Pizza Challenge: five teams meet at the Great Big Food Show in Cleveland to show off their tastiest pies and throw some dough.
JUDGES:
Chef Mario Batali
Big Dave Ostrander
Ed Levine
COMPETITORS:
Team California: Chef Ted Rowe, Tony Gemignani
Team New York: Chef Francesco Ilardi (ILARDI), Joe Calucci
Team Chicago: Chef Marc Stolfe, Chris Green
Team Ohio: Chef Sean Brauser, Michael Shepherd
Team South: Chef Santo Bruno, Silar Chapman
IMAGES:
Team South chef Santo Bruno works on his "Friday" pizza, which is topped with tuna, along with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Michael Shepherd, acrobat for Team Ohio, shows his award-winning moves to an enthusiastic hometown crowd.
The man to beat, Tony Gemignani from Team California, shows the form that won him five past world tossing championships.
The dough used for competitive tossing is real pizza dough, made with high gluten and high protein flour. Competitors sometimes practice with rubber dough forms.
New York pizza chef Francesco Ilardi presents his "humble" pie to the judges. He finishes his "Holiday" pizza with tri-color pasta.
Celebrity judges, including Mario Batali, rate the pizzas on three criteria: the bake, the presentation, and the taste.
