All Pizzas Are Not Created Equal Part IV

Today I'll talk about the various levels of quality of meats that you find out there.
Pepperoni: This is by far the #1 topping of choice in North America and there are various grades of quality out there. At Diana’s, we use a premium dry cured pepperoni, comprising of a mixture of 50% beef and 50% pork, our cost is over $4.50/pound. There are pepperonis out there that are less than $0.50/pound, and I don’t want to gross you out, but suffice to say we all know what cheap hot dogs are made of, it’s not much different. I wouldn’t feed these pepperonis to my cats, much less my dogs whom I’ve even seen eat some pretty gross stuff.

Chicken: There’s 100% white meat, and there's dark meat, then there’s mixtures of each. Then there is ‘whole muscle chicken’ which is exactly what it sounds like: whole muscle as opposed to chicken meat that has been ground up and reformed to look like pieces of whole muscle chicken. At Diana’s, we only use the top quality 100%, whole muscle chicken breast, which has gone through an extensive scanning process to ensure all the bones have been removed and we hand slice it before it’s ready to go on your pizza.

Beef: Here’s a scary fact for you. Years ago, we were shocked to find that the leading ‘beef topping’ used at many pizza places does not contain any beef. Way, way down on the ingredients list, past the yellow dye #68, past the fillers and by-products, you’ll find ‘beef  flavouring’. At Diana’s, we start with 100% lean ground beef, then we cook it and drain the fat off, then it’s ready to use. From there we add a special blend of taco spices to create our ‘Taco Beef’ and that becomes the base for our ‘Hot & Spicy Beef’ which we add Frank’s Hot Sauce and let it marinate for at least 24 hours before it’s ready to use. All of our beef is 100% real beef, there are no ‘beef toppings’ or ‘beef flavouring’ allowed at Diana’s.

In the summer season we source as many fresh vegetables as possible from a local farmer including, green peppers, red onions, Roma tomatoes, zuchinni, spinach and Basil.

A few months ago we purchased an Aerogarden hydroponic garden and we set that up in the dining room to grow fresh Basil for our Marguerita pizzas. It grows Basil very well, which is great because the shelf life of fresh Basil is very limited, usually only lasts 3-4 days after it’s been cut.

Perhaps one of the things that make us most unique is that we’re always adding and looking for top quality unique toppings to expand the palette and create interesting yet tasty pizzas for you, our customer. Even though neither Pierre nor I compete in baking competitions anymore—it’s a huge honour to be on the judges’ side:), we are always open to your suggestions and on the lookout for something spectacular to share with you.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I suppose I feel flattered that there are so many ‘gourmet’ pizzerias these days. More than a decade ago the trend was quantity over quality and we went against the herd to offer the best quality of pizzas that we could create using all natural ingredients like Olive Oil and 100% dairy cheeses.

We’ve always loved to create new and interesting tastes on pizza; this is how our ‘Taste of the Month’ pizzas that we feature in our monthly newsletter began. Every month we’ll bring in a new kind of cheese, or topping and create something completely different for the month. The most popular Taste of the Month pizzas are added to our regular menu.

Back in 2007 we brought on a slow-roasted pulled pork that we marinate with our Sweet’n’Tangy BBQ sauce and then add a splash of hot sauce for a little kick. It’s one of my personal favourites toppings , especially when paired with our dry-cured pepperoni and fresh hand cut pineapple with a cheddar cheese blend, which we call our “Sweet’n’Spicy Divine Swine”. This pizza was so popular that it was added to our menu back in 2008. I’m told of another pizza place in the city that claims to be the first to offer this ‘gourmet topping’, but since they didn’t exist in 2007, I don’t give it much thought.

When I was awarded “Canada’s best pizza chef of the year 2005” by Canadian Pizza magazine the editor flew out to spend the day with Pierre and I. He loved our newsletter and our unique approach to pizza and he asked me to write a regular column for the magazine. As a result I have exposed many other independent and chain pizzerias to our style and dedication to excellence in the art of pizza making. Today it isn’t uncommon to see more than one style of crust offered, more than one kind of sauce available and more than the 12 most common pizza toppings on pizza menus. I’ve been told by individuals who work for large pizza chains occupying positions from manager to franchisee, to VIP of operations, to CEO, that they read every column I write and they frequently check out our website and menu to see what the new trend is for pizza. I’m flattered and I am lucky to be considered an expert in my field, although I didn’t set out to be a leader in my industry and that aspect didn’t come about overnight.

My goal was to be known in Winnipeg as the place to go for great tasting gourmet pizzas; the awards, the media attention, the friendships with other talented pizza chefs from around the world and the honour of judging international competitions in Las Vegas and Italy are all cherries on top of a 20 year career focused on hard work and dedication to the art of pizza making.