Break Out the Grill and Bake a Pizza!

Grill burgers, brats, steaks, chicken�and pizza! Pizzas are meant to be baked hot and quick�well suited for the heat of the grill. So it's easy to make perfect pizzas in no time.

6. Place the pizza in the grill as explained above, either on a stone or in pan with a stone or another pan beneath. Set the timer�we set it for eight minutes�and then check for doneness by lifting the edge of the crust. If your grill doesn't bake evenly, and most don't, turn the stone or pan 180 degrees about half way through baking.7. Once done, immediately remove the pizza from the grill, and if you are using a stone, from the stone. (If you don't remove the pizza from the stone, it will continue to bake.3. Shape the dough into a thin crust pizza, either on the counter if you are using a stone and peel, or in a pizza pan.The key to pizzas on the grill is to not burn the bottom of the crust. Elevate your pizza to get it as far from the flames as possible or put something underneath to insulate the bottom of the pan. Lately, we've simply slid a cookie sheet under the pizza pan. The extra pan and space between the pans is enough to slow the heat down.2. Mix the dough according to package or recipe directions just as if baking for the oven.You will need a grill with a cover. You can use gas or charcoal though the charcoal will impart a slightly smoked flavor to your pizza.Pizzas don't take long to bake. On our grill, we turn the heat up all the way and have pizzas baked in eight to ten minutes. (We probably should turn the heat down a bit and bake it a little longer, but hey�we have this system down.)Here's how to bake your pizza:If you like to use a pizza stone, you can do that on the grill. You can either use a peel and slip the pizza right on the stone or make the pizza in a pan and put the pan on the stone.4. Spread a thin layer of marinara or white sauce on the dough. For a white sauce, consider dips, ranch dressing, or sour cream.Pizzas make great summer food but no one wants to heat the oven up to 400 degrees in the summer. That's okay�fix it on the grill. Not only is it the slick way to bake pizzas in the summer, you'll really impress your friends and family�a backyard magician.5. Spread the toppings over the sauce. Don't pile the goodies on the pizza too deep; they tend to insulate the crust from the essential top heat.1. If you are using a baking stone, start the grill and place the baking stone on the top shelf of your grill. You will want the stone very hot so let it heat for 20 minutes or so before you add the pizza.

7. Once done, immediately remove the pizza from the grill, and if you are using a stone, from the stone. (If you don't remove the pizza from the stone, it will continue to bake.

The Stone Bake Oven Company Launch Their New Commercial Range of Wood Fired Ovens

Wood fired cooking has become the latest cooking trend to sweep the U.K market. It has seen the world's top restaurants invest in wood burning ovens and subsequently influenced the public, with outdoor pizza ovens for the home, fast becoming the must have in a family kitchen.

The fuel efficient, commercial Gio range of ovens by the Stone Bake Oven Company, come in four different sizes to suit the demands of any catering establishment. Whether a sole means of cooking, or an addition to a catering kitchen for a seasonal menu, the Gio range is capable of achieving a vast range of cooking techniques and reducing cooking times.For a range of competitive, high quality, authentic wood fired ovens for commercial or at home installation, visit www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk for further information.Where it was once Sushi, Mexican food, or other, you aint nobody if you don't have a wood fired oven today. The latest trend isn't a new invention either, it originated hundreds of years ago, and its claims of giving food a new flavourful lease of life do not go unsubstantiated. An authentic wood fired oven, or brick pizza oven , combines oven porosity, high temperatures and aroma's from burning wood, to intensely cook pizza's in less than 90seconds, seal flavours into roast meats and bake breads to perfection. The dishes from a wood fired oven seem endless.Contacts: The Stone Bake Oven Company Laura Plastow 0845 834 0252 laura@thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.ukThe benefits of a wood fired oven can span from healthier food, more flavourful food, a point of difference for a business, or just a good opportunity to throw a social gathering at home. Using no electricity or gas (although gas options are available) pizza ovens can burn carbon neutrally when wood is responsibly sourced.

Contacts: The Stone Bake Oven Company Laura Plastow 0845 834 0252 laura@thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk

Pizza Making Tips and Tricks

A lot of factors influence will influence the results of your pizza making efforts. Primary among these factors are the pizza ingredients and pizza equipment used. The following are some pizza making tips and tricks that you can apply for the best homemade pizza.

