking at its color. If it’s greenish-gray, it’s typically sweet and seasoned with anise and fennel. If it’s largely brown, the predominant seasonings will be pepper and garlic. If it bears a red tint, it is likely seasoned with paprika, possibly red pepper and garlic.

Pork sausage: Product identified as pork sausage does not include the use of pork cheeks. When such an item is offered as “whole hog,” tongues, hearts and cheeks may be used in the natural proportion as found in the hog carcass. “Fresh” is used in the name when the product is not cured, cooked and/or smoked. Can contain no more than 50 percent fat. This sausage may also be labeled as breakfast sausage.

Sausage, whole hog: Prepared with fresh and/or frozen meat from swine. The finished product cannot contain more than 50 percent fat. To facilitate chopping or mixing, water or ice may be used in an amount not to exceed 3 percent of the total ingredients used.

* Sources: USDA Food Standards and Labeling Policy Book; Burke Corporation, Food Lover’s Companion (second edition), by Sharon Tyler Herbst; “Meat Processing News,” Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service




guidelines is mandatory (see related “Standards of identity” table on pages 27 through 29).

For example, aside from approved seasonings and water, Italian sausage is an all-meat product. Once an extender is added, the product would be called “cooked Italian-style pork topping.” Even if only the meat-to-fat ratio is altered, it may no longer be called Italian sausage.

The confusion of naming conventions goes beyond sausage. According to Hertz, one of the pizza industry’s most misused topping terms is Canadian-style bacon. By the USDA’s rules, Canadian-style bacon must be made from trimmed boneless pork

loin only. If any other cut of meat is used, it must be declared, such as Canadian-style bacon made with or from sirloin hips.

To add to the misunderstanding, said Hertz, a product called ham shank roll is also often billed on menus as Canadian bacon.

“A good way to tell whether it’s the real thing is to see what they’re charging for their pizzas,” she said. “Real Canadian-style bacon is a premium product in both quality and cost; alternatives are typically cheaper.”




While orders for vegetable toppings pale in comparison to those for meat, no wise

operator would post a pizza menu bereft of green peppers, mushrooms, onions, olives or tomatoes. Veggies not only add unique textures to pizzas, they also provide a savory-sweet edge that complements the mounds of meat that pizza fans love.

Mushrooms top the list of the most popular vegetable pizza toppings, according to the 2010 PizzaMarketplace.com State of the Industry report, followed by green peppers, black olives, white onions and tomatoes. One surprise was the popularity of pineapple, possibly a reflection of the huge demand for Hawaiian-style pizza in the growing Hispanic community.

Vegetable toppings also are proving profitable. Trend-savvy operators recognize the growing popularity of spinach, broccoli, artichoke hearts, eggplant, roasted red peppers, jalapeños and potatoes as low-cost, high-margin ways to offer customers something unique.

“We sell a lot of fresh spinach, arugula and celeriac, which we julienne,” said Hot Lips’ Yudkin. “With asparagus, we roast it and then put it on top of the pizza. With broccoli, we sauté it first.”

At Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise, Idaho, a wide range of veggies make it onto the New York-style pies on Gourmet Night, held every Tuesday. As one might expect of an Idaho pizza restaurant, potatoes frequently get the call, but locals there still crave their “greens.”

“On Gourmet Night, the people who work in the kitchen have to come up with at

least one new pizza a month,” said Howard Olivier, Flying Pie’s owner. That evening’s buffet is an all-you-can-eat extravaganza costing $7.25. “We regularly do a broccoli and potato pizza, which is popular. You have to steam the broccoli beforehand — putting on fresh wouldn’t work. But with the potatoes, you just slice and bake them with the peels on.”

The restaurant’s vegetarian pizza blends basil, zucchini, bell peppers, onions, olives, garlic, mushrooms and sliced Roma tomatoes. Its Zerto Magnifico has a three-inch-high base of fresh spinach that wilts to about a quarter inch as it bakes under a layer of Pecorino Romano cheese.

“Yeah, pepperoni is still king here, but we do lots with vegetables,” Olivier said.

Chapter 6 Vegetables and fruits: A healthy alternative

Veggies add unique textures to pizzas and provide a savory-sweet edge that complements the meat. The most popular vegetable toppings are mushrooms, green peppers, black olives and onions.



CHAPTER 6 Vegetables and fruits: A healthy alternative

Ship it or shape it?

While the variety of manufactured veggie toppings available is increasing, it appears fresh vegetable toppings are used most often. Operators said they typically have fresh veggies in-house for other items, such as salads, and find it easiest to draw from that same inventory to make their toppings.

One drawback to using fresh vegetables, operators point out, is the labor involved in preparing vegetables. Spinach needs washing, peppers and mushrooms require slicing or dicing, and eggplant — depending on each operator’s preference — is peeled and salted or breaded. With every pass of the knife comes a tick of the clock, which pushes labor costs upward. The waste factor connected to fresh preparation can drive food cost up as well.

Mark Gold, co-owner of the Pizza Shuttle in Milwaukee, Wis., addresses food and labor costs equally by buying prepared veggie toppings frozen or stored in jars. Despite paying a slightly higher cost for frozen breaded eggplant topping rather than fresh, he said it’s a smart bang for the buck.

