Orange Beach AL— Forty competitors from all culinary backgrounds reported to the Kitchen Arena at the World Food Championships (WFC) in Orange Beach, Alabama, to compete in the Bacon World Championships (BWC). The WFC is a plethora of cooking and baking competitions held over a five-day period, ranging from Barbecue, Burgers and Chicken, to Seafood, Chili and Desserts. U.S. Pizza Team member Tore Trupiano, of Dominic’s Italian Restaurant in Oceanside, California, made the trip to test his culinary prowess. Trupiano placed 10th in the world overall for his beautiful bacon dishes.
In round one of the BWC, each competitor was tasked with making two dishes. The format was a structured build, meaning they were required to make a specific dish using at least three specific items. They were also asked to create a dish of their choosing. The structured build this year was a barbecue bacon pizza featuring sponsors of the event, Red Gold Tomatoes, Indiana Kitchen Premium Bacon, and John Boy and Billy’s Mild BBQ Sauce.
For his pizza, Trupiano entered his PIG (Pizza Is Great) Pie. This Detroit-style pizza crust, infused with bacon grease, was brushed with garlic butter, then topped with sausage, Galbani® Whole Milk Fresh Mozzarella, Red Gold Tomato Puree, Parmesan cheese, pulled pork, Indiana Kitchen Premium Bacon, and Galbani Whole Milk Shredded Mozzarella and pepperoni, then drizzled with John Boy and Billy’s Mild BBQ Sauce and finished with Galbani Ricotta florets infused with bacon.
For his chosen dish, Trupiano created Bacon Belgian Waffles. Bacon-infused waffles were topped with a candied apple compote (made with bacon grease and brown sugar), blueberries and raspberries, a chipotle infused butter, all topped with candied pecans, powdered sugar and a bourbon maple syrup.
Trupiano led the pack in the pizza caption with a score of 97.5 out of 100, and his combined scores for both dishes earned him a spot in the finals for the Bacon World Championships.
“Thank you to my family and my team for supporting me and giving me that push to keep making myself better. I’m blessed,” says Trupiano of his first-round win.
In the final round, Trupiano and the 10 best “Baconeers” were tasked with creating another dish of their choosing using Indiana Kitchen Premium Bacon and Red Gold Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies. Trupiano prepared his Salmon Puttanesca, a combination of several recipes in his restaurant. Trupiano prepared pan-seared salmon plated with broccolini sautéed in bacon fat, salt and pepper, and a housemade gremolata (finely chopped basil, parsley and garlic mixed with olive oil), topped with a fresh Puttanesca sauce comprised of the tomatoes with green chilies, sautéed garlic and red onions, hand-torn kalamata olives, capers, lemon juice and bacon, served on a bed of freshly shaved fennel, olive oil and bacon, and garnished with shaved radishes, fennel fronds and parsnip coins.
Trupiano’s Pan Seared Salmon Puttanesca secured him 10th place in the finals of the Bacon World Championships and an invitation to compete at the event again in 2019.
“What an honor to be counted among the top 10 bacon chefs in the world,” Trupiano went on to say. “From this, I can only move up—to build better, to be better and to do better. I’ll be back next year!”
The U.S. Pizza Team is sponsored nationally by Galbani Professionale, Molini Spigadoro, Grain Craft, Ferrarelle, Real California Milk, Gordon Food Service, LaNova, Paradise Tomato Kitchens, Burkett Restaurant Equipment and Supplies, MFG Tray, Bag Solutions, Fontanini Meats, Lillsun, Univex, and Presto Foods.
For more information about this event or the U.S. Pizza Team, visit http://uspizzateam.com/ or https://dominicsoceanside.com/