The other dry ingredients that basic pizza dough has are salt, sugar, baking powder (if you need more leavening than what the yeast can provide), and dry milk. The salt is necessary to create the slightly salty taste of pizza crust which provides a great contrast to the pizza sauce flavor. Sugar, on the other hand, is added to add a slightly sweet taste to the crust as well as to facilitate yeast activity and to yield a browner pizza crust. Do not add a lot of sugar. Powdered milk or milk solids, on the other hand, adds to the dough's bulk, adds flavor and nutrients to the pizza dough as well as gives strength to the pizza dough's structure even if such is over-fermented. Use the non-fat variety especially if you are making low fat pizza.A good oven with a timing device and a temperature monitor is also necessary for precise pizza baking. A wooden spoon, on the other hand, should be used for mixing the pizza dough to prevent sticking. Use a marble countertop when kneading dough for the same purpose.You can also add flavorings like garlic powder to your pizza dough. You can even use herbs on your dough to give it a distinct flavor. Use sourdough starter, on the other hand, if you want to make sourdough pizza.The liquid ingredients include water and oil. Water is necessary for gluten generation and for activating yeast. Use slightly acidic as well as slightly hard water for best results. To ensure standard water pH, you can use distilled water (which has neutral pH) or tap water (which is usually slightly acidic, especially in cities). Oil, on the other hand, serves well to lubricate the dough for easier handling. Use extra virgin olive oil if you want it to serve more than just lubricating purposes; extra virgin olive oil also has a distinctive flavor. Olive oil, moreover, is healthy for it has lower saturation than other types of oil.Pizza EquipmentNaturally, if you want to make deep dish pizza, you have to use a pizza pan. On the other hand, you can pre-bake your deep dish pizza crust, add toppings and sauce then finish baking your pizza on a pizza stone." Pizza crust recipes: usual ingredients and tipsAfter using your pizza equipment, clean each piece carefully according to the manufacturer's instructions.You can cook your pizza using a pizza pan or bake it directly on a pizza stone. If you are going to use a standard oven without a pizza stone, then stretch your pizza dough into the desired thickness on your pan, add your toppings and pizza sauce, preheat your oven and bake according to your pizza recipe. If you are using a pizza stone, cut your pizza dough, use one of the portions and stretch it into a pizza round of your desired thickness. Add your desired toppings and your homemade pizza sauce, load the pizza on your wooden peel (pizza paddle) then place said pizza round on top of the pizza stone. The pizza stone, at this point, should have been kept hot in the oven for at least an hour.Flour is a definite necessity when making pizza crust. The usual ingredient in making the basic pizza dough is wheat flour, although whole wheat flour is also used by some. For a firm, elastic pizza dough, you'll want to use flour with moderately high gluten content (this is also known as hard flour).The gluten is formed when water is added to the flour and it is a crucial part of the pizza's structure. Thus, when you make pizza crust, it is best to use bread flour or flour with especially high gluten content (check the label) which has enough gluten content for pizza making purposes. However, people who have celiac disease or those who prefer a low carb pizza crust usually opt for flour with low gluten content. Some even make gluten-free pizza in the belief that it is healthier. In any case, it is advisable to use premium-grade flour milled from first-grade wheat; the flour, moreover, should have quality protein (the flour and water mixture should be very easy to handle) and should be able to absorb a lot of water without becoming soggy and limp.There's not much you should know about pizza toppings. The ingredients are pretty much up to you and should depend on the type of pizza you are making. However, there are certain techniques to preparing your pizza toppings. For one, you should use fresh Mozzarella cheese when making your pizza. Moreover, you should not put the cheese on top if you need to bake the pizza for a long time; you'll end up with burnt cheese this way." Pizza toppings: usual ingredients and tipsYeast is another requirement in making the pizza base. The yeast is the leavening agent and it helps the pizza dough rise as well as helps the dough achieve elasticity (so you can stretch it into pizza rounds without breaking). Yeast and its fermentation, furthermore, give the pizza crust its distinct flavor. Unless you are using the instant dry yeast variety, you should mix yeast with warm water then let the mixture stand for around ten minutes before you use it in your pizza dough mixture. Furthermore, the best, yeasty flavor is achieved by leaving the pizza dough to rise for several hours after kneading.If you prefer, you can use egg white or egg yolk in your pizza dough. The egg white helps strengthen pizza dough whereas egg yolk helps soften dough. As such, you can use either depending on the type of crust you want to make. Add egg yolk, for instance, if you need to make your pizza dough softer. If you will use eggs, don't forget to reduce the amount of water in your pizza crust recipe.You must remember to apply pizza sauce with a light hand. Thick sauce must be carefully added on top of the pizza toppings. Thin sauce must be gently rubbed over the pizza. Excessive use of pizza sauce can lead to excess moisture and thus a limp pizza.The usual pizza toppings include pepperoni, sausages, ground beef, ham, canned tomatoes, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, bacon, ham, various types of cheese, and olive oil. Other toppings include shrimp, salmon, chicken meat, anchovies, fruits, artichokes, etc." Pizza sauce: usual ingredients and tipsThe usual pizza sauce recipes have tomato sauce. Flavor is enhanced by adding garlic and onions (whether powder or saut�ed) then ground meat, salt, pepper and other usual pizza spices such as basil and oregano. Typically, tomato-based sauces are thick. On the other hand, you can make a thin pizza sauce by mixing oregano and basil with olive oil. The fastest way of making pizza sauce is by using canned pizza sauce.Pizza IngredientsThe pizza ingredients that you use depend on the type of pizza that you wish to make. Moreover, you usually have to prepare three sets of ingredients: one for your pizza crust, another for your pizza toppings and another set for your pizza sauce,

After using your pizza equipment, clean each piece carefully according to the manufacturer's instructions.

How to shed eight stones

Joanne's diet before

His story should be a lesson to all. It is surely not too much to ask that parents do indeed encourage their offspring to lead healthy lives. All it takes is time and effort.It is something which is not offered in the North East for children or teenagers, and let's hope the day never comes when it is called upon. We can all work towards that scenario never happening.We need to get away from the 'takeaway' mentality and move towards a healthier eating culture.Breakfast ( A cheese pasty and a chocolate muffin.Breakfast ( A bowl of porridge, bran flakes or Weetabix.New research has shown we are heading for an epidemic of oversized schoolchildren fed on a diet of pop, chicken and chips and pizza, and with little or no exercise.Four-year-old Graeme Dellow weighed in at an incredible five stones when he was just three. But with the help of his parents and on the advice of doctors he is now shedding the pounds, eating a healthy diet and taking exercise just like all youngsters should be doing.Lunch ( Brown bread sandwich with lean ham and salad, a packet of low-fat crisps and water or diluted juice.

Snacks include grapes, apples, carrot sticks, celery and low-fat crisps.

Search for solution

It is a sad reflection on society that children as young as three are being treated for obesity.

The Government and food suppliers must play their part too.Professor Oliver James, Dean of medicine at Newcastle University, has called this latest research on childhood obesity in the region terrifying.Also giving cause for concern are the calls for surgery, such as stomach stapling, for extreme cases of childhood obesity.Dinner ( Vegetable stir-fry or beef casserole.Lunch ( Cheese sandwich with mayonnaise, followed by a bag of crisps, chocolate bar and a fizzy drink.Snacks included up to five packets of crisps and five chocolate bars every day, with bottles of coke.No-one wants to see the day when children popping pills and having their stomachs stapled becomes the norm.The new healthy dietThe best prognosis has to be to nip obesity in the bud at an early age and the buck must stop with parents.Snacks include grapes, apples, carrot sticks, celery and low-fat crisps.

No-one wants to see the day when children popping pills and having their stomachs stapled becomes the norm.

The Supermarket of the Future

At Eataly, a sprawling food market in Turin that opened at the end of January, you can choose fresh fish from beautiful arrays on curvy banks of ice, or beef from rare breeds prized for their meat, raised on nearby farms. If the sight of all this makes you hungry, you can sit at a high counter—at two of the nine areas serving food within the market—and order a piece of grilled fish or meat, or have it as tartare.