“Nobody wants to bread eggplant; it’s a mess I don’t want to fool with,” said Gold. “Our (banana) peppers, olives, artichoke hearts — if we can get them in a jar or can, we do. The flavor’s still great and there’s no labor there, either.”

Cathy Katavich, director of specialty product sales for Gilroy Foods (a subsidiary of ConAgra Food Ingredients) said labor savings and variety are key benefits of her company’s line of frozen

vegetable toppings. Demand for such products, she added, is rising rapidly.

“Ten years ago we might have looked at selling onions or green bell peppers, but today, with the number of vegetable pizzas on the market, pizza has become a perfect opportunity for us to expand our offerings,” said Katavich, whose company is based in Gilroy, Calif.

The toppings are shipped frozen in plastic bags. “You really can control labor and consistency with toppings like these because they’re simple to use,” she said.

Gilroy’s current diced veggie lineup consists of bell peppers, jalapeños, onions, celery and green chilies, and it just introduced sliced Roma tomatoes. The company also sells puréed garlic, roasted portabella mushrooms and roasted onions, which spread easily on pizza crusts.

J.R. Simplot Company in Caldwell, Idaho, has marketed its RoastWorks line of flame-roasted vegetable toppings to the pizza market for about eight years. Its research and development chef, Dianna Fricke-Stallsmith, said an increasing number of operators want the distinct “fire-roasted note” its peppers, onions, potatoes and corn toppings provide — but without the work of roasting and peeling by hand.

One drawback to using fresh vegetables, operators point out, is the labor involved in

preparing vegetables. With every pass of the knife comes a tick of the clock, which pushes labor

costs upward. The waste factor connected to fresh preparation can drive food cost up as well.



“Any of our RoastWorks toppings go well on pizza,” said Fricke-Stallsmith. “Obviously, that flavor is important, but I hear that convenience and consistency is just as important.”

A good barometer for where veggie toppings are headed, she said, is the menu at Los Angeles-based California Pizza Kitchen.

“It will tell you that people want things that are more exotic, be it vegetables or protein,” she said. Simplot’s roasted apples and peaches, she added, are becoming very popular as well.

“(Fruit) is an untapped market, and it gives a really upscale appearance,” said Fricke-Stallsmith. Her Roasted Apple and Almond Pizza is a big hit at pizza and restaurant trade shows, she said. The dessert pie includes a base of mascarpone cheese topped with apples, almonds, cranberries and streusel. “People ask for that recipe all the time (see recipe). And you could use those fruits in lots of other pizzas that aren’t specifically for dessert.”

Heat-seeking customers

DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks’ Thorpe said hot pepper sales are on fire in the Southwest, where the bulk of DoubleDave’s 40 stores are located. He credits the trend to the high concentration of Latin American immigrants in the area.

“Jalapeños are ordered a lot, and we also use a (round) cherry pepper that we dice up and use on our vegetarian pizza,” said Thorp. DoubleDave’s customers who like hot peppers, he added, tend to order them

combined with bacon and tomato. “We used to have a Dave’s Fave pizza that was bacon and cherry pepper, so I think that created some awareness.”

The use of hot peppers has become popular in the United States in recent years. Chipotle, a smoke-dried jalapeño, was relatively unknown a few years ago but is now a household name.

As Olivier is reminded annually, hot-food




lovers aren’t just Latinos. In July, when habañero peppers — the world’s hottest — are in season, Flying Pie ships them in from Mexico to cater to the “hotheads,” as Olivier calls them. The heat-seekers he serves, some of whom drive several hundred miles for the pepper-piled pizzas, include people of every race and age, and both genders.

“About one out of every 10 people who come that month come for that,” Olivier said. “You couldn’t get near something really spicy not too long ago, but now a lot of people really want it.”

Olivier trains his servers and counter workers to give customers ample warning about hot pepper toppings, as some customers, he said, tend to get in over their heads with habañero. More often than not,

all the heat they want can be found in a comparably mild jalapeño.

“We actually have a waiver we make them sign before they can eat (the habañeros); it’s a serious game. We get a lot of people who try it but figure out quickly they don’t want to get on that ride again.”

Moisture mess

While vegetables add color and texture to pizzas, they do release unwanted moisture. In the crust, the result can be a gooey gum line that reduces crispness. Extra water also can reduce the cheese’s ability to cling to the pie, creating a slippery mess with every bite, and dilute the flavor of an otherwise robust pizza sauce.

The good news is that avoiding such

Green vegetables, especially leafy ones such as spinach, contain vast amounts of water. Therefore, when baking, they release that water — sometimes to the air, other times onto the pizza, depending on whether they’re above or below the cheese. Some operators blanch (precook by steaming, boiling, sautéing or baking) their veggies before putting them on pizzas in order to release that water. Others place them straight on the pie.

Here are a few of those operators’ helpful hints:

¾ Broccoli: For fresh broccoli, cut into florets, steam or sauté lightly until still crunchy, drain well and cool thoroughly. For frozen broccoli, thaw and drain well. Placing broccoli below the cheese will protect its

moisture content, but doing so hides its vibrant color.

¾ Bell peppers: Roast in an oven at 500° F or higher or over an open flame until skins blacken. Remove, place in a large bowl and cover with plastic for 15 minutes. The residual steam will loosen the skin and make it easily removable.

