Domino's Pizza Crowns 'World's Fastest Pizza Maker'

LAS VEGAS, July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- This afternoon, amidst pounding thunder sticks and 6,000 cheering spectators, Domino's Pizza named Pali Grewal the 2010 World's Fastest Pizza Maker.  Grewal, a Domino's World’s Fastest Pizza Maker from the UK, made three large pizzas in an impressive 39.1 seconds.  That's making three pizzas in just over 13 seconds each!  Grewal won $3,000 in prize money, a trophy and the coveted title presented by Domino's President and CEO, J. Patrick Doyle.

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“I’ve been hungry for this title for such a long time and it is just awesome to finally win it,” said Grewal. “Like any great athlete, I’ve been practicing and practicing and now I am going to take a day off.”

The finalists represented Domino's Pizza stores from around the world, as far away as Malaysia.  They had to hand-stretch fresh dough, pizza sauce and top three large pizzas – one pepperoni, one mushroom and one cheese – as quickly as possible.  While speed was important, it was only part of the recipe.  Quality was scrutinized as two judges highly qualified in Domino's standard pizza-making practices, inspected the stretching of the dough, application of the sauce and portioning of toppings during the competition.  If the pizza was not perfect, it was returned to the competitor who remade the entire pizza, while still being timed.

Grewal, a multi-store franchisee from Surrey, has been with Domino’s for over 18 years. Grewal has been making pizzas since he was 13-years-old.

Domino's began the "World's Fastest Pizza Maker" competition in 1982 to honor pizza makers who best exemplify the company's philosophy of keeping efficiency in the store to allow sufficient time for safe, timely pizza delivery.  

"Domino's Pizza is extremely proud to employ the fastest pizza makers in the world," said Doyle.  

"Our emphasis is on the quality of the pizza, while also using our expertise to get them made quickly.  The goal for everyone in our stores is to get hot, great-tasting pizzas to customers' doors as quickly as possible.  The annual 'World's Fastest Pizza Maker' competition recognizes those who do this with the speed of champions every day."

The "World's Fastest Pizza Maker" competition was held at Domino's 50th Anniversary Worldwide Rally in Las Vegas and attended by nearly 6,000 Domino's team members and franchisees from around the world.

SATELLITE FEED:

B-Roll of the event will run on July 22 and 23, 2010 on the following coordinates:

About Domino's Pizza^®

Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery. Domino's is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "DPZ." Through its primarily locally-owned and operated franchised system, Domino's operates a network of 9,036 franchised and Company-owned stores in the United States and over 60 international markets. The Domino's Pizza® brand, named a Megabrand by Advertising Age magazine, had global retail sales of over $5.6 billion in 2009, comprised of nearly $3.1 billion domestically and over $2.5 billion internationally. During the first quarter of 2010, the Domino's Pizza® brand had global retail sales of over $1.4 billion, comprised of nearly $823 million domestically and over $644 million internationally. In June 2010, Pizza Today, the leading publication of the pizza industry,  named Domino's its "Chain of the Year" – making the company a two-time winner of the honor, which they previously received in 2003. In 2009, Domino's ranked number one in customer satisfaction in a survey of consumers of the U.S. largest limited service restaurants, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).  Domino's has expanded its menu significantly since 2008 to include Oven Baked Sandwiches and BreadBowl Pasta^TM, and recently debuted its 'Inspired New Pizza' – a permanent change to its core hand-tossed product, reinvented from the crust up with new sauce, cheese and garlic seasoned crust.

SOURCE Domino's PIZZA