Author: Corby Kummer

La Petite Boulangerie pushes new products, image

La Petite Boulangerie pushes new products, image

Though company officials declined to discuss future rollout plans, employees at several of the bakeries in California and Arizona said they expect to begin serving the stuffed croissants after the first of the year. Just which of the numberous fillings in test will be offered is unclear at this point, they indicated.(Though PepsiCo, as a policy, will not disclose sales or earnings for the chain, insiders have said the concept was designed to generate annual per-store sales of about $390,000. Others in the know have said that as of late 1985 the per-store average was running about $350,000.)However, talk of such expansion began to diminish in 1985 in the face of lower-than-anticipated sales.Also in the works, he indicated, is a new name that will be "easier to remember.' The new name, he said, will also be easier for the average American to relate to than the French moniker now in place. "La Petite Boulangerie'--roughly translated --means "little neighborhood bake shop.'Gunther said he decided to put television advertising on hold because, given the size of the chain and its level of market penetration, it could not be used "[cost] efficiently' anywhere.The stuffed croissants are appealing from an operational standpoint because they could be prepared ahead of time in batches by the back-of-the-house crew and held warm or heated to order. Boxed lunches hold a similar attraction because they could be assembled by counter workers before opening or during lulls in business.Named Abraham Shore, a Long John Silver's marketing executive, the new vice president of marketing.WITHIN THE next six months, Gunther said, La Petite Boulangerie will open 10 new bakeries, including new-design prototypes. It will also close some poor performers, he added.A new look--"a little more country . . . not so slick . . . perhaps wicker [display] baskets instead of wire'--is definitely a part of Gunther's ambitious long-range repositioning strategy.Pepsico chairman Calloway has said he asked Gunther to head up La Petite Boulangerie because it has "great potential' and because he could "turn it into a winner.'"At any given time I might have 35 things in test,' Gunther said. However, he added, products will be rolled out only if a careful review of sales data indicates they improve the product mix.Launched a product development campaign that has so far seen 50% more filling added to fruit and cheese croissants, the rollout of warm "sticky' buns and jumbo cinnamon rolls and tests of numerous items, including hot filled breakfast and lunch croissants.He also said he is reevaluating the role played by the chain's made-to-order sandwiches, which he described as "labor intensive' and one cause of customer bottlenecks.Gunther said that his goal is to bring about a 10%-to-20% increase in sales during the next year and that he will look for gains from all dayparts.Emanual Goldman, a Pepsico watcher at Montgomery Securities in San Francisco, recently told the San Francisco Examiner that the bakery chain "is either going to become something big, or Pepsico will divest itself of it.'"We have to look at a better way to serve them [sandwiches] and a faster way to serve them,' he explained. "In the long term, I'm not sure it [custom-made sandwiches] is the right way to go.'Photo: Art GuntherThat unit is also selling egg, meat and cheese-filled "omelet' croissants for $1.91 as well as boxed lunches containing cold turkey or ham croissant sandwiches, a chocolate chip cookie, potato salad and a soft drink for $4.21, including tax.Most of the bakeries are located in suburban strip centers.If the "cash flow and earnings problems' attributed to the bakeries by PepsiCo's chairman D. Wayne Calloway last spring can be resolved, Gunther said PepsiCo will aggressively expand the chain by hundreds of units a year. PepsiCo is also parent of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken, each the No. 1 chain in its segment.PRACTICING what he preaches, Gunther said La Petite Boulangerie will trim its menu from about 40 items to 30. Because the items contributing the smallest amounts to the sales mix will be the ones eliminated, a product might be dumped in one region but retained in another where it is popular, he indicated.Scrapped television advertising in favor of newspaper ads and direct mail.The result of those moves, Gunther said, has been "positive.' Some of the bakeries that in May reported weekly sales down as much as 12% from the year-before figure, recently showed weekly gains of 19% compared with those of 1985.Among the new bakeries, Gunther indicated, will be additional in-store units, such as the one that opened last December in AJ's, an upscale market in Phoenix. Unit-level employees said the AJ's bakery quickly jumped to the front of the pack in terms of unit sales in the Arizona-Colorado region, but company officials declined to comment on those reports.Art Gunther is leaving few stones unturned in his search for the lucrative La Petite Boulangerie envisioned by PepsiCo when it bought a mom-and-pop bakery operation in 1982.Ordered the scheduling of a third counter person during peak business hours and the installation of additional coffee machines and cash registers in the bakeries in an effort to speed up service.That kind of growth could result in the 2,000-unit giant foreseen by former La Petite Boulangerie president Terrance Collins in 1984. At the time, Collins and others at PepsiCo were convinced the small bakeries, which average 1,200 sq. ft. and use frozen dough from a central manufacturing plant in Southern California, were the greatest thing since sliced bread."Indiscriminate product infiltration' is a major problem in food service today, he said of the tendency of some chains to add new products without a complete analysis of the effect they might have on operations or the public's perception of the business.Most of the other stores are clustered in Los Angeles, Denver and Phoenix, though there are a small number of the bakeries in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as 15 franchised units in Seattle.But Gunther said that he is not working under an eitheror edict and that he is receiving nothing but "positive support' from Pepsico. He also said he is not even considering a scenario in which the chain might be sold and recently made arrangements to "buy a house' near the company's Mill Valley headquarters.Problems with the concept also led to the tabling of franchising plans and the buy-back of four of five development agreements and about 20 franchised bakeries.Many in the financial community credit Gunther with the turnaround of 5,000-unit Pizza Hut and see him as La Petite Boulangerie's last chance.THE ANSWER to boosting sandwich sales while reducing service times might be found at one of the chain's San Francisco bakeries, which is selling croissants baked with fillings of ham and Swiss cheese, turkey and Monterey Jack cheese and spinach and cheese, all $2.49.La Petite BoulangerieIn the six months since the former Pizza Hut president took command of La Petite Boulangerie, a 136-bakery chain, he has:

La Petite Boulangerie

Author: Alan Liddle

Shakey's names Stone president

Shakey's names Stone president

Even after Shakey's comes up with some of those answers, skyrocketing occupancy cost and the intense competition for good sites are bound to make it difficult for Stone to realize his goal of filling in markets, Bergren predicts.Re-establishing a company-store presence will be easier in the Northwest than in a lot of markets, he said, because Shakey's has been in that region since 1955 and enjoys some penetration and a "heritage."Smith says Shakey's has valuable assets in some of its most successful franchisees, its food products, and the "warm fuzzies" many people associate with the long-running chain."I think I know how to put an organization together and get its members to focus on the [important] issues -- if you can keep them [employees] focused, the [necessary] changes will come," Stone says.Stone stresses that the reworking of the Shakey's concept will be an "evolutionary" process.

Before joining Skipper's, Stone did stints in executive positions with Long John Silver's and Lum's.

Author: Alan Liddle

Stone starts work on Shakey's for the '90s: puts expansion on back burner; focuses on concept