¾ Onions: Slice thinly and cook over low flame in a sauté pan until lightly caramelized. A splash of balsamic vinegar can be added for extra color and tartness.

¾ Spinach: If fresh, wash well and dry using a salad spinner. Place directly on pizza but below the cheese. If frozen, thaw and drain well.

Veggie cooking tips




“water-out” hazards isn’t difficult. Blanching vegetables (see the “Veggie cooking tips” sidebar on page 34) helps release moisture prior to baking, and placing them on top of the cheese facilitates evaporation.

However, both steps have their drawbacks: Blanching requires labor, and placing delicate veggies atop the cheese exposes them to high heat, which can burn them.

Olivier and Yudkin describe two strategies. Olivier places fresh spinach below the cheese to protect it from the oven’s heat. And Yudkin sautés broccoli beforehand to release its moisture and to add a light coating of oil that shields it from the oven’s heat. He also places asparagus on top of the cheese.

Katavich and Fricke-Stallsmith said such problems make preprocessed vegetable toppings even more useful, because flash freezing helps reduce water-out during baking.

Gilroy’s “controlled moisture vegetables,” for example, are exposed briefly to mild heat that cooks the vegetables lightly, rather than truly blanching them at high temperatures.

That, Katavich said, results in less water-out and better texture. “That’s a product that’s just easier to use,” she said.


BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE PASTA Yield: 24 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. ziti pasta1/2 c. vegetable oil 1 Tbsp. garlic, minced 4 lbs. broccoli spears, chopped 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. red pepper flakes 1/4 c. butter 48 oz. Premoro® Hand-Pinched Style® Italian Sausage 2 qt. Alfredo sauce, prepared 1 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

PROCEDURECook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place into a full-size, 2-inch deep hotel pan. Use one hotel pan for every 24 servings. Heat oil in a large, deep, heavy skillet. Add garlic, broccoli, salt, red pepper and butter. Stir-fry over high heat for about 15 minutes, until broccoli is tender crisp. Add to pan of pasta and toss gently. Add sausage to skillet and heat until thawed. Add Alfredo sauce and cook just until warm. Add sausage and Alfredo sauce to hotel pan; toss. Sprinkle cheese over pasta surface. Place into preheated 350˚ F oven and bake for 15 minutes. Serve in hot well on serving line. Toss pasta mixture occasionally during serving.




When thinking about seafood toppings, it’s easy to overlook anchovies. But it’s only fair

to note that the salty little fish slivers were trendsetters decades ago when they became the first commercially accepted seafood topping.

According to the 2010 PizzaMarketplace.com State of the Industry report, anchovies still rank as a popular seafood topping.

Their popularity has endured perhaps because no other topping from the depths — even the more-heralded shrimp and lobster — packs a taste of the sea equal to the anchovy’s, and, unlike so many seafood toppings, the fish is highly stable.

Mass harvesting and refrigeration techniques have made seafood toppings far more accessible to pizzerias throughout the United States, but it appears their greatest popularity is enjoyed in coastal cities.

At Frank Pepe’s in New Haven, Conn., clams are shucked fresh and placed on pizza topped with bacon, garlic and Parmesan cheese. And according to Evelyne Slomon, author of The Pizza Book, Italians top and serve pizza with fresh mussels — still in the shell.

“I’d bet seeing a shell on pizza here would freak out most people,” said Slomon, a consultant to pizzerias and co-owner of Nizza La Bella restaurant in Albany, Calif. “But that’s the way they do it there. It shows people that what they’re putting on the pie is fresh.”

In New Orleans, shrimp and alligator make occasional pizza appearances, especially

during the weeks following Mardi Gras, when residents swear off meat in observation of Lent.

In California, the birthplace of the gourmet pizza movement in the early 1980s, seafood toppings gained popularity at famed restaurants such as Spago in Los Angeles (owned and operated by Wolfgang Puck); Chez Panisse in Berkeley (owned and operated by Alice Waters) and Stars, based in San Francisco (owned and operated by Jeremiah Tower). At all three restaurants, pizza crust was a canvas to be painted on, with whatever flavor inspired the cook. Pizzas topped with ribbons of smoked salmon, chunks of lobster and shreds of crab captured Californians’ attention and money.

But the trend remained largely on the West Coast before leapfrogging gradually to large cities such as Chicago, Miami, Atlanta and New York throughout the 1990s.

For the shell of it

The texture of shrimp, clams, crawfish, lobster, smoked oysters and similar seafood stands up better on pizza than the flaky flesh of, say, tuna or salmon.

Shellfish also are naturally bite-size, making them easy for customers to eat and

Chapter 7 Seafood: Gaining popularity

Mass harvesting and refrigeration techniques have made seafood toppings far more accessible to pizzerias throughout the

United States, but it appears their greatest popularity is enjoyed in coastal cities.



CHAPTER 7 Seafood: Gaining popularity

simple for cooks to add to a pizza. Shellfish is readily available fresh, frozen or canned, allowing operators to choose whatever fits customers’ preferences.

At Flying Pie Pizzaria in Boise, Idaho, cooks experiment regularly with seafood toppings. Atop the Intro to Anchovies pie are fire-roasted tomatoes, anchovies, pepperoni and olives, while crab, smoked oysters and clams make their way onto other nightly specials.

