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Reel-world education

World Pizza Champions serve up trade secrets and skills lessons with new video-driven Web site.

February 1, 2006

Throughout the pizza industry's history, if you wanted to learn the tricks of the trade, you stood over someone's shoulder, attended a seminar or hired a consultant for a personal demonstration. Now, however, a rich source of operational information is on the Internet at The World Pizza Champions' Web site.

The recently launched "How To" section of the site includes instructional videos on skills building, equipment education, recipe instructions and the dough acrobatics which made the team's members famous. WPC founder Tony Gemignani said he and the team's 16 other members want to share what they've learned with operators who want to improve their businesses.

"If you're interested in buying a $20,000 piece of equipment, be it a Roto-Flex oven or a Lincoln impinger oven, you could see how it works on our site before you go see it at a trade show," said Gemignani, co-owner of Pyzano's Pizzeria in Castro Valley, Calif. "Whether an operator is just getting into the business or he's an experienced operator looking for some tips, they'll find a lot of information on the site now, and there's much more to come."

While access to some parts of the WPC site is free, entry to its training section comes with a $99 per-year

The World Pizza Champions team. Front, left to right: Michael Shepherd, Joe Carlucci, Tony Gemignani, Ken Bryant and Slier Chapman; rear, Sean Brauser.

subscriber fee or an $8.99 per-video downloaded fee.

The wide variety of videos and topics covered makes that number a bargain, according to team member Michael Shepherd.

"I think this is the closest you can get to having somebody coming to your store and showing you how to do a lot of different things," said Shepherd, who owns two Michael Angelo's Pizza stores in Kenton, Ohio. "Having someone show you hands-on how to make dough is always the best, but this is the next best step ... especially when you can get so many different perspectives."

Video vault

Currently the "How To" portion of the site includes 35 instructional videos centered on the performance characteristics of several different ovens, dough and sauce making, assembly of different recipes and dough tricks and acrobatics. And while a Hollywood movie studio won't be threatened by the production quality, the videos' value lies in the unique insights provided by the operators who use the equipment and the recipes daily.

While touting the virtues of the Roto-Flex oven he's used for 15 years, Gemignani points out that the unit's left-to-right rotation pattern of its decks makes the oven a challenge for a left-handed pizza maker. Compared to the oven's benefits, however, he said the inconvenience is minor.

"All of us are pizza makers and we stand by the products we use, though there are pros and cons to every oven or piece of equipment," he said. "A piece of equipment is like a person: it has its good points and bad points, and we stress what those are. But almost every time you'll hear the chefs say they think the oven they use is the best. It's their opinion."

Team members Joe Carlucci and Siler Chapman demonstrate how to rotate pizzas inside a classic deck oven and how to control top and bottom heat. Chapman, the 21-year-old co-owner of two-unit Ice Cream and Pizza Works in Fort Mill, S.C., said he wishes these videos were available when he launched his business.

"I'm actually three years into this and I'm

Reel Facts Web site: worldpizzachampions.com Free content: Team member bios, competition history and awards Paid content: "How To" video store Cost: $99 per year for unlimited access or $8.99 per video downloaded. Payment option: PayPal

picking some stuff up off the Web site," he said. "You can never say there's not a new idea out there. There's always something you can grab from a site like this to make it your own. I know I'm still learning."

Shepherd, who demonstrated the characteristics of his triple-stack Bofi conveyor oven, said filming the videos was harder than he expected.

"That first five-minute video took about four hours to film," he said. "I'd forget what I was saying, the phone would ring right in the middle of it or a train would go by. But after you got the first few down, it's really easy."

Gemignani said upcoming videos for the near future will include grilled pizzas, take-and-bake pizza and preparation of pasta dishes. Though they want some celebrity chefs to contribute video segments, Gemignani said the team has no desire to give the site the flashy feel of the Food Network. Pizza operators need their information quickly, simply and clearly, he said, so the instruction will remain direct and to the point.

"This is a tool to that shows people how to do what we do every day," he said. "We even want to sell multiple subscriptions to distributorships so their salesmen can watch these and get a better understanding of the pizza industry specifically. We think it will be a big help to the industry."