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California Pizza Kitchen goes for Cauliflower Pizza (K)rust nationwide

November 21, 2017

California Pizza Kitchen — a brand often referred to as simply CPK — has a new offering that may earn it another title with those initials: Cauliflower Pizza (K)rust. The brand is the first national pizza chain to roll out a cauliflower-based pizza crust, starting Monday, at three Southern California locations.

The crust will make its official debut at locations in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Rainbow Harbor on Monday. It can be ordered on any pizza as a sub-in for hand-tossed or crispy thin crusts, though there is an additional $2.50 charge. A brand spokeswoman told Pizza Marketplace that CPK has put a growing focus on adding vegetable-centric dishes on its menu over the last few years. Some of those offerings including shrimp scampi zucchini fettucine with zucchini ribbons, a spicy Buffalo cauliflower, and protein-packed "Power Bowls" featuring super-grains and fresh vegetables.  

The brand prides itself and puts continued emphasis on menu innovation, a mainstay of the chain since its 1985 founding. It was the first national restaurant brand to bring gluten-free pizza crust into systemwide use in 2013 and it stakes claim to the "original BBQ chicken pizza." 

The new cauliflower crust coming into national use next year is another step in the direction of both pizza innovation, as well as trend-tracking. Vegetable fuel diets are becoming increasingly popular with both health-conscious and environmentally focused individuals seeking food sources produced with fewer resources than things like beef and other livestock that require far more water, fuel and grain to produce than vegetables.