Spanning 14 countries and over 500 restaurants, PizzaExpress has been on the hunt for its top waiters and pizza chefs. Celebrating these vital roles, PizzaExpress’ Global Waiter and Pizzaiolo Competition has been reinvigorated ahead of the restaurant group’s 50th birthday celebrations in 2015.
Earlier this month, the finalists from Dubai, Hong Kong, Ireland and the UK travelled to London to show off their talents to a judging panel, with the event compered by top chef, Theo Randall.
Each entrant submitted a short video, demonstrating their skills as well as their passion for the brand. The best 32 were then visited in their restaurants by two members of the judging panel before just four from each category went through to the live final.
Winning Pizzaiolo
The winning Pizzaiolo was Anwar Khan from Jazz@PizzaExpress Jumeriah Lake Towers in Dubai. His passion for the brand even goes as far as running marathons whilst representing PizzaExpress, as well as his great support for his team and great food. Anwar submitted an original pizza recipe featuring a creamy pesto base, marinated sea bass, sweet cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic oil, oregano and pepper, and finished with rocket, pesto and a lemon wedge.
Waiter of the Year
Konrad Cholewa from Amersham PizzaExpress scooped the waiter of the year award thanks to the outstanding rapport he has with his guests and his clear dedication – including personally returning a lost camera to a customer on the day of her daughter’s wedding.
Understanding what it takes to deliver great service
Operations Director, Zoe Bowley, said, “Our pizzaiolos and waiters are at the front line of everything we do so it’s really important that we celebrate them. Our Waiter and Pizzaiolo Competition is hugely fun and engaging way to reward them, and a great way for other areas of the business to understand what it takes to deliver great service.”
Anwar and Konrad both won £1,500, a trip to Italy including £500 spending money, a chance to work in the PizzaExpress Development Kitchen and an exclusive master class in Italian cooking with Theo Randall.
New Autumn menu from 7 October
PizzaExpress’ new Autumn menu launches on 7 October and features new starters, pizzas, a new calzone and four new desserts including a low-calorie Leggera Chocolate Cheesecake
Back by popular demand, Dough Balls Formaggi (cheesy Dough Balls) will become a permanent feature on the menu having been introduced as a special in January
There are even more low-calorie, vegetarian and gluten-free choices including a new Melanzanine starter, which is both vegetarian and gluten-free, Leggera Gambaretti Piccante, which is low-calorie and gluten-free, and three new pizzas, which can all be served on a gluten-free base – the Melanzane, which is also vegetarian, the Carbonara, and the Mare Rossa.
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