Pizza Challenge 2022 Winners

The Vancouver Foodster 8th Pizza Challenge was a great success featuring unique creations at restaurants around Metro Vancouver including Squamish.  Each restaurant featured their creation on their menu from April 1-24, 2022. and their customers voted for their favourites daily throughout the challenge for their People’s Choice favourites.

Our media judging panel determined the ultimate winners of the challenge, and this was quite the task as each judge who tasted each creation with a rigorous process based on taste, originality/uniqueness and presentation/appearance.

Each media judge scored each creation with a maximum of 40 points as follows: Overall Taste 20 points, Originality and Uniqueness 10 points, Presentation and Appearance 10 points. The highest number of points a challenge creation could have been awarded is 120 points.

Our Media judges for this challenge were: Hanson Do, Karina Pangilinan and Rick Green

The Winners are:

1st Place:

{100 points}

Backcountry Brewing

Le Maigret

Price: $24

Created by: The Backcountry Kitchen Team

Description: A light beurre blanc base atop our homemade, hand tossed dough, baby red creamer potato medallions, house-made, slow-roasted duck confit, a blend of Manchego & mozzarella cheese, and roasted garlic cloves. This rich and savoury pizza is then finished with baby kale, drizzled with a 15-year aged blackberry balsamic reduction and sprinkled with shaved winter truffle. (The name is a play on the duck ingredient (magret) as well as an ode to Jules Maigret, fictional French police detective.)

Backcountry Brewing

405-1201 Commercial Way, Squamish

Tel:(604) 567-2739

Web: https://www.backcountrybrewing.com/

Twitter @Backcountry604

Instagram @backcountrybrewing

2nd Place:

{98 points}

Via Tevere Pizzeria

Sweet Salvatore

Price: $23

Created by: Mauro Romano

Description: It’s a sweet and spicy creation! Nduja romesco base (nduja, roasted red pepper, garlic, walnuts)

Ingredients: Fresh mozzarella, Ricotta, Pancetta, Roasted walnuts, Chillies, Honey, Parsley

Via Tevere Pizzeria

1190 Victoria Drive, Vancouver

Tel:(604) 336-1803

Web:https://viateverepizzeria.com/

Instagram @viateverepizza

3rd Place:

{95 points}

Darby’s Pub

Butter Chicken Pizza

Price: $19.95

Created by: Chef Anuj Sharma

Description: Darby’s Butter Chicken Pizza starts with a hand-tossed crust made inhouse and topped with housemade Butter Chicken sauce, marinated chicken, mozzarella, and garnished with dried parsley.

Ingredients: Butter Chicken Sauce, Chicken, Mozzarella, Parsley

Darby’s Pub

2001 Macdonald St, Vancouver

Tel: 604-731-0617

Web: www.darbyspub.ca

Instagram @Darbys_Kits

In the People’s Choice Awards category, the public who tried the Pizza Creations were the ones who had the opportunity to cast their vote throughout the challenge.

The Winners are:

1st Place People’s Choice:

Angry Otter Brewery

Marinara Meatball

Price: $22

Created by: Derek Neilson

Description: House-made Meatballs on top of plenty of Pepperoni with a collection of colourful Sweet Bell Peppers, topped with fresh Frizzled Onions and a beautiful BBQ drizzle.

Ingredients: Yellow Pepper, Green Pepper, Red Pepper, Orange Pepper, Pepperoni, Crispy Onion Straws, Bourbon BBQ Sauce, Mozzarella

Angry Otter Brewery

1015 Marine Drive, North Vancouver

Tel:(604) 984-1842

Web:http://www.angryotterbrewery.com/

Instagram @angryotterbrewery

2nd Place People’s Choice:

Via Tevere Pizzeria

Sweet Salvatore

Price: $23

Created by: Mauro Romano

Description: It’s a sweet and spicy creation! Nduja romesco base (nduja, roasted red pepper, garlic, walnuts)

Ingredients: Fresh mozzarella, Ricotta, Pancetta, Roasted walnuts, Chillies, Honey, Parsley

Via Tevere Pizzeria

1190 Victoria Drive, Vancouver

Tel:(604) 336-1803

Web:https://viateverepizzeria.com/

Instagram @viateverepizza

3rd Place People’s Choice:

Backcountry Brewing

Le Maigret

Price: $24

Created by: The Backcountry Kitchen Team

Description: A light beurre blanc base atop our homemade, hand tossed dough, baby red creamer potato medallions, house-made, slow-roasted duck confit, a blend of Manchego & mozzarella cheese, and roasted garlic cloves. This rich and savoury pizza is then finished with baby kale, drizzled with a 15-year aged blackberry balsamic reduction and sprinkled with shaved winter truffle. (The name is a play on the duck ingredient (magret) as well as an ode to Jules Maigret, fictional French police detective.)

Backcountry Brewing

405-1201 Commercial Way, Squamish

Tel:(604) 567-2739

Web: https://www.backcountrybrewing.com/

Twitter @Backcountry604

Instagram @backcountrybrewing

Thank you to all the chefs and restaurants that accepted my invitation and featured the Pizza Challenge creations on the menu for the past few weeks during this challenge.

I encourage you to visit the winning restaurants to try their Pizza creations if they are still available! See all the Pizza Challenge Entries Here.

By: Richard Wolak

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