Stone starts work on Shakey's for the '90s

Referring to Shakey's offshore parent and its president, Apker remarked, "It became apparent that their goals and plans for growth were much in accord with what I wanted for the company and that those things could best and more easily be accomplished by someone with their finances and expertise."Though he says he considers Stone a "real capable guy and very experienced," Bergren says he believes the new Shakey's president has "a tough road to hoe."What's more, Stone said, by acquiring Monarch, a company that clearly dominates a large part of a growing market, Shakey's Inc. can expand its restaurant holdings without fear of "overlapping" and angering a great many individual franchise restaurant owners.According to Stone, most of Monarch Interstate Foods' undisclosed revenues come from doing business with its sister restaurants and other franchised Shakey's units.Stone resigned from fried-fish specialist Skipper's after 17 years in late 1987 at a time when the board was growing anxious about the chain's mediocre financial performance; during his years at Skipper's, Stone expanded the chain from 12 units to more than 200. He said recently that he resigned because it was "time to do something else."Stone said the acquisition of competing regional chains is another strategy Shakey's Inc. will use to add company units."When a concept has taken 35 years to evolve, I don't think you can change it with a revolution," he says.Stone, 51, was hired to head up Shakey's by officials of Inno-Pacific Holdings, the Singapore company that bought the pizza chain earlier this year. He will assume the presidency and additional title of chief operating officer this week and said he looked forward to helping revitalize the chain, America's oldest franchised pizzeria concept.According to Stone, ensuring "consistency in execution" and "just staying alive in a competitive market" are two of his most immediate challenges at Shakey's. He says he believes that his ability to "create an environment that people [employees] want to stay in" can only help him reach his goals for the company.Under the agreement Gordon Apker, Monarch owner and chief executive officer, sold his 17 Washington pizzerias, three Alaskan restaurants and Monarch Interstate Foods distribution arm to Shakey's Inc., Inno-Pacific's 211-unit U.S. division."We're looking at Los Angeles for company stores because there is already a large [store] base there," Stone says."Marketing the Shakey's brand in other [non-restaurant] creative distribution systems has to be looked at," Smith says of a new revenue sources Stone might consider.Apker, an avid car collector, said he decided to sell his Monarch foodservice holdings because they could be developed at a faster pace by Stone and Inno-Pacific.Among his first duties will be organization of the movement of the chain's domestic headquarters from the Dallas area to somewhere in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the international branch is located, he indicated. He also will move to develop company restaurants, he said. There are currently no corporate-owned Shakey's."Our goal is to lead by example and to own and operate company restaurants," Stone said, explaining why Shakey's acquired Apker's holdings.Addressing the pace of new company-store development, he says, "We'd certainly like to open five or six in 1990 and then see that number grow over a three-year period to 40 or 50, though I couldn't tell you where all those restaurants will be."Gene Stone, Shakey's Inc. president, said the company also bought back the master franchising agreement for Washington and Alaska that Monarch had purchased in 1984 from one of the chain's previous owners.Stone said that Shakey's, besides purchasing the Washington and Alaska restaurants from Monarch, has completed or is in the process of finalizing the acquisition and conversion of restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles. He said the chain is also building a new prototype restaurant in Southern California.Chains that were going to expand significantly or effectively penetrate major markets, he says, "should have done it by now.""With 70 percent of the pizza eaten at the evening meal [segmentwide] being take-out or delivery, we're not prepared to ignore one or the other," Stone replies when asked if he planned to increase the chain's emphasis on those areas of sales or possibly even develop delivery-only units.Before joining Skipper's, Stone did stints in executive positions with Long John Silver's and Lum's.Stone says he does not know if Shakey's has the stuff or whether the market will ever afford the opportunity to become a national chain -- "It could go either way."Smith, now a Westin Distinguished Professor at Washington State University, says take-out sales amounted to about 20 percent of total sales during his tenure from 1978 to 1980. A typical Pizza Hut, he notes, was then doing a take-out business equal to about 40 percent of sales.Shakey's does in fact have relatively large restaurants with many in the 3,500- to 4,000-square-foot range. In comparison, Pizza Hut is building new-generation units of 2,200 square feet to 2,400 square feet, and Round Table has developed a prototype of about 2,800 square feet.While he expects to be working on the new Shakey's master plan for some time, Stone did give some hints as to what form, or forms the revised concept might take.Gene Stone, former chairman of Seattle-based Skipper's Inc., was named president of 220-unit Shakey's Pizza Restaurants, returning to a chain he once helped expand from less than 10 restaurants to several hundred.Because Shakey's began as a family-oriented food-and-fun concept, complete with banjo pickers in straw hats, and because it has also become an aftergame hangout for many amateur athletic league teams, the chain's restaurants are perceived by many as a "destination." For that reason and some others, Shakey's units have never done a large volume of take-out or delivery business."How can you sell franchises if you can't convince someone that you know how to successfully operate the concept yourself?" he asked shortly after taking over at Shakey's.Inno-Pacific appointed Stone president just months after acquiring Shakey's Inc. from a group of shareholders that included president Gary Brown and vice president Jay Halverson. The Singapore holding company, which purchased 139-unit Shakey's International from a different owner in the fall of 1988, also operates about 100 franchised Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in Pacific Rim markets.Some of the segment's most successful operators, including Pizza Hut, have shied away from the low-margin buffet approach at lunch. They favor lightly discounted combinations or quick-service guarantees wrapped around traditional a la carte items, such as mini pizzas, slices and sandwiches."Immediate plans" for the newly acquired Monarch group of restaurants call for "taking an inventory" and "making physical improvements as necessary," Stone explained. "We plan to put money into it [Monarch].... We plan to make it a showplace."PHOTO : A typical Shakey's Pizza restaurant unit.Stone, who is proud of having overseen the expansion of the Skipper's fried-seafood chain from 12 units to nearly 220 during 17 years with that Northwestern chain, has said that rebuilding Shakey's company-store base is a priority.Stone said one of the things that made Monarch an "attractive" acquisition target was its "fine cadre" of employees."The important thing is that we are strong in the markets where we do have restaurants," he says. "We plan to grow within the market areas we are already in, so we can take advantage of economies of scale in advertising and better utilize people [management]."

Asked why he left Skipper's, Stone replied, "I was ready for a change. I said to myself, `I'm turning 50,' so I set out to find the ultimate company to buy."

Author: Alan Liddle

Shakey's buys big Northwest franchise: purchase of Monarch Foods includes 20 units and warehouse operation

