2012 Bluegrass Pizza Bake-Off results are in...

Traditional Category: 1st place: Fat Kats Pizzeria 2nd place (tie): Goodfella's & Sal's

Non-Traditional Category: 1st place: The Bridge Pizza 2nd place: Sal's 3rd place: Shakespeare & Co.

...and the Grand Prize winner is The Bridge Pizza!

Bake-off
Competition Information

Awards

There will be two judging divisions, Traditional and Non-Traditional, and one over-all grand prize winner. The grand prize winner will earn a trip to Italy and have a chance to compete with the US pizza team.

The winners of both the Traditional division & the Non-Traditional division will receive the title of "Best Pizza in Central Kentucky 2012" for their division, a plaque with their title and competition information, a check for $1,000 and a free entry into the category of your choice in the next year's Bluegrass Pizza Bake-off competition. The runners up in each division will each receive a check for $500.

The winners will also be announced in an article in the food section of the Lexington Herald Leader.

Deadline

Entries will be accepted up until the day before the event, September 10, 2012, unless the maximum number of entries is received. No refunds or cancellations are permitted.

Judges

This year the public will get a chance to vote in the first round with a donation to the Lexington Humane Society. The top three pizzas chosen by the public will then be judged by two culinary experts and will be scored based on taste and appearance to determine the winner and runner-up for each division.

Sharon Thompson is a food writer for the Lexington Herald -Leader and is the author of Flavors of Kentucky and Recipes from a Kentucky Blackberry Patch.

Chef Santo Bruno is the Culinary Coach of the U.S. Pizza Team. He was the 3rd place winner in the Food Network's Pizza Challenge in 2005. He has appeared on Life & Style and Martha Stewart. He owns Bellisimo Ristorante in Tampa, Florida.

Step One

Decide which divisions you will be entering. The Traditional division includes any two toppings from the list below (Step Three). The non-Traditional division includes gourmet pizzas with any ingredients provided by the contestants. Note: Entry fee is $50 per division. Contestants may enter both divisions for $100.

Step Two

Complete the online entry form here or mail your form and payment to:

Attn: Bluegrass Pizza Bake-off
PizzaOvens.com
PO Box 24886
Lexington, KY 40356

You can also fax the form in with credit card information to 1-859-885-1938.
Entry forms without payment will NOT be accepted. Confirmation will be sent to qualified entrants.

Step Three

Gather equipment & enough ingredients to prepare approx. 10-15 pizzas per category entered, as the public will be judging the preliminary round. Every contestant must bring his or her own pizza dough and sauce. Wood-fired, conveyor and deck pizza ovens will be provided.

Pizza peels, cutters and serving trays will be provided. No pizza pans will be provided. Contestants may bring any other cooking utensils needed for the competition. Contestants may bring any other ingredients and/or use those provided by PizzaOvens.com & Presto Foods. The following ingredients will be provided by Presto Foods:

Step Four

Bring dough, sauce, ingredients and cooking utensils to the Fifth Third Pavilian at Cheapside Park on Tuesday September 11th. Cheapside Park is located adjacent to the Lexington History Museum on the Main Street block between Upper Street and Mill Street. Contestants may arrive as early as 4:00 for prep and practice time. The competition begins at 6:00pm.

View Larger Map

Step Five

The public will then taste each competitor's pizza in both divisions and will anonymously score each entry. After the scorecards have been tallied the judges will taste the pizzas from the top three contestants. The judges will then choose a winner and runner up for each division, and an over-all winner and awards will be announced.

Notes

Contest is limited to the first 30 paid entries received in each division. Only one entry per establishment in each division will be accepted. No refunds or cancellations are permitted.

For any other questions please contact a PizzaOvens.com representative at (859)-885-1988.