San Francisco’s Panhandle Pizza Company sells an award-winning Seafood Pizza made from basil pesto, marinated shrimp and clams, lemon zest, celery, roasted garlic cloves and fresh cracked pepper. And at LaFiamma Wood-Fire Pizza in Bellingham, Wash., the Finn Pizza sports a mix of basil pesto, shrimp, four cheeses and artichoke hearts. The pizza was the seafood category finalist in the 2003 Pizza Festival during the International Pizza Expo that year.

But do they sell?

Sean Brauser, owner of Romeo’s Pizza in Medina, Ohio, added shrimp and crab to his toppings offerings because he uses them elsewhere on the menu. “But we’re lucky to sell 10 pizzas a week that request those toppings,” he said.

It appears Brauser isn’t alone in his seafood-sales travails. Flying Pie’s Olivier said offering seafood pizzas is a challenge because they don’t move as well as other pizzas.

And don’t expect to see an abundance of seafood pizzas in New Orleans, even

though many residents swear off meat during the six weeks of Lent that comes after Mardi Gras and before Easter.

Although the most serious pizza places in New Orleans offer seafood toppings, seafood pizzas aren’t a big seller. If diners change their pizza habits during Lent, it’s to ease off the pepperoni and sausage in favor of cheese pizza, spinach-artichoke pizza or similar offerings, said New Orleans food critic Tom Fitzmorris.

“I think few people identify pizza as a medium for seafood,” Fitzmorris said. “In Italy, the idea of eating cheese and seafood together is thought of as borderline insane.”

Several operators said that at best, five to 10 percent of their pizza sales mix comes from seafood pies. Other than anchovies, none of the large chains offers seafood toppings as a rule, and even the broad and arguably avant garde menu at the

Shellfish, which are naturally bite-size and easily available, also stand up better on pizza than other types of fish.




California Pizza Kitchen features just one: the flame-grilled garlic shrimp pizza.

The question remains then, is it worth it to offer seafood toppings at all when so few of them sell? Operators said yes, as long as the inventory is managed well. It can’t be allowed to spoil (see the “Seafood tips” sidebar on this page), and it must be useable in other dishes on the menu.

“It’s just nice to have it for people who want it,” said Olivier. “I don’t see it ever being as popular as some other toppings, but it’s still growing.”

Use canned or frozen shellfish where possible. The coal-fired clam pizza at Frank Pepe’s in New Haven, Conn., is adorned with fresh-shucked clams. While this is very labor intensive and costly, in areas where fresh seafood is the standard, this may be the only way to go. Further inland, high-quality canned or frozen shellfish is well accepted and very affordable. Canned shellfish is less expensive than frozen and is more easily stored, inventoried and rotated. But it is precooked and can toughen with additional cooking. Since quality varies greatly with each brand, experiment with multiple canned varieties in order to find the best.

¾ If using fresh seafood, keep as little as possible in-house. Freshness deteriorates rapidly, and that change is reflected in its flavor. Even the slightest whiff of an ammonia smell puts off customers. Rotate fresh seafood inventory regularly. Keep it well iced and refrigerated below 36° F. (Spot-check seafood regularly with a pocket thermometer to ensure that it’s cold.) Also, keep as little seafood as

possible on the make line and return it to the walk-in at the end of each day — but only if it is in good condition.

¾ Experiment with seafood toppings through specials before committing them to the menu. This will help determine a long-term demand for such a pizza.

¾ Price it at a premium. Most customers know seafood is expensive and don’t mind paying extra for it. Position the pizza as unique and charge a dollar or two more. Customers who are bored with the old standards consider interesting products to be worth the extra money. Make sure it truly is unique, however, by adding a special sauce or seasoning that makes it stand apart from the rest of the lineup. For example, at Al’s Gourmet Pizza in Washington, D.C., the shrimp topping is marinated in Jamaican jerk sauce or barbecue sauce. The menu states that all seafood toppings cost $1 more than other toppings.

Seafood tips

Thorp, of DoubleDave’s Pizzaworks, said the company finds it easiest to run seafood pizzas as specials only.

“During Lent we offer a shrimp and oyster pizza,” said Thorp. “It’s not the prettiest thing I’ve ever worked with, but it’s good, and people seem to like it.”

Handle with care

Unlike pepperoni and sausage, seafood toppings are very lean and lack the fat to withstand direct high heat. Still, operators disagree on where to place seafood on the




pizza. Some like the dried texture caused by placing seafood above the cheese; it adds a light crispness that’s amplified when brushed with oil or butter before baking.

Others place seafood below the cheese to avoid dehydration, and still others cook the seafood on the side and put it on after the pizza has emerged from the oven.

“We’ve done a lot of testing with

anchovies,” Olivier said. “We put them on afterward because they’re pretty strong, and we don’t want them contaminating other pizzas in the oven.

“We put smoked oysters on top also, because we think people like to see the seafood. But shrimp … we probably could bury it under the cheese and it wouldn’t make a difference.”



If there was any doubt the Atkins Diet and other low-carbohydrate programs were on their way out, Atkins

Nutritionals’ bankruptcy filing on Aug. 1, 2005 removed it. But despite their gradual disappearance, there’s no denying low-carb regimes, not to mention the low-fat diets of 20 years ago, increased the degree to which people watch what they eat.

