MANILA -- An anchovies and goat cheese pizza created by Rodel Pico from California Pizza Kitchen's Bonifacio Global City branch won this year's Pizza Wars, an annual competition of the pizza chain to showcase new recipes from its in-house chefs.
The competition, which had several stages, beginning with in-store elimination rounds, held its finals last June 14 at the Shangri-La Plaza branch of California Pizza Kitchen.
On hand to judge the finalists were Global Restaurant Concepts, Inc. president and CEO Archie Rodriguez and CFO Griffith Go, who were joined by celebrity chefs Sau del Rosario and Sandy Daza.
Pico's winning creation surprised the judges and the audience with its unusual combination. Using the sweetness of golden apples and caramelized onions to temper the salty and savory combination of the anchovies and goat cheese was truly inspired.
Asked how he came up with the recipe, Pico said that CPK used to have an anchovy pizza in the menu. Since many customers were asking for it, he came up with "something better."
CPK Alabang’s Jeeric Venezuela took second place with his Dynamite Shrimp Pizza, which features chili popcorn shrimp and fresh cabbage, while the dressing for the shrimp was used for the sauce base of the pizza. This is for pizza lovers who love spice and Asian heat.
Third place went to CPK veteran Noel Araneta from the Greenbelt 5 branch with his Cod with Mango Cucumber Salsa Pizza.
A bit on the heavy side, a slice of this pizza is meal in itself, leveraging on familiar flavors of dried fish and mango ensalada. The cod was breaded, reminding one of the crispiness of sweet and sour pork on a base of mayo sweet chili sauce.
Aside from receiving a cash prize, this winning pizza will be featured as one of the free pizzas during the fifth anniversary of National Pizza Day on August 15-16. By simply ordering a regular or thin crust pizza, guests will get to have another pizza for free from the special pizza menu.
All of the pizzas will be considered for inclusion in CPK’s new menu, which will debut during the latter part of the year.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
