For anyone with the desire to enter “their pizza” into a fun competition to win money (and bragging rights)
So, you think YOU make the best pizza?
Would you like to compete and put your pizza up against other pizza enthusiasts to potentially take home $1000 on any given weekend? And if you do win an event, how would you like to take part in competition with all other winners annually to possibly win the title of “Pizza Cook-off Association National Champion”? If this is you, then prepare to join the ranks of the BBQ and Steak worlds, and compete strictly… all things PIZZA!!
There are annual pizza competitions in Las Vegas and New York. But what about every weekend? What about those great pizza makers that couldn’t go to those annual events? This association will not only give those established pizza makers a chance to compete locally, it will also give the opportunity to anyone that has the desire to enter “their pizza” in a fun competition and win money and bragging rights!
The Pizza Cook-off Association’s (PCA) goal is to sanction pizza competitions all across the US. We want to provide the best event possible for cook teams, judges, promoters, and to the general public and to enjoy all the wonders of a fun, competitive cooking competition in your community. It is a great way to make money for any organization, while enjoying the fellowship and comradery that goes along with the competitive food cooking contests.
sponsors
FEATURED SPONSORs
urban slicer:
The easiest way to make professional pizzas at home
Just add water and mix! That's it, and in no time you'll have a legit pizza dough that will rival any pizzeria crust in the world.
PCA Members now receive a discount for Urban Slicer products. Log in to your PCA account to get the link!
baking steel:
Make The Best Tasting Pizzas From Baking Steel home
As fate would have it, one day, I was reading pieces of Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold. In his book, Nathan stated that the best tool to use for making the perfect crust would be a piece of steel. And that, my friends, was my “AHA” moment! You see, I grew up with and worked for a family-owned, steel manufacturing business, Stoughton Steel.
As soon as I could, I hustled out to our plant, found a piece of quarter-inch, high-quality steel and brought it home for some testing. According to Modernist Cuisine, steel is a more conductive cooking surface than a brick oven’s stone. Because of that conductivity, it cooks faster and more evenly at a lower temperature, resulting in a beautiful, thin, crispy crust. Real-life tests with my steel confirmed that theory completely for me!
I had spent plenty of time over the years with countless pans, pizza stones, gadgets and gear trying to perfect my pizzas in a home oven. But I was always disappointed. Who knew the solution had been waiting for me all along in a pile of steel over at the shop. Talk about serendipity!
I’m lucky to be living out this dream of combining two great interests of my life into one amazing product! Now, like pizza lovers everywhere, you can “create the crust you crave.”
- Andris Lagsdin, Owner & Founder, Baking Steel
FAQs
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PCA will provide a trained Representative as well as PCA Certified Judges. There is an established set of rules that both parties will abide by.
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Anyone 18 years or older can sign up online to become a member. Annual membership fees are $35 per person. Members will also enjoy “Membership Advantages”, once they are signed up.
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You first must become a member to become a certified judge. Classes will be offered throughout the year across the country. See the Judges tab on our website.
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All PCA Representatives must first become a certified judge, and then can express interest in becoming a PCA Representative.
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Promoter’s upfront sanctioning fee is $350 made to the PCA. The “per team” fee and any fees for ancillary categories and other expenses will not be due until after the event.
Single Memberships start at $35 Annually
My name is Jerry Belcastro, and I live in McDonough Georgia, which is about 35 miles south of Atlanta. I am a previous Pizza and Italian restaurant owner & caterer, retired Regional Manager of International Catering for Delta Air Lines, a current certified judge for the Georgia BBQ Association (GBA), and a certified judge for the Steak Cookoff Association. I have also written for a local newspaper about restaurants throughout our county, a column named, “Restaurants, Reviews & Reveals”.So I suppose you can say food runs a little through my blood. As mentioned, I am a certified judge for the GBA and while judging several events, I learned about the Steak Cookoff Association. Since my background and love for cooking is Italian, I thought.....why not have a Pizza Cook-off Association? If you are not familiar with these weekend competitions, please look at the websites of The Georgia BBQ Association and the Steak Cookoff Association (SCA). What really enticed me about the SCA was that the entire event could take place in one day, as opposed to the GBA events, which are 2 day events. And what really pushed me over the edge to launch my association was watching the History Channel show "The Food That Built America"....the episode of how Pizza Hut and Dominos got their start. It's all about your gut feeling and taking that leap! My very supporting wife, Eva will be joining me in this endeavor. Hope this new Pizza Cook-off Association will spark your interest too!Jerry Belcastro, Founder/President
Pizza Fun Facts
→ Three billion pizzas are sold every year in the United States.
→ Every second, an average of 350 slices are sold.
→ More than 41 percent of us eat pizza every week, with one in eight of all Americans eating pizza on any given day.
→ Roughly 17 percent of all restaurants in the U.S. are pizzerias, with more than 10 percent of the country’s pizzerias located in NYC.
→ How many pizzerias are there? Nearly 70,000, with a quarter of those being Domino’s, Pizza Hut, or Papa John’s.
→ Super Bowl Sunday is the most popular pizza day of the year, with 70 percent of those watching the game eating at least one slice.
→ Like pepperoni? How about 251.7 million pounds of it annually. Most of this consumption is on pizza, and pepperoni accounts for more than a third of all pizza orders.
→ Americans prefer meat toppings to veggie topings at a ratio of roughly two to one.
→ Mozzarella cheese accounts for nearly 80 percent of all Italian-style cheese production in the U.S.
→ Nearly a third of all people consider pizza to be the perfect breakfast.
→ The pizza industry sells more than $40 billion in product every year.
→ The highest grossing single location, independent pizzeria is the Moose’s Tooth Pub in Anchorage, Alaska.
→ October is National Pizza Month.
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