Shakey's buys big Northwest franchise

That conclusion was recently reached by Stone; former Shakey's president Donald I. Smith; and Scott Bergren, a president of Round Table Pizza, a competitor in many of the markets where Shakey's operates restaurants.Puts expansion on back burner; focuses on conceptAsked why he left Skipper's, Stone replied, "I was ready for a change. I said to myself, `I'm turning 50,' so I set out to find the ultimate company to buy."Explaining why he feels the chain needs so many company restaurants, Stone says, "How can you sell franchises when you can't convince someone that you know how to successfully operate the concept yourself?"At Longchamps, he says, he developed the prototype for a fast-food chain to be based on the Li'l Abner comic strip character. Plans to develop the chain fell through when finances ran low, he notes, so "I fired myself" and accepted a job as head of New England operations for the Lums Restaurant Corp."I spent about a year with Lums and then had the opportunity to move to Seattle and take over Skipper's Inc.," Stone recalls of 1971. "They [Skipper's] had 12 losing restaurants when I joined them, and we turned them around, grew the chain, and took it public in 1981."Stone, who guided the expansion of fried-fish specialist Skipper's from 12 units to more than 200 during his 17 years at the Bellevue, Wash.-based chain, was named president of Shakey's 217-unit domestic operations by the company's new owner, Inno-Pacific Holding of Singapore. He assumed the presidency from former company co-owner Gary Brown and says that "developing a concept for the '90s" will be among his first tasks.SEATTLE - Moving to revitalize the 36-year-old Shakey's Pizza system it bought last year, Inno-Pacific Holding of Singapore has acquired the chain's largest franchisee, Monarch Foods Inc., based here, for an undisclosed sum.Being named president of Shakey's resulted in a homecoming for Stone, who landed his first restaurant job with the then Sacramento-based chain while he was attending college in 1960. Stone was vice president of company-store operations and franchising when he left Shakey's in 1969 to join New York-based Longchamps.Though Shakey's Inc. recently moved its headquarters from Irving, Texas, to South San Francisco to share offices with Inno-Pacific's Shakey's International, Stone said he had several reasons for establishing a beachhead of company restaurants hundreds of miles away in the Northwest.Stone is proud of the fact that Skipper's had become the third-largest fish-and-chips chain in the country by the time he resigned in early 1988.For the first few years Stone indicated, much of the chain's "sensible" and "orderly" growth will come from the development of new company stores; there is now just one corporate restaurant."It has always bothered me that [Shakey's] hasn't done better than it has," said Stone, who left the pizza chain in 1969 after rising to the rank of vice president of franchising and company-store operations. "I like to say that Shakey's was the first name in Pizza and that I'd like it to be the last name in pizza.""I think you have to be prepared to deliver product and service wherever the people are. If that means pushing a cart in an airport corridor or opening in a 10,000-square-foot theme park, that's all part of the game, and you had better avail yourself of the opportunity [to make sales]," he says. "I'd rather have 20 small restaurants making a good return on investment than a handful of large-volume restaurants with a smaller bottom line."Predicted Stone: "We should have 25 or 30 company restaurants operating by the end of 1990."DALLAS -- New Shakey's Pizza Restaurants president Gene Stone must update that chain's concept before he can practice the expansion magic he worked at Skipper's Inc.Former Shakey's president Smith says "building company stores that are economical" should be one of Stone's first projects."The basic problem [at Shakey's] is that they have bad penetration in a lot of markets, they are in big stores, and they are doing buffet business. That is the opposite of where the market is going and clearly not a concept for the '90s," Bergren explains.The Monarch purchase gives Shakey's its first significant cluster of company restaurants in some time; a series of prior owners sold off or closed all of the chain's company-owned restaurants by the time Stone assumed the presidency last summer.Apker, who Stone said would remain in a management position at Monarch during a six-month transition period, indicated his duties "will include looking at some of these [regional acquisition targets]." Asked if Pietro's pizza of Lynnwood, Wash., which operates about 75 restaurants in Washington and Oregon, was an acquisition candidate, Apker replied, "I really can't comment on that."During his time at Skipper's, a company that is less than 20 years old, the average tenure of a senior executive was 15 years, Stone explains. The turnover rates for other employee categories, he adds, were also well below the national average.

PHOTO : A typical Shakey's Pizza restaurant unit.

Author: Alan Liddle

You gotta have faith - in the Pizza Hut billboards?

Was the Lord working some kind of miracle when Pizza Hut's billboards all over Atlanta amazingly got turned into media shrines for the followers of Jesus?

"I didn't know before [the Jesus stories started] that Pizza Hut sold spaghetti," claimed one Atlantan, who has drawn to the billboards. Even if she went away without seeing a religious vision, she still had a vision of Pizza Hut value.Pizza Hut lunch patrons get one of four choices at the $1.29 price point: a Pepperoni Personal Pan Pizza, a bowl of spaghetti with meat sauce, a ham and cheese sandwich, and a single trip through the salad bar.And Pizza Hut is serving four slightly upscale lunch items for a slightly higher price: $1.79. They include a Supreme Personal Pan Pizza, spaghetti and meat balls, a Supreme sandwich, and an all-you-can-eat-salad.Admittedly, some profound miracles of marketing have been visited onthis city, which is called the Sunbelt's capital. Could Pizza Hut's spaghetti Jesus be another one of them?Koh said he is expected to serve as president "until later this year" after the corporation has spent some time "evaluating its options." He noted that Shakey's is not expected to begin searching for a permanent successor until those options are reviewed but he would not elaborate on the options.Even though the stories talk more about Jesus than they do about the successful lunch promotion -- which has been running since March -- Pizza Hut is getting miles and miles of valuable free lineage, he admitted."I can tell you without reservation we had nothing at all to do with it," said Pizza Hut's marketing director for the state of Georgia, Brian Hunt, when a reporter wondered out loud how much additional advertising mileage his value lunch campagin had gotten since an Atlanta woman told local newspapers she had seen Jesus on one of the company's $1.29 Spaghetti Junction" billboards."I'm not so sure we're that smart," Hunt joked.Hunt surmises that the Jesus image -- which he calls an abstraction -- showed up in the billboard enlargement somehow during the final stages of production.At the same time some people are claiming that the face in the spaghetti is not that of Jesus, but such performers as Willie Nelson, John Lennon and Jim Morrison."The coverage has been overwhelming," Hunt said. "But during that first week [of the vision controversy]) I was climbing the walls. The telephone wouldn't stop ringing."The Pizza Hut lunch blitz in Atlanta is a two-tiered event being featured at all of the original-style sit-down units and also at the new take-away and dine-in stores. According to Hunt, there are 90 traditional "red roofs" in the metropolitan market.Indeed, the big Jesus story could be a miracle for Pizza Hut. Features on Pizza Hut's billboards -- appearing much farther and wider than the vision itself -- have shown up on national television and even in The New York Times."The lunch promo is doing very well," Hunt claimed. "The story is you can get a lot more than pizza at Pizza Hut."Stone, 54, died last month of an apparent heart attack.The average person who looks at one of the billboards, according to Hunt, "needs a whole lot of help finding Jesus." In fact, news reporters are finding two kinds of Atlantans lately: those who see Jesus and those who don't."In the original photography there's nothing but spaghetti on a fork," he insisted. "That's something I can tell you beyond any doubt."About 95 percent of Pizza Hut's franchisees offer Pepsico's soft-drink brands, but there is "nothing that requires them to do so," a Pizza Hut spokesman explained."Apparently the mor ecreative and abstract a person you are, the easier He is to find," Hunt reasoned.Koh, 47, will retain his duties as chief financial officer for the 200-unit pizza chain. He joined Shakey's shortly after Singapore-based Inno-Pacific Holdings acquired it in 1989.

"I'm not so sure we're that smart," Hunt joked.

Author: Jack Hayes

Inno-Pacific taps CFO Koh to run Shakey's

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--Ky-Yew Koh has been named acting president of Shakey's Inc. following the death of Gene Stone.

