While we welcome long rain streaks that are great for the pizza business, the flip side is availability of quality local products.  This recent cold wet weather has impacted the asparagus crop.  We usually receive all of our asparagus supply from our friends at Kinsey Farms in Sunnyside, Washington.  Due to this unexpected cool, wet weather, there’s been a shortage of the pencil size asparagus we like to use on our pies and we’ve been supplementing with asparagus from a number of growers this season.

In addition to impacting the asparagus crop, the weather is also taking a toll on Walla Walla Sweet Onions.  We plan to begin our popular Crostata next Thursday and are unsure the first crop of Walla Walla Sweets will arrive in time.   Don’t worry Crostata lovers, we won’t short the run of the pie.  We love caramelized onions and gorgonzola as much as you do.  We just have to work our seasonal calendar around Mother Nature.

Abbas Hayek proudly shows off the Top Driver Trophy.

Everyone knows that our delivery drivers are some of Seattle’s finest navigators, with detailed knowledge of the highways, byways and sideways between your place and our place. But did you know that they also check up on the rest of us to make sure everything is right with your order? We ask all of our drivers to take responsibility for every order they deliver, from checking the size and toppings on your pie to making sure your salad has light salami with dressing on the side.

“Sure” you’re thinking, “That’s like asking a GPS to proofread my term paper.” Well, we submit Abbas Hayek, who delivers out of the 85th Street location in Ballard, to prove that there is more to our drivers than just an encyclopedic knowledge of our city streets.

The Top Driver Trophy is highly coveted, so Abbas has to keep a sharp eye out for jealous fellow drivers.

Abbas holds the current record, having made his last 14,522 deliveries without a single error (more by the time you read this!). What does this nearly unbelievable feat mean to Abbas? It means he gets to hold the coveted Driver Trophy, which is the highest honor any Pagliacci Pizza driver can achieve. It means his name is added to the list of the best and brightest, written in gold on the trophy and preserved for all eternity. It means that he continues to embody perfection, shining as a beacon of what is possible to the rest of us satisfied with mere excellence.

Abbas’ own words when I handed the trophy to him probably sum it up best. “This is the proudest and happiest day of my life,” he said. There was a long pause as he looked thoughtful. “Except for the birth of my children” he eventually added.

Most people in Seattle are familiar with Salumi Artisan Cured Meats.  Their Pioneer Square location is known for their flavorful salamis and regularly boasts long lines down the block during lunchtime.

When founder and local legend Armandino Batali finally obtained USDA certification for Salumi about five years ago, we were so excited that he could sell to restaurants that developing a seasonal pie became our top priority.  The Salumi Primo was born with one of their favorite salamis, finocchiona – flavored with cracked fennel, pepper and a touch of curry.

Salumi's rosmarino salami at DeLaurenti Food & Wine

It wasn’t long before we approached them about making a special pepperoni for us. Salumi’s Spicy Pepperoni has been a regular part of our menu since the fall of 2006.

Always looking for a way to get more Salumi products on our pies, we spent last summer sampling a number of Salumi creations in various combinations – smoked paprika, winter salami, Salumi salami, sopressata, mole…so many to choose from.  But it was their rosmarino that won our heart, a special rosemary seasoned salami that Salumi created exclusively for DeLaurenti Food & Wine in 2007.  DeLaurenti is still the only place you’ll find this salami, with the exception of on top of our pies.

Last September we introduced Salame Picante, showcasing Salumi’s rosmarino salami with Peppadew sweet peppers and fresh rosemary on our Margherita base of fresh mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes.  Many customers and crew declared it a favorite.  We knew it had to find its way on to our regular menu.

Armandino Batali with Matt Galvin

With Armandino retired, we called his daughter Gina, who took over the helm of Salumi along with her husband Brian.  We talked logistics since this salami takes a minimum of 45 days to cure.  The decision was made to hold off until May and after eight impatient months of waiting, we are happy to announce Salame Picante is now a regular part of our menu.

But the news doesn’t end there.  If you’re not convinced our flavor combination is quite up to your taste, you can create your own pizza masterpiece with rosmarino.  It’s available as a regular pizza topping.  So are Peppadews… but more on them later.

