Layering the perfect pizza: make every slice count

Just what makes the perfect pizza? There are so many different toppings you can use, but the key is to strive for consistency of the overall flavour profile – that way, you can make every bite count.

If you look at the way pizza is cut up, it’s just like a cake – which means each piece should have a representative portion of toppings, so that when the customer bites into it, they get the full flavour experience.

To ensure this is the case, you need to distribute the toppings evenly across every slice. You also need to make sure all the ingredients marry together to create a complementary taste.

“As cheese is one of the most important ingredients on pizza, it’s important to choose one which performs consistently”

A good starting point is to look at your pizza recipes and ask whether the ingredients could be eaten as a meal on their own. Take for example a Greek Lamb pizza with lamb, caramelised onions and kalamata olives. These are the basic ingredients of a Lamb Kebab, adapted to pizza – with the right proportions of each to ensure no one flavour overpowers the others.

You can find inspiration for pizza recipes by looking at the popular meals on the menus of local cafes and restaurants and thinking about how their ingredients could work together on a pizza. Sauces, chutneys and relishes used in these dishes can also be adapted as pizza toppings.

Avoid making your pizzas too complicated – three or four toppings is plenty – and go for fresh local produce wherever possible, as this will further boost the flavour profile.

As cheese is one of the most important ingredients on pizza – essential for holding all the other toppings in place – it’s important to choose one which performs consistently.

A great example is Perfect Italiano Traditional Shredded Mozzarella, which is individually quick frozen to ensure a consistent spread, providing excellent coverage when melted.

This allows for effective portion control, meaning you can use less per pizza, minimising wastage. It also saves you valuable prep time in the kitchen.

Affirm your sustainability commitment by growing your own herbs and vegies

With ‘sustainable’ and ‘locally sourced’ bigger than ever buzzwords in foodservice, while ingredient prices continue to rise, now’s the perfect time to consider whether it’s feasible to grow some of your own ingredients on the premises.

Not only is this often a more cost-effective choice, it also means you’re able to engineer your menus around what’s in season and is readily available – ensuring you have the freshest produce on hand when you need it. You can also highlight these ‘garden to plate’ ingredients on the menu, creating a talking point to share with customers.

“If you don’t have a suitable outdoor area, you can create an indoor herb garden with a hydroponic self-watering garden bed”

Many foodservice operators are finding that with a little ingenuity, it’s possible to grow your own menu ingredients onsite. Even in the inner-city where garden space is limited, businesses with access to rooftops are creating rooftop herb and vegetable gardens, or are making use of balconies. Some have even converted off-street car spots into on-site gardens, and are setting up their own warm farms and composting heaps to feed the garden when needed.

Herbs, fruits and vegetables are all relatively easy to grow, including many staples of pizza, pasta and Italian themed menus. These can range from Italian parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and chives to mint, rocket, lemongrass, passionfruit, strawberries, chilli, broad beans, figs and tomatoes – just to name a few.

And if you have the space to incorporate a herb and vegie garden alongside customer seating areas, you might find it makes an attractive setting for evening functions such as canapes and champagne.

If you don’t have a suitable outdoor area, you can create an indoor herb garden with a hydroponic self-watering garden bed. These units are easy to maintain and come with an eco-climate cover which helps to regulate temperature and humidity, creating the perfect environment for growing herbs and spices all year round.

Growing your own herbs and spices not only helps to reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need for transportation, it also ensures they’re free from pesticides and herbicides.

You’ll also reduce waste, because you’ll be harvesting only what you need rather than purchasing pre-packaged products which often come in plastic containers.

Catering for customers with food allergies: what front of staff house need to know

Ensuring your front of house staff are educated about common food allergies and intolerances is imperative not only to ensure the safety and comfort of your customers but to protect your business from negative reviews and even potential legal liability.

Here are the key things you should ensure your servers, waiters and other front of house staff should be aware of:

According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the 10 most common food allergens are tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish, lupins, soy, seafood, wheat, milk, eggs and sesame seeds. Your staff need to know which dishes contain these ingredients and be able to make recommendations for customers with allergies, including what alternatives are available.
Servers and waiters should communicate clearly with customers about their allergies and intolerances, asking questions and making sure they understand the severity of the customer's allergy.
According to Allergy Australia, one of the most common misconceptions that foodservice staff have is that a “small amount” of an allergen can be tolerated by people with food allergies. In fact, for some people with severe food allergy even a tiny amount of the allergen can trigger anaphylaxis, a potential life-threatening condition.
Effective cross-contamination procedures in the kitchen are imperative in order to protect against contamination of meals by allergens during cooking and preparation. Front of house staff have an important role to play in communicating with the chef and kitchen staff so they know when these procedures need to be employed in preparing meals for customers with food allergies.
Allergy Australia says one of the most common reasons for customers suffering food allergies when dining out is they’ve been served someone else’s meal by mistake. Therefore, it’s essential to have systems in place to double-check meals before they go out, ensuring the right order goes to the right customer.
Another common mistake that front of house staff make when customers ask if a meal contains any ingredients to which they’re allergic is to overlook sauces, relishes and garnishes which may be added to the meal after it comes out of the oven. Front of house staff need to be across all ingredients in the food, included those added just prior to serving, as these can often be the ones which go unnoticed, yet contain a food allergen.