The move comes as part of a five-year battle between PMI and Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is suing PMI president Arturo Torres on the grounds that he violated his franchise agreement by attempting to sell the company to the public in 1986. Torres, a Hispanic, contends that PepsiCo is motivated in part by prejudice.Oddly, Atlanta has never been considered much of a religious destination outside of its being the annual host city for Southern Baptist conventioneers. Even the Pope bypassed Atlanta during his recent U.S. tour.

Stone, 54, died last month of an apparent heart attack.

Pizza Hut licensee fires another salvo at Pepsico

SAN ANTONIO -- Casting another stone in its dispute with PepsiCo's Pizza Hut chain, franchisee Pizza Management Inc. has announced plans to serve Coca-Cola in place of Pepsi Cola at its 240 units.

Or had the enterprising hand of man somehow intervened -- in a sort of mysterious way -- to make the image of Christ appear suddenly before motorists in giant forkfuls of spaghetti on 70 ad signs from Stone Mountain to Marietta?Yet Atlanta does have a reputation for advertising and marketing savvy.

About 95 percent of Pizza Hut's franchisees offer Pepsico's soft-drink brands, but there is "nothing that requires them to do so," a Pizza Hut spokesman explained.

Stone Hearth pizza's Klein oversees people, profits

It's unusual in the restaurant industry to have the same person keeping an eye on the money and on the people, but at Stone Hearth Pizza Co., a three-unit casual-dining chain based in Sudbury, Mass., Melissa Klein is director of both finance and front-of-the-house operations.

The Tutta Bella sells for $11.How do you handle managing both finance and human resources?Do you think you will be able to keep this dual position as the company grows?Goldsmith declined to reveal his oven investment, but clearly this is not a business to start on a shoestring. A ballpark price for a medium-sized wood-burning oven is $8,000 to $10,000, according to Peppe Miele, owner of Antica Pizzeria in Marina del Rey, Calif, and president of VPN's North American division. Estimates from manufacturers ranged from $5,000 to $13,000 for an oven alone. Freight, installation, exterior decoration, venting and electrostatic precipitators--anti-pollution devices that are required in some localities--can run thousands more. Operators also should figure in a tab for wood as high as $1,000 per month, Miele said.Not that every successful artisan pizzeria follows VPN doctrine. At Naples 45, a Patina Restaurant Group concept in New York City, a trio of gas-assisted wood-fired ovens does high-volume business. In each, the gas flame ignites the wood, bringing the oven to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point, the gas shuts off and the wood burns alone, ultimately reaching 720 degrees.Establishments that offer wood-fired pizzas are surfacing in major cities with increasing frequency. Restaurant critic Frank Bruni, writing in The New York Times last month about the popular Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles, noted "the spread of a certain kind of haute pizza culture across the country" was inspired at least partly by the pizza of Naples, Italy. Along with Mozza, a collaboration of celebrity chefs Nancy Silverton and Mario Batali, he cited examples like Una Pizza Napoletana in New York, Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix and Spacca Napoli in Chicago. In fact, Chicago in the past year has seen a spate of wood-fired pizzeria openings, including Gruppo di Amici, Frasca and Crust.Signature pies like the Tutta Bella, topped with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, roasted onions, Italian sausage, herb mushrooms and Grana Padano cheese, cook in just 90 seconds in a Wood Stone oven heated to 800 to 950 degrees Fahrenheit with apple wood. After 45 seconds, the pie must be rotated halfway so that it cooks evenly, because the fire sits on one side of the oven, Fugere explained. Then the pie is momentarily hoisted with the peel to the ceiling of the oven where it's about 200 degrees hotter.

I may eventually give up the finance part. I like HR. It's a lot of fun. It can be a headache and stress, but it's the best feeling when you can work things out for people's benefit. Whether it's untangling an insurance issue, or promoting someone, the feeling of helping people reach their potential is huge.

Author: Dina Berta

This month on sunset.com

An outdoor kitchen, your way

Wood-fired-oven pizza makers pursue a demanding craft that has changed little over the years. They tend traditional bell-shaped, stone hearth ovens stoked with blazing hardwood to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and above. They master the nuances of wood selection, fire management and split-second timing. It's essential for turning a thin disk of hand-stretched dough lightly topped with fresh mozzarella, chopped tomatoes and herbs into a bubbly, blistered artisan pie.

The buzz Have you already built an outdoor kitchen, or are you still thinking about retiring the old hibachi? Share your pictures, post a question, and get ideas in our community forums. Go to www.sunset.com/community and scroll to the "Outdoor Living" link.

Artisanal pizzerias warm up to wood-burning ovens

For a special breed of pizza operators, the fragrance of wood smoke beckons more than the throughput of a conveyor oven.

But I'm also an extrovert. I love people. I'm social and chatty. I never liked being in an office crunching numbers. I'm getting the best of both worlds. The two complement each other well.Jonathan Goldsmith, owner-operator of Spacca Napoli, a popular VPN-accredited pizzeria in Chicago, has a particular yen for authenticity. He shipped his wood-burning oven--including sand, brick and volcanic stone--from Naples in pieces. He also imported Italian craftsmen to assemble it.In what ways?"It gets one or two blisters and a patina of crunch that you cannot create with a deck or conveyor oven," Fugere said."I absolutely would do it over again," Goldsmith said.The buzz Have you already built an outdoor kitchen, or are you still thinking about retiring the old hibachi? Share your pictures, post a question, and get ideas in our community forums. Go to www.sunset.com/community and scroll to the "Outdoor Living" link.An eclectic job history prepared Klein for the dual role. She started waiting tables when she was 15 and continued as a server during and after college. She later managed restaurants in New York and Philadelphia. But when she became a single morn after a divorce, Klein left the industry in pursuit of steady, day-time hours. She took a job as a bookkeeper. One of her clients was Christopher Robbins, who, with partner Jonathan Schwarz, was opening the first Stone Hearth Pizza. They hired Klein last spring to work full time for Stone Hearth.I do the payroll, so I see the overtime hours. When talking to our store managers about doing the schedules, I can teach them about structure and consistency. When I go over the P&L with them, I can teach store managers what their numbers mean and how it impacts their stores and how they can manage [their staff] to keep down those costs.People do have a perspective that they are two very different worlds, and in some respects, they are. I love numbers. I like the clarity of them. It's like a jigsaw.

Not that every successful artisan pizzeria follows VPN doctrine. At Naples 45, a Patina Restaurant Group concept in New York City, a trio of gas-assisted wood-fired ovens does high-volume business. In each, the gas flame ignites the wood, bringing the oven to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point, the gas shuts off and the wood burns alone, ultimately reaching 720 degrees.

Author: James Scarpa

Shakey's closes gap in search for prexy

SAN FRANCISCO -- The former president of an Arizona-based pizza chain is expected to fill the presidential suite at Shakey's Pizza, where the executive slot has been vacant so long that franchisees sued the parent company.

