News

Domino's crowns 1st Canadian 'Fastest Pizza Maker'

May 24, 2018

How fast can you get a pizza in the oven? Well, at one Canadian Domino's Pizza, if franchise owner Werner Lomker is on the "make" desk for the day, you can get that pizza prepped and oven-ready in19 seconds. We know that now because this week at the 2018 World's Fastest Pizza Maker competition in Las Vegas, Lomker did just that in front of a 9,000-spectator crowd. 

AT the Domino's franchisee face-off, Lomker made three large pizzas in 57 seconds — roughly 19 seconds each. For his troubles, Lomker won $3,000 in prize money, a trophy and the title of World's Fastest Pizza Maker, presented by Domino's President and CEO Patrick Doyle, a news release said. 

"Winning the World's Fastest Pizza Maker competition is absolutely amazing," said Lomker. "I feel very fortunate to bring an honor like this home to Canada for the first time."

World's Fastest Pizza Maker finalists came from Domino's stores all around the world to compete. They had to hand-stretch fresh dough, sauce and top three large pizzas — one pepperoni, one mushroom and one cheese — as quickly as possible. 

While speed was important, it was not the only part of the equation in determining the World's Fastest Pizza Maker. This year, participants were graded on three criteria: dough/sauce, portioning of toppings and placement. Quality was scrutinized by two judges and if the pizza was not perfect, time penalties were added to the final time or the pizza was disqualified.  

Lomker has been a part of the Domino's brand his entire life, as his father is also a franchise owner. His first in-store experience came assisting his parents in the stores during rush hour. Lomker now owns 10 Domino's locations throughout Canada.

"Winning the title this year was especially important, because my father, who is battling pancreatic cancer, was able to be there as well," he said in the release. "While I received this award, he was inducted in the Canadian's Chairman's Circle, a prestigious award given to exemplary franchise owners. I'm so proud of our accomplishments and thrilled we could share in each other's joys."