We're back from our very first International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas and we've got stories to tell! If you're unfamiliar, the International Pizza Expo is the Super Bowl of the pizza industry. Each March, pizzeria owners descend on Las Vegas to sample all of the latest ingredients, ovens and pizza gadgets. You'll find everything from the country's best San Marzano tomatoes to robots that make dough balls (warning: dough-ballers, your jobs are not safe!). The event attracts everyone from industry newbies who are just getting off the ground and doing research to pie industry vets.
In addition to product testing and sampling, the Pizza Expo also features workshops on topics like Neapolitan pizza dough-making, as well as the World Pizza Games, a series of competitive pizza events like the dough stretching competition, where pizzaiolos attempt to make the largest possible dough stretch without ripping. There's a little something for everyone and if you get bored of the pizza, you're in Vegas so there's plenty of trouble to be had.
After the first day of the expo we were fortunate to assemble a great crew of pizzeria owners to record a Round Table podcast, rehashing day one of the show and chatting about all things pizza. Check out Episode 5 of the Official Mike's Hot Honey Podcast below, featuring Emmett Burke of Emmett's (NYC), Scarr Pimentel of Scarr's Pizza (NYC), Derrick Tung of Paulie Gee's Logan Square (Chicago), Paulie Gee of Paulie Gee's (Brooklyn) and Drew Brown of Paulie Gee's and the Paulie Gee's Slice Shop (coming soon to Greenpoint, Brooklyn!).