Previous to Martini's, Krause had been at such New York operations as Silverado, Melrose and Baton's.The 118-seat restaurant features a menu that puts a more contemporary spin on Italian food.Pisto, a third-generation Sicilian-American, is sole proprietor of The Whaling Station, but he has two partners in 135-seat Domenico's and 100-seat Abalonetti. He will offer those individual and others, including chef Grasing, a piece of the action at the new restaurant.Shakey's systemwide sales for fiscal 1992, ended Dec. 31, were down close to 3 percent, to $117 million.By 1996, Pisto said, he and his family had scraped up enough money to open a 600-square-foot cafe on the Monterey warf called Captain's Gig, which served sandwiches, selads and English-style fish and chips. He recalled that the average check was "a buck and a quarter."He is a breath of fresh air," said Randy Hill, executive vice president of Jacmar Pacific Pizza Corp., which franchises 21 Shakey's restaurants in Southern California. "I think we have got ourselves a winner."And now the 30 franchisees and Inno-Pacific have "reached a settlement subject to confirmation by all the dealers," said Michael Grace, who is a Los Angeles-based attorney with Latham & Watkins and represents the franchisees.* Squid served up to nine different ways is the house specialty at Abalonetti Seafood Trattoria, where more than 35 tons of the tentacled beasties were consumed in 1993, Pisto said. Deep-fried squid is the biggest seller, but the family restaurant also does a brisk business in wood-fired-oven pizzas and assorted antipasti. The average ticket is less than $10 at lunch and about $20 at dinner.Yearning to return to the scene of his Captain's Gig experiences Pisto acquired Domenico's on the Wharf in 1981. Shortly thereafter, he said, he tore out all of the deep-fat fryers to differentiate Domenico's from the other seafood houses along the wharf.With no clear leadership, new products or marketing programs, franchisees grew frustrated as the relationship between franchisee and franchisor grew less rosy. About 30 franchisees, representing 71 stores, filed the suit against Inno-Pacific in a nine-page document in October.Pisto--around with "the ignorance of youth" and $36,000--opened the Whaling Station Inn Restaurant in 1971. He developed the business by remodeling a condemned building on a piece of land he leased from friends and fellow Monterey restaurateurs, Ted Balestreri and Bert Cutino, owners of the Sardine Factory, among other restaurants and businesses.The original Whaling Station concept was a 60-seat health-food restaurant that served carrot and apple juice at the bar and featured plenty of dishes with bulgar wheat."The main reason for the lawsuit was that we were not getting enough for the money we were putting into the system," said Jay Supple, president of the Shakey's Franchise Dealer's Association. The association represents franchisees who operate about 160 of the system's stores; another 22 stores are company-owned."I've received an award from, and done a video for, the artichoke [advisoty board] people in Castroville," Pisto remarked. "We estimated that we've sold more than 1.5 million artichokes since we opened.""The food will be serious but moderately priced," Pisto said of plans for the new venture. "There will be a wood-fired pizza oven, and I'm thinking of putting in giant saltwater tanks so we can do fresh crab 15 different ways.""That [concept] happened for about two months before we went to a [traditional] dinner format," Pisto said with a laugh. "None of the people who wanted those things [healthful foods] had money. All my friends would stop by and say, 'Hey, how's it going?' But they never bought anything."

Said John Dean, a Texas Shakey's franchisee, "He is the type of guy that is going to get down and work in the stores."

Author: Theresa Howard

Pisto adds 4th concept to Monterey collection

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Chef John Pisto--one of the most recognized men on the central coast thinks to 12 daily showings of his "Monterey's Cookin'" cable program and his Squid Kids seminars--is adding a fourth restaurant to his local collection.

Entree prices range from $17 to $22. The restaurant, which is located at 53rd Street and Seventh Avenue, plans to add as many as another 90 seats outdoors when the weather improves.At the Whaling Station, Pisto said, he was among the first Monterey Bay Area operators to use oak-fired "barbecues" for seafood. "Most of the other guys were using [gas] charbroilers." He said he also gained a following for heavily promoting then-underutilized Monterey Bay prawns and for featuring a wine list made up exclusively of California labels at a time when many other restauranteurs would serve nothing but imported products.One company source, who asked not to be identified, said that newly tapped Carl Karcher Enterprises chief executive, Donald Doyle, was at one point the top candidate for Shakey's but landed at the Anaheim, Calif.-based hamburger chain instead.Martini's is a partnership between Dennis Riese and Krause and is not affiliated with the Riese Organization -- the powerhouse, multiconcept franchisee in Manhattan.* Awash in white line, with a wall of glass that permits guests to look out on boat slips and whatever water creatures and birds happen to swim or glide by, Domenico's on the Wharf specializes in fresh lobster and crab dishes, fresh pasta, fish cooked over a wood-fired grill and tableside preparations of Caesar salads and desserts. including Bananas Foster. The average ticket is $15 at lunch and $35 at dinner.Said John Dean, a Texas Shakey's franchisee, "He is the type of guy that is going to get down and work in the stores."* The 23-year-old Whaling Station Inn Restaurant sports a historical maritime theme and features a menu that mixes classis, such as sauteed abalone with beurre blanc and creme brulee, and more contemporary fare, including balsamic vinaigrette-marinated, mesquite-grilled quail on vegetable nest. It's open for dinner only; the average ticket is $35.Despite not being formally hitched to the top post yet, Miller helped to orchestrate negotiations between the feuding parties. And while he told NRN he was now working in a "consulting" capacity, he was expected to finalize his contract with Shakey's parent company last week.In all, Pisto's restaurants bring in "just under $10 million" annually, he said. Each is unique in character:But some franchisees are optimistic that Miller will indeed create a plan to help rejuvenate the 200-unit chain that once boasted 500 restaurants.The restaurant, formerly a pub, features a towering stone pizza oven that soars over the dining room and an exhibition kitchen.Pisto, who owns the Whaling Station Inn Restaurant and is the general partner in Domenico's on the Wharf and Abalonetti Seafood Trattoria, recently acquired rights to the bankrupt Mermaid Bistro on Monterey's famed Cannery Row. He said plans call for transforming the space into a 180-seat waterfront bakery-restaurant to show-case the talents of chef Kurt Grasing, formerly of 231 Elsworth, a respected fine-dining restaurant in San Mateo, Calif.Operators have been without a formal president since the death of Gene Stone, who was hired by Inno-Pacific in 1989 after the holdings company acquired the then-under-capitalized chain in 1988. In the 1960s Stone had worked for Shakey's, moving his way up from dishwasher to vice president of operations for the chain.Nine years later he bought Abalonetti across the wharf from Domenico's and updated the decor and its menu. Management is a family affair with John and his wife Cheryl's children, Dana Pisto and Kim Rodriquez, overseeing the operation.The Whaling Station Inn "took off like gangbusters" after Pisto came up with the "hook" he said he was sure he needed to generate good word of mouth. Drawing on a tasty regional resource, he began serving a complimentary steamed and chilled artichoke with a vinaigrette-spiced mayonnaise for dipping to tide over hungry guests while they read the menu and waited for their bread and beverages.Before his stint at Peter Piper, Miller was regional vice president, Northwest, for Burger King. He had been with the burger giant for 12 years.At the heart of the matter is trying to get the Inno-Pacific to reimburse the franchisees with marketing dollars for two years. While operators have continued to pay into their National Advertising Fund, they said they have seen little in return.It won't be uncommon for patrons of his latest project to "have sea otters playing under their noses," Pisto quipped.Though design details are still being worked out with the architect, the chef-restaurateur said stone, wood and carpeting would be part of the new "lightter, brighter" decor. Regardless of the interior trim, he said, the new, as-of-yet unnamed restaurant will offer the same "panoramic view of Monterey Bay" that has been a hallmark of the site for decades.George Miller, who has already begun acting in the capacity of Shakey's president, recently left the 100-unit, Tucson-based Peter Piper chain, which came under new ownership last November after being acquired by The Venture West Group Inc.Since the fall of 1991, Shakey's Pizza franchisees said they listened to promises by its Singapore-based parent company, Inno-Pacific Holdings, that it would hire a new president. But late last year franchisees said "no more" and filed suit against Inno-Pacific, citing the company for breach of contract for failing to provide services as part of its existing franchise contract. As part of their complaint, franchisees demanded that the company hire a new president.

