'World's Fastest Pizza Maker' Crowned in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, July 22 2010 – This afternoon, amidst 6,000 cheering Domino’s Pizza spectators, Pali Grewal won the 2010 World’s Fastest Pizza Maker title. Grewal, a Domino’s franchisee from the United Kingdom made three large pizzas in an impressive 39.1 seconds, setting a new world record. That’s making three pizzas in 13 seconds each! Grewal, Domino’s first international winner, won $3,000 in prize money, a trophy and the coveted title of Fastest Pizza Maker presented by Domino’s President and CEO, J. Patrick Doyle.

“I’ve been hungry for this title for such a long time and it is just awesome to finally win it,” said Grewal. “Like any great athlete, I’ve been practicing and practicing and now I am going to take a day off.”

The finalists represented Domino’s Pizza stores from around the world, as far away as Malaysia. They had to hand-stretch fresh dough, pizza sauce and top three large pizzas – one pepperoni, one mushroom and one cheese – as quickly as possible. While speed was important, it was only part of the recipe. Quality was scrutinized as two judges highly qualified in Domino’s standard pizza-making practices, inspected the stretching of the dough, application of the sauce and portioning of toppings during the competition. If the pizza was not perfect, it was returned to the competitor who remade the entire pizza, while still being timed.

Grewal, a multi-store franchisee from Surrey, has been with Domino’s for over 18 years. Grewal has been making pizzas for Domino's since he was 13-years-old.

Domino’s began the “World’s Fastest Pizza Maker” competition in 1982 to honor pizza makers who best exemplify the company’s philosophy of keeping efficiency in the store to allow sufficient time for safe, timely pizza delivery.

“Domino’s Pizza is extremely proud to employ the fastest pizza makers in the world,” said Doyle. “Our emphasis is on the quality of the pizza, while also using our expertise to get them made quickly. The goal for everyone in our stores is to get hot, great-tasting pizzas to customers’ doors as quickly as possible. The annual ‘World’s Fastest Pizza Maker’ competition recognizes those who do this with the speed of champions every day.”

The “World’s Fastest Pizza Maker” competition was held at Domino’s 50th Anniversary Worldwide Rally in Las Vegas and attended by nearly 6,000 Domino’s team members and franchisees from around the world.