“The popularity of diets proves our urge to manage our weight never goes away,” said Joan Blake, a clinical assistant professor at Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

“And more people will get interested in this as baby boomers get older. Dieting may be a cosmetic thing now for them, but later they’ll have more heart problems and bone problems because of the weight they’re gaining. They’ll take this more seriously.”

Blake said many people know which foods are good for them, but they don’t know how to make them as flavorful as less-healthful foods. Radical diets don’t do the trick, she said, because they don’t adequately address human cravings for variety and satiety. Long-term diet plans are more successful when people identify what they like first and then learn to make those foods more healthful.

Blake believes many people would be surprised to discover pizza can be an ideal element in a healthy diet. In its bare dough, sauce and cheese essence, it’s healthful food.

“Pizza is not something full of sugar and without nutrients. It covers many of the food groups,” she said. “White flour is enriched, which is good, and now so

many people are making whole-wheat crusts, which are better. Tomato sauce is wonderful for you, and cheese is a great source of calcium.”

People get into trouble with pizza when they overdo it on cheese and protein toppings high in saturated fat. Making pizza healthful doesn’t mean abandoning either cheese or meat, she said, but it does require effort to reduce potentially negative effects.

Piling on the veggies

Blake teaches her weight management clients how to lower calories, fat and carbohydrates while boosting a pizza’s flavor.

For example, if someone loves pepperoni pizza, she advises them to use half the amount of pepperoni, make up the difference in mushrooms and scatter both all over the pizza. To increase flavor, she suggests clients add onions, peppers and garlic.

“I’ll put a little ground beef on my pizza, but then I load up on vegetables, too,” she said. “Pizza is a great way to get a lot of vegetables into your diet.”

If meat is a must, then the leaner the better. Burke’s Hertz said the company’s Canadian bacon and chicken breast strips

Chapter 8 Healthful pizza: New dough and toppings

“Pizza is not something full of sugar and without nutrients. It covers many of the food groups.”

— Joan Blake, clinical assistant professor, Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences



CHAPTER 8 Healthful pizza: New dough and toppings

are among the leanest of meat toppings. Chicken is especially amenable to further flavoring with Cajun or Southwest seasonings, which give it a more dramatic impact on the pizza. Like Blake, she suggested operators pair meat toppings with similarly seasoned vegetables to extend a flavor theme.

“Sometimes it’s also a matter of making sure fruits and vegetables are available to eat on the side, too,” Hertz said. “A really healthy meal includes a balance of foods.”

Cutting back on the amount of cheese used also cuts calories, and using skim milk cheese goes even further. Less cheese also lets the other components of a pizza stand out; without a heavy cloak of casein, the nuances of a really good sauce or crust are better appreciated.

Base case

Jeff Leach, the co-founder of New Orleans-based Naked Pizza, is working to change the perception of pizza as the epitome of unhealthy eating. The restaurant’s mission statement is, “Delivering great-tasting pizza that’s actually good for you.”

An anthropologist who studies trends in human nutrition, Leach partnered with mortgage banker and developer Randy Crochet in October 2006 to open Naked Pizza in post-Katrina New Orleans. The partners opened a second location a few months later. The company now has approximately 15 locations, including one in Dubai, and another 28 in development.

“When people write about what’s unhealthy in America, they immediately

conjure up the word ‘pizza,’” Leach said. “I thought we could develop a pizza that tasted good, but was healthy at the same time.”

Although people typically focus on the toppings as the unhealthiest part of a pizza, Leach said, that’s not where the problems lie.

“Most people don’t realize that on a straight cheese pizza, 60 to 70 percent of the calories are in the dough,” Leach said. “What is inherently bad about dough is that it is made with highly-processed pastry flour, which means that it’s been stripped of its outer fiber and bran coating.”

PIZZA SAUSALITO Yield: 14-inch pizza

INGREDIENTS1 14-inch whole wheat crust2 Tbsp. olive oil 4 cloves roasted garlic, finely minced 3/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes, jarred, drained, chopped 3 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded 6 oz. NaturaSelect® Natural Italian Sausage

PROCEDUREUse your favorite brands of natural ingredients. Spread olive oil evenly over pizza shell, up to ½ inch of edge. Evenly distribute garlic over crust, top with ½ c. tomatoes and Gorgonzola cheese. Evenly distribute half of sausage on top of gorgonzola cheese. Sprinkle on mozzarella cheese. Arrange remainder of sausage evenly over cheese. Top with ¼ c. sun-dried tomatoes. Place in preheated 450˚ F conventional or pizza oven and bake 12-18 minutes or until crust is golden, and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown.





Naked Pizza’s dough is made with a combination of 10 different grains instead of the processed white flour traditionally used in pizza dough. The company doesn’t use butter, shortening or added salt or sugar in its dough, either.

“What we ended up with is a pizza dough that has 50 to 60 percent fewer calories than any other dough on the market,” Leach said. “And it actually tastes great.”

Although Naked Pizza offers traditional pizza toppings such as pepperoni and sausage, along with a few New Orleans-inspired ones such as alligator sausage, nutritional improvements extend to mozzarella cheese made with skim milk and fresh, rather than canned, pineapple.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, the company stopped using products containing high fructose corn syrup, including soft drinks and dough ingredients.

