Amedeo Francesco Broccolo named Chef of the Year at Canadian Pizza Summit East

Toronto – Canadian Pizza Summit East once again served as a showcase for talented, creative Canadian pizza chefs.

Canadian Pizza, sister magazine to Bakers Journal, hosted the event and offers this report.

Our Chef of the Year is Amedeo Francesco Broccolo, pizza chef at Fratelli Broccolo, a catering and event business he runs with brother Michael in Thorold, Ont., near Niagara Falls. Broccolo’s wowed the judges with his truffle-forward contemporary-style pizza.

Second-place honours went to Thomas Schneider, owner of Tommy’s Pizzeria in Winnipeg. Schneider tickled the taste buds of judges with his Detroit-style pizza, a bit of departure from his pizza menu. Schneider previously competed at the Pizza World Championships in Parma, Italy, where he was named “Best Pizza Maker in Canada” and joined the World Pizza Champions Team.

Ali Isitmezoglu of Pizza-Boat in Burlington, Ont., placed third with the pizzeria’s signature boat-shaped pizza featuring sauteed spinach, mushrooms and pulled beef.

In a well-attended demo, Talia di Napoli, described how their crusts are made in Naples, cryogenically frozen in a patented process, and shipped to your pizzeria to be enjoyed as an added Neapolitan thin-crust style.

Our dedicated judges had their hands full evaluating 21 creative signature pizzas: Tom Stankiewicz, owner of Bondi’s Pizza in London, Ont., and our 2009 Chef of the Year; Giorgio Taverniti owns Frank’s Pizza House in Toronto; Frank Mazzuca, principal of Mazzuca Design, Photography & Ideas; and award-winning journalist and food writer Rita DeMontis.

Chefs baked their pizzas in one of four Moretti Forni ovens supplied by Faema Canada: the CEKY gas-fired oven, the Moretti Forni gas deck, the S Series electric deck and the Neapolis.

Amedeo Francesco Broccolo of Fratelli Broccolo in Thorold, Ont., is our newest Chef of the Year East! Broccolo impressed the judges with a truffle-forward pizza. He wins a trip to compete in Las Vegas Pizza Expo in March. Congratulations!

Thomas Schneider, owner of Tommy’s Pizzeria in Winnipeg, earned second place with a Detroit-style departure from his menu. Photos: Canadian Pizza

Ali Isitmezoglu of Pizza-Boat in Burlington, Ont., nabbed third place with Turkish pizza!

The Great Pizza Box Fold-Off returned with an enthusiastic group rallied by Jack Burton, associate editor for Canadian Pizza. Allison Leroux of Amadio’s Pizza in Port Credit, Ont., won the fold-off which includes a $100 gift certificate for Annex ‘Canadian Pizza’ Bookstore.

If attendees didn’t get their fill of great pizza by sampling the competition pizzas, they had a chance to enjoy more goodness as Faema Canada held an exciting margherita pizza eating contest. Delicious margherita pizzas were made by Faema’s master chef Pasquale Ponticello.

Thank you to Host and Platinum Sponsor Faema Canada, Gold Sponsor Lactalis Foodservice Canada, Silver Sponsor Lactalis Canada Foodservice, Bronze Sponsor Talia di Napoli and Lanyard Sponsor Lallemand Baking for supporting this who’s who of pizza innovation in Canada!

Enjoy this INSPIRING VIDEO courtesy of Frank Mazzuca, FamilyStyle, and check out our PIZZA SUMMIT EAST 2023 FACEBOOK GALLERY! Tag your friends, family, pizza team! While you’re at it, tag your BIA and local news media as well!

Congratulations to our outstanding competitors, please tag yourselves and share memories of this epic day in pizza with friends and family!

More to come in the pages of Canadian Pizza!