Who’ll be Australia’s best pizzamaker in 2008?

The Dairy Farmers Best of the Best Pizza Challenge National Final comes to Melbourne in September as part of Fine Food Australia.
Now  more than 10 years old, it is regarded by many as Australia’s premier pizza award.

There are 10 finalists, 5 traditional and 5 gourmet pizzamakers, all vying for the title of National Champion. All of them have already competed under the scrutiny of seasoned judging panels at state level and walked away with certificates, trophies and cash prizes.

Traditional Finalists

	Queensland	Salvatore Mazzullo - Arriva Italian Restaurant, New Farm
	Victoria	Angelo Sanfillipo - The Boathouse, Moonee Ponds
	New South Wales	Riccardo Moretti – La Piazza, Bankstown
	Western Australia	Amy Millar - Little Caesars Pizzeria, Mundaring
	South Australia	Mel Anastasio - Bocelli Caffe Ristorante, Adelaide

 

Gourmet Finalists

 

	Queensland	Chris Symons - Vitto Caffe Ristorante, Pacific Paradise
	Victoria	Kris Bailey – Pantry, Brighton
	New South Wales	Jacinta Cannataci - Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross
	Western Australia	Brendan Spencer -  K.I.S.S. Pizza, Marmion
	South Australia	Damon de Ruiter - Angaston Roaring 40s Café, Angaston

Consistency throughout the competition will be a major key with an extra category being added to the 3 that featured in the state events.  Competitors will need to showcase their talents in all of the 4 categories including:

• The best use of cheese
• The best use of smallgoods
• The best use of seafood
• Mystery category TBA

The overall highest point scorer out of all 10 will become the national winner. They and their establishment will share in a range of prizes. The range includes a trophy, prize money, equipmet, pizza boxes and a marketing support package.
In each category the judges look at a range of elements. Some of these are taste, creativity, balance of ingredients and commercial viability of the pizza creations.

The competition is being held at a food industry-only event, not open to the general public. If media wish to come along to see the action you’ll need to register as a visitor. This can be done online at finefoodexpo.com.au

In addition to Dairy Farmers, the following are major sponsors of the competition: K R Castlemaine, Spyral Food Equipment, First Pack and Stoddart Food Service Equipment.

Other 2008 National Finalists

Traditional	Gourmet
Angelo Sanfillipo The Boathouse in Moonee Ponds, Victoria	Kris Bailey Pantry in Brighton, Victoria
Salvatore Mazzullo Arriva Italian Restaurant in New Farm, Queensland	Chris Symons Vitto Caffe Ristorante in Pacific Paradise, Queensland
Riccardo Moretti La Piazza, Bankstown, New South Wales	Jacinta Cannataci Hugo’s Lounge, Kings Cross, New South Wales
Amy Millar Little Caesars Pizzeria, Mundaring, Western Australia	Brendan Spencer K.I.S.S. Pizza, Marmion, Western Australia
Mel Anastasio Bocelli Caffe Ristorante, Adelaide, South Australia	Damon de Ruiter Angaston Roaring 40s Café, Angaston, South Australia