“We are not attempting to limit customer choices,” said Naked Pizza co-founder Randy Crochet. “Rather, we are trying to lead a movement in the New Orleans area among restaurant businesses to take a stand on healthier alternatives and attempt to make a difference.”

Profitable positioning

While many operators have added healthful pizzas to their menus, few promoted them effectively until recently.

Marketing a healthy pizza starts with a clever or catchy name that is something customers will recognize as a healthful option. Where possible, consider unique

menu headings or different-colored type to make the item stand out.

Bundling a healthful pizza with complementary items on a menu, such as salads, vegetable side dishes and low-sugar drinks, will draw added attention. Doing so also allows the customer to choose quickly (think of bundled meals on drive-thru menu boards).

Having nutritional information handy for those items also helps. List calories, fat, carbohydrates and fiber, even Weight Watchers points if possible.

POLLO ALLA PESTO PIZZA (CHICKEN AND PESTO PIZZA)Yield: One 14-inch pizza

INGREDIENTS

1 14-inch pizza shell1 c. pesto sauce, prepared1/2 c. roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped8 oz. MagniFoods® Fully Cooked Chicken Breast Strips with Garlic Flavor7 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded10-12 fresh basil leaves

PROCEDURESpread 1/2 cup of pesto sauce evenly over pizza shell, up to 1/2-inch from the edge. Sprinkle roasted red peppers over pesto. Toss chicken with remaining 1/2 cup of pesto sauce and layer chicken evenly over crust. Sprinkle on mozzarella. Place in preheated 450˚ F. conventional or pizza oven and bake 12-18 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Just before serving, garnish pizza with fresh basil leaves.

CHEF’S NOTE Optional: Add 1/2 cup of pine nuts sprinkled on pizza when it comes out of the oven.Recipe courtesy of Burke Corp.



Wherever possible, said Blake, make it easy and affordable for health-conscious consumers to dig in at the pizzeria.

“Since people are not going to give up pizza — nor should they — what we need to do is make eating healthy fit into their lifestyles,” she said. “Don’t make it more expensive to eat healthy; make it a bargain. Don’t penalize them for buying a healthy choice; rather, reward them.”




A good way to ensure that food inventory is rotated often is to cross-utilize as many items as

possible on the menu. If there already is a pre-grilled chicken strip on the make line for pizza, using it in a salad or on a sandwich broadens the menu without lengthening the inventory sheet. It also tends to tighten food cost because it reduces weight.

Mark Ulrey, vice president of marketing for four-unit Flyer’s Pizza in Columbus, Ohio, pointed to an added benefit of cross-utilization: “It creates some excitement for the broker and the manufacturer, which gets us a better cost when we start moving cases for them.”

Ulrey said before his company adds a new pizza topping item to its inventory, the staff works to use it in several different applications.

Some examples:

¾ Bacon: pizzas, subs, salads

¾ Grilled chicken: pizzas, subs, salads, appetizers, pastas

¾ Ham: pizzas, subs, salads, calzones

¾ Salami: pizzas, subs, salads, calzones

¾ Turkey: subs, salads, pastas

¾ Pepperoni: pizza, subs, salads, calzones

¾ Mushrooms: subs, pizzas, salads, calzones, appetizers

¾ Steak: pizza, subs, salads, appetizers

“We try to figure out how to make each product extend itself past the one application we brought it in for,” Ulrey said. “We use steak for a Philly steak pizza and our steak sandwich, and our marinated chicken goes on salads, subs and pizzas.”

Tony Palombino, founder of the Louisville, Ky.-based BoomBozz pizza chain and a self-proclaimed bourbon fanatic, found the inspiration for his latest gourmet pizza creation during a bartending competition. Palombino was judging the competition at the request of friend Jim Rutledge, master distiller at the Four Roses Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Ky.

During the competition, Rutledge suggested that Palombino create a bourbon-flavored pizza.

“There aren’t many people who don’t like pizza, and Kentucky is the birthplace of bourbon,” Palombino said. “So, to me, it sounded like a winning combination and something that I had never heard of being done before.”

Palombino took a gallon of his restaurant’s barbecue sauce and mixed in some Four Roses Single Barrel Bourbon. That sauce, combined with toppings already on hand in the restaurant, served as the basis for

Chapter 9 Multitasking: Salads, appetizers and entrées

“We try to figure out how to make each product extend itself past the one application we brought

it in for. We use steak for a Philly steak pizza and our steak sandwich, and our marinated chicken

goes on salads, subs and pizzas.”

— Mark Ulrey, vice president of marketing, Flyer’s Pizza



CHAPTER 9 Multitasking: Salads, appetizers and entrées

The Kentucky Bourbon Pizza. Palombino’s creation features the barbecue sauce mixture in place of pizza sauce, along with hickory-grilled chicken, smoky bacon, Roma tomatoes and red onions.

The Kentucky Bourbon Pizza was featured as the “Anniversary Pizza” during the Tony BoomBozz 10th anniversary celebration in October 2008.

“This is an example of what I call ‘crossover’ in terms of using the ingredients you already have, being as creative as possible and trying to make as many dishes or pizzas with those,” Palombino said. “Bringing in the bourbon wasn’t a big deal. The other ingredients were items we already had in the stores.”

Brett Corrieri, corporate chef at MAFIAoZA’s in Nashville, Tenn., cites a pizza he developed in recognition of football season as an example of cross-utilization. Buffalo wings are big sellers during the season, he said.

