Pizza Today - December 2018 - 3

Commentary

Melt Your Heart

JEREMY WHITE

JWHITE@PIZZATODAY.COM

ast April I was in Italy and stopped
into a panini restaurant in Parma for
a quick lunch. It was a small shop that
constituted its home country's version of fast
food. Much like a major burger chain here in
the U.S., it was efficient and inexpensive. But
that's where the similarities stopped. Ingredient options included fior-di-latte, speck, a
variety of fresh veggies ... you name it.
Essentially, many of the ingredients you currently have on hand to operate your pizzeria,
plus a few more you may not carry if you're a
bit of a traditionalist.
I still remember the pleasure centers in my
brain lighting up when I took my first bite. I'd
had panini in the States plenty of times, sure.
But not like this. Maybe it's because I was so
hungry, maybe it was the Romantic notion that
comes along with being in the Old World, or
maybe it was that this simple fast food eatery
operated under an entirely different set of
expectations than American fast-food establishments. Whatever it was, this panini was
memorable. It had the right crunch, the right
gooey inner texture, the right mix of flavors
that I knew instantly I'd have to have another
before I left to return home.
On page 34, John Gutekanst makes mention
of the fact that we sometimes forget just how
good a well-done panini can be. He offers
excellent suggestions to help you add this
sandwich to your arsenal in a meaningful way.

If you don't serve panini, it's high time you
gave it a try. It just might boost lunch business!
For other great recipe ideas, our 2019 Menu
Guide begins on page 46. When you experiment with one of the recipes to make it your
own, be sure to snap a photo of the final result
and tag us on Instagram or Facebook. We'd
love to see how the items turn out in your
shop!
LASTLY: Thank you for all the wonderful
submissions for our next Young Entrepreneur
of the Year award! Our staff is poring over the
video entries now and will be whittling our
finalists down soon. It's not going to be an easy
task as many of the submissions have been
impressive.
If you're going to be at International Pizza
Expo 2019, be sure to attend the Young Entrepreneur of the Year (YEA) event on Wednesday, March 6, at the Las Vegas Convention
Center. The three finalists will get to make a
brief presentation to attendees and then the
crowd will vote in real-time to name our next
YEA. Good stuff !

Best,

JEREMY WHITE
EDITOR IN CHIEF

CLICK.EXPLORE.CONNECT. @PIZZATODAY

COVER: MENU GUIDE
PHOTO & LAYOUT:
JOSH KEOWN

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Pizza Today - December 2018

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