New Twist for Supermarkets Selling Pizza

Executive chef and World Pizza Champion Glenn Cybulski, winner of 119 culinary awards, is the man behind Firenza, a concept that allows customers to specify gluten or gluten-free crust; choose made-fresh-every-morning toppings and sauces at the pizza bar, Chipotle-style; and 90 seconds later their masterpiece is ready to eat. It comes courtesy of special flour as well as a special oven.  

Yes, 90 seconds. While it may seem easier to just cook the pies and leave them out on warming trays until someone buys, it’s not better. 

I love pizza. I’m from New Jersey, and I’ve tried hundreds of slices in supermarkets over the years. And while some do a good job, most of the pizza slices are not at the right temperature -- even in those stores that have a pizza oven, where they reheat the slice, which too often scorches the bottom and overcooks the toppings. 

Then there are stores, like Whole Foods 365, that placed whole pies on a heated self-service counter, but found that they had to dial back the temperature to avoid customers burning themselves. 

This makes sense – and makes dollars. Convenience and personalization remain at the top of the food trends. It’s worth a trip to visit Firenza and see how your prepared foods offering can be brought to a higher level.