“One of our most popular items for kids is chicken tenders, so we decided to take the mild wing sauce and put it on a pizza in place of the regular sauce,” he said. “We topped it with the diced chicken we have on hand for a lot of other dishes, added some mozzarella and blue cheese crumbles on it, baked it and called it the Buffalo Pizza.”

The pizza has since become one of the restaurant’s top-selling dishes, he said.

“We created a new signature menu item and didn’t add any new inventory items to do it,” he said.

BUFFALO CHICKEN SALADYield: 1 serving

INGREDIENTS1 small head of romaine lettuce, chopped medium1/4 cup carrots, shredded1 rib celery with greens, chopped2 oz. ranch dressing1.5 oz. blue cheese crumbles, divided1 oz. hot sauce at room temperature6 oz. fully cooked pre-grilled chicken strips

PROCEDUREToss vegetables and place in serving bowl. Blend ranch dressing and half the blue cheese crumbles; set aside. In a standard oven or microwave, heat chicken strips just until hot, then toss in hot sauce. Pour ranch-blue cheese dressing on salad greens. With tongs or slotted spoon, remove chicken strips from hot sauce and place atop salad. Garnish with remaining blue cheese crumbles and serve.

SOUTWESTERN STEAK SANDWICHYield: 1 serving

INGREDIENTS4 oz. pre-grilled steak strips (or substitute pre-grilled chicken strips)1/2 oz. green pepper, julienned1/2 oz. onion, julienned1 oz. canned, chopped green chiles, drained1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro1 Tbsp. cooking oil (olive oil or butter will work just as well)1 hoagie roll2 oz. shredded Monterey Jack or mozzarella

PROCEDUREIn a sauté pan over high heat, heat oil and cook peppers and onions until translucent. (This step can be done in bulk in anticipation of multiple orders. Be careful to cool the vegetables to stop them from overcooking.) Add steak and cilantro to pan and cook 1 minute. Spoon mixture onto open-faced hoagie roll and top with cheese and chiles. Bake in oven until cheese begins to brown and bread is lightly toasted.




Finding the marketing benefit

At Atlanta-based Stevi B’s Pizza, the company has turned the creation of new menu items into a special event for customers. The company, which operates 26 franchised and five company-owned locations in six states, features “Smash or Trash” Saturdays, where customers vote on whether new menu creations are a hit or a miss.

About 90 percent of the restaurant’s new menu items are created by using existing menu items in a new way.

“Adding a new product to the mix is challenging, especially from a sourcing standpoint,” said Stevi B’s president Jordan Krolick. “Sometimes it’s about repackaging what you already know, and this is a way for people to talk more about the food.”

Rearranging ingredients also can be a way to soften the impact of rising commodity costs, Krolick said. One example is chicken, the cost of which has risen dramatically over the past year.

The price of ham, on the other hand, has remained fairly stable. In order to continue serving pizzas topped with chicken without losing money, the company simply replaced some of the chicken with lower-cost ham.

“What we do to create some of those products is to take our more expensive items, use them less as toppings, and take more profitable items and use them more, and in the process create something the customers are going to love,” Krolick said. “That was the genesis of our chicken cordon bleu pizza.”

Looks matter

In principle, most items can be cross-utilized, but in practice, that’s not always the case. Diced pepperoni is great for preparation speed on the make line, and it can be used to make spicy, unique breadsticks. But it may not work on a sandwich or look impressive on an antipasto platter.




Likewise, steak strips are great on pizzas and do well on sandwiches, but they’re not convenient if customers need to cut them in a salad bowl.

To get a better understanding of how fully cooked meat items can be cross-utilized, operators can ask distributors or manufacturers for samples and recipe suggestions. Most have menu ideas and

proven, tested recipes, not to mention a good idea of marketplace and regional trends. In the meantime, experiment with new ideas. Check out websites, such as Burke’s, for new ideas.

Paul Conner, owner of Choo Choo Charlie’s Pizza in Dubuque, Iowa, wound up drawing on his existing inventory when he developed a concept called Rhino’s.



The restaurant, which is connected by a doorway to Choo Choo Charlie’s, serves high-end sandwiches, burgers and pastas. The main elements in Rhino’s gyro salad, taco salad and chicken salad all come from the toppings line at the pizzeria.

“I just like to experiment and tinker with the menu,” Conner said. “And it made sense to use the ingredients I already had in my operation to develop new things. That doesn’t work in every case, of course, but it worked in some areas of Rhino’s menu.”




Chapter 10 Organic and sustainable: The new buzzwords

Sustainability involves the use of products that are healthy and socially and environmentally responsible, and promote simple living. For pizzerias, this often means finding natural, organic, locally grown ingredients.

For pizzeria operators who want to take advantage of the greening of the market, “sustainable” and a whole

collection of related terms are important.

Consumers identify six key values when thinking about sustainability, according to researchers at the Hartman Group: healthy, local, socially responsible, environmentally responsible, promotes simple living and controlled. And often, implementing these values leads consumers to natural, organic, sustainable and locally produced ingredients.

Natural indicates minimal processing and the absence of artificial ingredients. And while organic has strict guidelines for production, it generally refers to products grown without the use of artificial pesticides, fertilizers or other additives.