This April, 64 of Pagliacci’s best tossers tested their mettle against one another.

The early rounds saw some great performances – especially in the North Bracket where Mike Baxley from 145th, Kyu Han from 85th, Brian Youngdahl from Ballinger and John Bassage from 145^th put up not only the best 4 scores of their region, but the best 4 scores of the first round.

Cumulative scores helped the North 4 in the Sweet 16 where they moved on to the finals – along with Josh Frost of Miller and Paul Williams of Crossroads (due to very tight scoring, the final group was expanded).

The finals were held Thursday at Lake City Way. Paul Williams was the lone holdover from the finals last year and proved that having been through the gauntlet before made him more battle-tested. His nearly perfect pie went into the oven in 34 seconds and held off Kyu from 85^th who took 2^nd place, a mere 3 points away from the title. Tossing to “Octopus’ Garden” by the Beatles, Mike Baxley hacked his way into 3^rd place.

Congratulations to Paul who now owns the title of Best Cook in Pagliacci!

For the last couple of years we have had a best cook competition that has become our version of March Madness. Each cook is tasked with making the best possible cheese pizza in less than 60 seconds. This year we got off to a late start, renaming the event April Madness. We started off with 64 contenders and have narrowed the field to the final 4… well, really 6. With some very tight scores at the top we are taking the top 6 to the finals this Thursday. So who made the cut?

Josh Frost from Miller. Frosty returned to Pagliacci last fall after a few years’ hiatus and is ready to prove whatever skill he lost in Spokane, he more than regained through a busy fall at Miller. Newly married and expecting his first child he says this one’s for the family.

Paul Williams from Crossroads. The only competitor from last year’s final 4 to reach the finals again. His second round pizza was one of the best performances of the tournament thus far and he aims to show that the Eastside is for real.

John Bassage from 145th. John is one of Pagliacci’s newest Shift Leaders and one of two people competing from 145th. He intends to show that the student has indeed surpassed the master.

Mike Baxley from 145th. His first round score remains the best of the contest. Baxley looks to atone for an early exit last year and show both his new Shift Leader and his roommate who is boss.

Brian Youngdahl from Ballinger. Brian not only possesses one of the best golf swings in Pagliacci, but his tossing form is picture perfect as well. Having won the GM contest years ago, Brian looks to add one more trophy to his mantel – right where Baxley has to look at it every day.

Kyu Han from 85th. Kyu has posted the best cumulative score and proves that 85th not only makes a fast pie, but a beautiful one. While 85th often gets narrowly beat by Miller for top sales, Kyu looks to take down Mr. Frost and give a victory for 85th in the heated rivalry.

Sure signs of spring include sunshine, cherry blossoms, birds chirping and invasion of Peeps. In honor of Easter we hold a Peeps contest where we challenge our crew to sculpt, build or create a peepscape. They can use as many or as few Peeps as they choose and add whatever accessories they like. Their only limitation is their own imagination. Previous winners have included a scene from The Wizard of Oz, a castle, and a ransom note with photos of peeps in a Robot Coupe delivered with a container of peeps parts. Every year the competition gets a little fiercer. This year was the stiffest competition yet. But in the end, it was University who used the force to overthrow the rest of the Pagliacci Empire with their Return of the Jedi scene. Enjoy these photos of this year’s entries.

In November, Will Haas, one of our drivers at the Magnolia Delivery Kitchen, approached me about doing a food drive. There were plenty of businesses and organizations holding food drives over the holidays, so Will suggested that we hold one later in the winter when food banks would be running low again.

We picked the Olympics as the time to have our food drive.  While hometown athletes ski, skate and luge into the hero spotlight, this seemed like a great time for us to all be hometown heroes by donating food to local organizations.

From February 12-28, we will be collecting non-perishable food items to benefit Northwest Harvest.  Food can be dropped off at any of our locations or given to one of our delivery drivers upon order delivery.