Nine years later he bought Abalonetti across the wharf from Domenico's and updated the decor and its menu. Management is a family affair with John and his wife Cheryl's children, Dana Pisto and Kim Rodriquez, overseeing the operation.

Author: Alan Liddle

Riese, Krause unveil Martini's

NEW YORK -- Dennis Riese, president of the Riese Organization, and richard Krause, a veteran chef of several Manhattan restaurants, have teamed up and opened Martini's, an Italian restaurant and pizza oven in Midtown.

Pisto, who was bitten by the restaurant bug in the 1960s when he worked at his cousin's Italian-Jewish delicatessen, attended a Monterey school for chefs. His first job after graduation was at a full-service restaurant at the regional airport.In its latest configuration, The Whaling Station Inn Restaurant seats 170.However, while Koh and parent company executives focused on finding a new president, franchisees said they were left to fend for themselves and the chain's numbers declined."We have six fryers, and we have to change the oil four to five times a day," Pisto said of the routine at Abalonetti, which as an adjacent takeout store and a 35-seat dining patio.

Martini's is a partnership between Dennis Riese and Krause and is not affiliated with the Riese Organization -- the powerhouse, multiconcept franchisee in Manhattan.

No sales impact seen from rising milk prices yet

As milk prices continue to rise, consumers are feeling the pinch, whether its buying milk at upwards of $3 a gallon or raying a dollar more for a cheese pizza. And the outlook isn't good.

Papa John's uses about 100 million pounds of cheese each year, and the cheese typically makes up 35 percent to 40 percent of the food cost in making a pizza, he said.Currently, farmers are receiving about $20.91 per 100 pounds of milk, or hundred-weight, equal to roughly 12 gallons of milk. That number is expected to reach $22.32 by August before it begins to decline, Taylor said."They said he was the biggest they have had at the clinic," she says.For a range of competitive, high quality, authentic wood fired ovens for commercial or at home installation, visit www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk for further information.LUNCH: Burger and chips or fish and chips or chicken baguette.BREAKFAST: Bowl of chocolate cereal with full-fat milk plus three slices of toast with butter and honey.Pizza problemsAnd Mohammed was afraid to go out of the house because kids called him cruel names. When he did pluck up the courage to play football with his pals he couldn't keep up and had difficulty breathing.A market analyst with Downes-O'Neill, a dairy brokerage firm in Chicago, said continued strong demand, along with a typical summer decline in milk production, could keep cheese prices high for a while.DRINKS: Apple juice, water and weak squash.Both Pizza Hut and Papa John's International have raised the price of their cheese-only pizzas to the same amount as one-topping pizzas at company-owned stores.And cheese-only pies cost the company more, requiring an extra cup of cheese, he said. Dallas-based Pizza Hut, part of fast-food giant Yum Brands Inc., which is also headquartered in Louisville, goes through 300 million pounds of cheese each year, spokesman Chris Fuller told AP The chain's cheese-only pizza has 50 per-cent more cheese than a one-topping pie. For the most part, said Domino's Pizza Inc., spokeswoman Lynn Liddle, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based delivery chain has "managed to work around these peaks and valleys." But if the price of cheese and other items continues to rise, Domino's will have to boost its prices, she said. Mom-and-pop shops are feeling the pressure, too. Constantly Pizza, a family-run chain of three shops based in Concord, N.H., has stood pat on pizza prices, but the escalating cost of cheese has changed some routinesin the kitchen.The benefits of a wood fired oven can span from healthier food, more flavourful food, a point of difference for a business, or just a good opportunity to throw a social gathering at home. Using no electricity or gas (although gas options are available) pizza ovens can burn carbon neutrally when wood is responsibly sourced.Experts see no immediate relief in sight for pizza makers.The Stone Bake Oven Company who design and manufacture high quality, but affordable wood fired ovens for the home, have branched out into the commercial market, extending its passion for quality and expertise in wood fired cooking to restaurants, cafes, pubs and the like with the new Gio Series of wood fired ovens.MORNING SNACK: Halal sausage roll, slice of pizza.Contacts: The Stone Bake Oven Company Laura Plastow 0845 834 0252 laura@thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk www.thestonebakeovencompany.co.uk"I haven't had any chocolate or crisps for ages. Pigging out now is a low-fat yoghurt or an apple.""He was warned he'll have a stroke or heart attack by the time he's 30 unless he does something. There is a history of diabetes in the family, that could be a reason for his weight gain. He tries to put on a brave front but I know it hurts."DIET NOWLast year at this time farmers were earning about $12 a hundredweight. The affect of the low prices that persisted throughout 2006 is in great part responsible for today's low supply, having driven farmers to sell off a portion of their dairy stock or leave the dairy industry completely, Taylor said."We're not cutting back our cheese. We're just making sure that our employees are being very accurate;" owner Dave Constant told AR His shops use up to 2,000 pounds of cheese a week, and the rising price, he said, "bites right into the profit margin.""The farmers are the last to be figured in," said Taylor, a dairy farmer himself. He noted that farmers receive between a quarter and a third of the retail price for their milk.In between he would snack on bars of chocolate - at least five a day - crisps, biscuits and mountains of buttered toast."We are all really proud of the effort he's making," says Wendy.

Block cheddar cheese - the benchmark for mozzarella and other cheeses - recently topped

Author: Stone, Tracie