The Vancouver Foodster 10th 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 4-28, 2024. and their customers voted for their favourites daily throughout the challenge for their People’s Choice favourites.
The Winners are:
1st Place:
{116 points}
Gastronomy Gastown
The Prince and the Pea
Price: $25
Created by: Chef Selim Dahmane
Drawing inspiration from my rich heritage, which spans between Morocco and France, this creation holds a special place in my heart.
April signifies more than just the month of my birthday; it represents a yearly renaissance for me. With longer, sunnier days and an abundance of vibrant, colorful vegetables, it’s a time of celebration and inspiration. Through this pizza, I aim to showcase a fusion of my cultural background and the seasonal delights April brings.
The pea cream base pays homage to my French grandmother, who instilled in me a love for seasonal vegetables through her regular visits to the farmers’ market. On the other hand, the chermoula sauce, a staple in Moroccan cuisine, adds a burst of vibrant flavors that beautifully contrast with the creaminess of the sauce and burrata. The addition of lardo at the end enhances the dish with its rich umami flavor. I usually like to build pizza like I build a dish , and the toasted hazelnut will bring that crunchiness that we always like to have, comte , one of my faourite French cheeses will come afterward rehencing the nutty flavor.
Ingredients:
- Neapolitan Pizza Dough (fermented over three days)
- English pea sauce (made with pea, ricotta, creme fraiche, and Grana Padano)
- Fior di latte
- Grated Grana Padano cheese
- Shredded burrata cheese
- Chermoula sauce
- Lardo
- Crushed hazelnuts
- Shaved Comte cheese
Offered: This pizza will be available from Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesday’s), exclusively for dinner service and take out
Delivery: not available.
Gastronomy Gastown
62 E. Cordova Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-331-0557
Web: https://www.gastronomygastown.com/
Instagram @gastronomygastown
2nd Place:
{114 points}
Pizza Rubato Napoletana
Pistacchio Virtuoso
Price: $ 28 for 14″ pizza
Created by: Duman & Ilaria
Description: Let’s start by saying we love pistachio. It’s one of the main protagonists of our regular menu and something that represents Rubato. We could say that pistachio is somewhat the king in this case. And for every king, there must be a queen. Here she is: the fresh, milky Burrata delighting with its creaminess and sweetness, with a texture that melts in the mouth. The Speck DOP from Südtirol-Alto Adige (in the Alps where the Italian and the Austrian cultures meet and mix) comes along adding a smoky, savoury flavor to this pizza. Some chili-infused honey and cayenne pepper are there to spice things up a bit. Adorned with pistachio crumbles, Pistacchio Virtuoso aims to offer a combination of flavours, where the smokiness, the sweetness and the spiciness are well balanced, so that you can have it all at once!
Ingredients: Pistachio Pesto, Fior di Latte, DOP Parmigiano, Speck DOP, Fresh Burrata, Crushed Pistachio, Rosemary, Chili Infused Honey, Cayenne Pepper
Offered: Daily, all the time
Available: for delivery and pick-up too. (For a better experience, though, we strongly suggest dining in).
Pizza Rubato Napoletana
561 W. Broadway, Vancouver
Tel:(604) 909-0773
Web: https://www.pizzarubato.com/
Instagram @pizzarubato
3rd Place:
{108 points}
Wild Flour Pizza Co
Perfect Storm
Price: $23
Created by: the team
Description: Sourdough pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, ezzo pepperoni, pickled pineapples, jalapenos, crispy pork XO, dried oregano
Ingredients: red sauce, mozzarella, ezzo pepperoni, pickled pineapples, jalapenos, crispy pork XO, dried oregano
Offered: all the time
Available: for dine-in, take out, or delivery through our delivery partners (Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkiptheDishes)
Wild Flour Pizza Co
2900 Bainbridge Avenue, #104, Burnaby
Tel: 604 213 9898
Web:https://www.wildflourpizza.ca/
Instagram @wildflourpizzaco
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:
Gastronomy Gastown
The Prince and the Pea
Price: $25
Created by: Chef Selim Dahmane
Drawing inspiration from my rich heritage, which spans between Morocco and France, this creation holds a special place in my heart.
April signifies more than just the month of my birthday; it represents a yearly renaissance for me. With longer, sunnier days and an abundance of vibrant, colorful vegetables, it’s a time of celebration and inspiration. Through this pizza, I aim to showcase a fusion of my cultural background and the seasonal delights April brings.
The pea cream base pays homage to my French grandmother, who instilled in me a love for seasonal vegetables through her regular visits to the farmers’ market. On the other hand, the chermoula sauce, a staple in Moroccan cuisine, adds a burst of vibrant flavors that beautifully contrast with the creaminess of the sauce and burrata. The addition of lardo at the end enhances the dish with its rich umami flavor. I usually like to build pizza like I build a dish , and the toasted hazelnut will bring that crunchiness that we always like to have, comte , one of my faourite French cheeses will come afterward rehencing the nutty flavor.
Ingredients:
- Neapolitan Pizza Dough (fermented over three days)
- English pea sauce (made with pea, ricotta, creme fraiche, and Grana Padano)
- Fior di latte
- Grated Grana Padano cheese
- Shredded burrata cheese
- Chermoula sauce
- Lardo
- Crushed hazelnuts
- Shaved Comte cheese
Offered: This pizza will be available from Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesday’s), exclusively for dinner service and take out
Delivery: not available.
Gastronomy Gastown
62 E. Cordova Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-331-0557
Web: https://www.gastronomygastown.com/
Instagram @gastronomygastown
2nd Place People’s Choice:
Backcountry Brewing
Taters Gonna Tate
Price: $24
Creator: Backcountry Kitchen Team
Description: Carbs are energy. Energy is life. This pizza might just change yours. We’re not trying to re-invent the cheese wheel here, we just love to make a delicious pie. Much like our beer, this pizza is full-bodied and oozing with flavor! It has raclette cheese! Come on Ref!! Where’s the bell?! It’s the raclette-upset baby!! Buckle up for a trip to flavor town! Unless you’re one of those types who thinks potatoes don’t belong on pizza? Pfff. Taters Gonna Tate.
Ingredients: Featuring our house-made, hand-tossed dough, a garlic cream base, mozzarella, raclette cheese by Alexis de Portneuf (the good stuff), fresh rosemary, thin yellow onions, sliced Yukon gold potatoes and finished expertly with parsley.
Availability: Daily from 12pm – 10pm with last call for food (dine in or take-out) at 9:15pm.
Takeout Takeout; yes, anytime within taproom hours mentioned above..
Delivery: not available.
Backcountry Brewing
405-1201 Commercial Way, Squamish
Tel:(604) 567-2739
Web: https://www.backcountrybrewing.com/
Instagram @backcountrybrewing
3rd Place People’s Choice:
Wild Flour Pizza Co
Perfect Storm
Price: $23
Created by: the team
Description: Sourdough pizza with red sauce, mozzarella, ezzo pepperoni, pickled pineapples, jalapenos, crispy pork XO, dried oregano
Ingredients: red sauce, mozzarella, ezzo pepperoni, pickled pineapples, jalapenos, crispy pork XO, dried oregano
Offered: all the time
Available: for dine-in, take out, or delivery through our delivery partners (Uber Eats, DoorDash, SkiptheDishes)
Wild Flour Pizza Co
2900 Bainbridge Avenue, #104, Burnaby
Tel: 604 213 9898
Web:https://www.wildflourpizza.ca/
Instagram @wildflourpizzaco
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: Emma Clark, David Grange and Jacqueline Chui.
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