Northwest Harvest buys white rice and beans in bulk.  They encourage other food donations like:

By Jason Cheung, University Pizzeria General Manager

Pam Parks and Jason Cheung

On January 9^th, Pam Parks, a treasured member of the Pagliacci Family, passed away.  Pam started here at the University Pizzeria on December 1^st, 1981 as part of the University of Washington’s Job training program for people with disabilities, and while she was here she was named the 1992 Washington State Restaurant Association Worker of the Year.

I vividly remember the first time I met Pam. I had just been promoted to General Manager of the University Pizzeria, leaving behind a crew that I had grown to love while training at our Queen Anne Pizzeria. I met Derrick Aiona, my District Manager here at the shop to get the keys to “my” new store, and while he was showing me around, Pam came to the front door and gave the 3 little knocks that she always gave to let me know that she was there. I let her in and Derrick introduced us. Right away I took a liking to her, (how could you not?) and her eternally sunny attitude was a godsend that first year as I adjusted to “being the boss”. She took great delight in reminding me to turn on the ovens after one terrible week when we forgot to turn them on….twice.

It got better when she met my then girlfriend (and now wife), Amber. Every day after that,  Pam would ask how she was doing, and on Wednesday, when the flowers were changed for the coming week she always kept one and asked that I take it home to Amber.  I thought that she was just doing it for me, but I found out at her service that she did the same for Jeff Woodruff, our Director of Operations, who briefly worked here. We had a good laugh about that!

I’ll also always think about how much Pam loved children. She always made a point of going over and saying hi to them when they came in. After she retired I took my son to visit her and she could hardly take her eyes off of him.  She loved seeing him and gave him a bracelet before we left.

Even now, occasionally people will come in and ask about the “little girl” that used to work here. I am sure that they would be shocked to know that she was in her 40’s when I worked with her, as she certainly did not look like it! I’m proud to tell them that I used to work with her and that she had a long, satisfying tenure here.  Without fail, they always comment about how happy she looked and that she had such a great, smiling attitude.

Rest in Peace, Pam. You are missed.

Courtesy of Red Cross.

I, like all of you, have witnessed the news footage from Haiti over the past few weeks.  Total devastation.  You can’t help but be moved by the images in the press.

As I was deliberating what we should do as a company, several of our employees had similar thoughts.  Devesh Kumar, a driver from Miller Delivery Kitchen, was the first to approach me about what Pagliacci could do as a company.  The whole Sand Point Delivery Kitchen crew talked about donating their tips to aid relief efforts.  Jason Cheung, the University Pizzeria General Manager, sent out an email to all of our managers asking if their crew was interested in donating tips for a day and if Pagliacci would match their donations.  Our crew really wanted to help and so did I.

Last Friday we decided that this Thursday, January 28^th, we would donate all of our profits to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.  We are also matching all of our employee contributions.  In addition, we are working with our vendors to get them to donate the food and packaging that we use that day to help support our effort.

A big thanks to our friends out there broadcasting, printing, blogging, posting, tweeting and just simply talking about this event to help spread the word.  And thank you for ordering pizza on Thursday!

We are always supportive of our talented crew in their artistic, athletic and intellectual pursuits, whatever they may be. One of our employees who has worked for the corporate office for over 14 years in accounting has impressed us with her zeal for writing. Erna Mueller won the 2009 Good Read competition by A Woman’s Write with her outstanding entry, How to Find Your Inner Dog.

In the story, stubborn, tough-guy cop Spencer Watley bites the dust only to find himself stuck outside the gates of heaven. Spencer is given a second chance to redeem his callous existence as a human, but this time he’ll have to be a K-9 partner to a young, strong-willed teenager named Justin. Spencer’s job is to help Justin learn to love and trust adults, but it’s not easy. They also have to stand up to the killers and cyber hackers threatening to take advantage of innocent citizens.

In the beginning of this book’s development Erna had indented for it to be a screenplay ― the screenplay won an award from the Hollywood International Film Festival and was also given award recognition from the Hollywood Script Writing Institute. How to Find Your Inner Dog is Erna’s first completed work after ten years of late night writing sessions and many competition submissions. This triumph gets her one step closer to landing a great publishing deal.