Pete Bonahoon, owner of Galactic Pizza in Minneapolis, prefers that the products in his pizzas come from nearby farms. He has provided locally grown ingredients in his pizza since he opened his business four years ago.

Bonahoon uses produce and ingredients grown in Minnesota and Wisconsin whenever he can. To get started, he contacted local distributors, farmers and the Southeast Minnesota Food Network, which provides restaurants, caterers, growers and other institutions with access to nearly 90 regional producers.

“I had to research in my area to see how I could get locally grown ingredients,” he said. “It takes a little effort, but it’s worth it.”

Some of the ingredients and produce he uses are typical, but at least one of his pizzas is made entirely with locally grown toppings. Because the harvest varies, he never knows what the pizza will feature. Recently, it was topped with parsnip, arugula, garlic scapes, pesto and Parmesan cheese.

Those pies are known as CSA pizzas because the fresh produce comes from farms that are part of a growing trend called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Members of a community support local farms by pledging to pay a certain amount of money each season to ensure that the farm has steady customers. In return, the “shareholders” receive a portion of the harvest throughout the growing season.



CHAPTER 10 Organic and sustainable: The new buzzwords

The pizzeria purchased a share in a local CSA, and the vegetables and other ingredients the farm produces are used for the CSA pizza.

“They can end up being some weird toppings,” he said.

The cost of the pizza is $12.55 for a small and $18.15 for a large, about the same as Galactic’s other specialty pizzas.

But Bonahoon’s customers who want pies made with locally grown ingredients are not complaining about the price. Revenue at his restaurant has doubled in four years.

He acknowledges that trying to use locally grown ingredients means he has to deal with the element of unpredictability. For instance, flooding in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the spring of 2008 affected what local products his restaurant offered. And winters in Minnesota also mean a relatively short window for using local produce.

Bonahoon notes which pizzas are made with organic ingredients on his menus but cannot do the same with locally grown ones.

“We can’t mark it as locally grown because (what is offered) fluctuates so much,” he said.

For operations that don’t have the opportunity to join a CSA, purchasing from local farmers’ markets may be an option.

Frequent deliveries a key

Nationwide, the local foods market was valued at $5 billion last year and is projected to grow to $7 billion by 2011, according to Packaged Facts, a publisher of food market research.

Although there isn’t a clear-cut definition of what makes a food product locally grown, the distance most food has to travel to reach the dining table is significant, according to a study done at the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan. It reports that the average American foodstuff travels an estimated 1,500 miles before it is eaten.

1. Serve smaller portions: According to Rita Schenk, executive director of the Institute for Environmental Research and Education, a whopping 40 percent of food in the United States is thrown away, primarily in the foodservice environment. “Serving smaller portions to minimize waste is one way to help,” she said.

2. Package food with less waste: Plastic and Styrofoam are out. Recycled paper, recyclable foil and compostable and reusable containers are in. According to Worthington, packaging is a critical area and a simple starting point for restaurants looking for more sustainability.

3. Quality ingredients: Worthington said that not everything on the menu has to be organic or locally grown, but operators should “feature items that might be.” She also encourages restaurants to tell the story of fresh food when they have one to tell.

Easy ways to be green— and save green — now



CHAPTER 10 Organic and sustainable: The new buzzwords

“It makes our menu even more appealing when we can say we offer grass-fed New York strip steak

[in New York or Pennsylvania] as a topping.”

— Ashley Rathgeber, supply chain developer, Pizza Fusion

Ashley Rathgeber, supply chain developer for Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Pizza Fusion, is used to such issues. The company, which was founded two years ago, is a sustainable restaurant that focuses on natural and organic ingredients and is as eco-friendly as possible.

Like Bonahoon, she said customers appreciate the emphasis on locally grown foods and does not see the demand for these items decreasing.

“We have definitely filled a niche,” she said. “But it’s the way society is moving. Look at (the success of ) Whole Foods. People want to know what’s in their food and where it’s coming from.”

Pizza Fusion buys its produce in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

“We’d rather buy lettuce grown in Florida or Alabama than buy lettuce shipped from thousands of miles away,” she said.

Locally grown products have an additional attraction, Rathgeber said. They add interest and unique flavors to their pizzas. And when new restaurants open in such locations as Pennsylvania, Washington, New Jersey and New York, they also will rely on locally grown products.

“It makes our menu even more appealing when you can say you offer grass-fed New York strip steak (in New York or Pennsylvania) as a topping,” she said.

Her advice to pizza operators looking to add locally grown ingredients is to start slowly. She also recommends asking natural-foods or health-store owners who their distributors are.

“I like to get a personal recommendation from someone who already uses them so I know what to expect as far as customer service and product quality,” she said.

But using local or organic ingredients means pizzeria operators may have to change other ways of doing business, such as ordering produce.

“You’ll notice peppers that don’t have that wax covering spoil more quickly,” she said. “You want to order less quantity but have more frequent deliveries.”

And like Bonahoon, she said one of the company’s concerns is to keep the costs of their pizzas at a level that customers will still find appealing, but the trouble is worth it.

“Your customers will thank you,” Rathgeber said.


profiting from pizza toppings

Documents

pizza toppings page

toppings trends

information toppings

introduction toppings

line page

raw toppings

samethings toppings

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