For partners Joe Ferri and Ed Pecinka Jr., education has always been the centerpiece of their company’s mission. From its founding in 1972, Pecinka Ferri Associates has always looked at the free flowing of ideas with its equipment dealer and its kitchen consultants customer base as a core responsibility to the Metro New York marketplace it serves.
Pecinka Ferri has long been known as a rep firm that stays ahead of both domestic trends and those from the far corners of the earth. Once again with the exponential growth of pizza from beyond the traditional pizza market to outlets that include everything from college and universities to a smorgasbord of international ethnic cuisines, Pecinka Ferri is set to launch an exciting education series to share many of those ideas. The first ever PF Pizza Forum will take center stage on May 28th from 11 am to 5 pm at Pecinka Ferri’s culinary test center located in Fairfield, NJ. The forum will discuss many of the latest trends in pizza, along with live demos and seminars.
“Every ethnicity bakes some type of pizza,” Ferri said. “Detroit style pizza is coming on strong. New Yorkers will recognize it as similar to what we call Sicilian pie, but it is a bit different and delicious. Kosher pizza has been a staple in our area for as long as I can remember. Immigrants to our great melting pot get their start in foodservice. Several groups including Armenian-Americans and Greek-Americans have made their marks on pizza culture.” The PF-Pizza Forum will discuss many of the opportunities that exist to either add pizza to the menu or add many the new delectable and profitable alternatives.
“From our founding in 1972, we have been representing major pizza equipment manufacturers including Blodgett Oven,” noted Joe Ferri. “We have now evolved to serve as a conduit for multiple choices of the leading equipment producers.”
“Pizza has always been a major part of the food scene here in NY, and now globally. It has moved from slice shops, to general foodservice (schools, B&I, fine-dining, recreation venues) and is now enjoying a renaissance in boutique and artisan offerings,” the veteran rep continued.
Pecinka Ferri’s fascination with pizza has a long relationship with the prep and baking of pies. “Back in the early days of pizza in America there was only one trusted oven manufacturer, Blodgett that had been around since the 1800’s,” Ferri added. “Fast forward to post-war America, a NY local, the upstart Bakers Pride came on the scene and the two dominated the industry for decades. Marsal, another NY-bred innovator of deck ovens came along much later and changed the way we thought about baking pies.”
With the expansion of pizza into so many categories, Ferri and his team began fielding a number of questions from the dealer and consultant community and the end-user operators they represent. “Clearly what used to be a one size fits all solution with Blodgett has evolved into a very specialized marketplace. So we now have the opportunity with our customers needing everything from a quick bake pie to healthier flatbreads by offering a selection of ovens and equipment that can provide the right solution. The Pecinka Ferri portfolio has expanded from Blodgett, Doyon and Star/Holman, to the latest in Pizza technology including TurboChef and Middleby Marshall.”
The PF-Pizza Forum will take a closer look at trends in the ovens that manufacturers are bringing to the marketplace. “It’s interesting– Conveyor ovens, long a staple of the quick service restaurant and the institutional market, are valued for their efficiency, ease of use, and consistency. They are showing up in the independent space again as the demand for labor becomes acute – and they happen to bake deep dish pies exquisitely well. Artisanal pizzaiolos who eschew solid fuels (for obvious reasons) and require a super-hot, fast bake will opt for equipment like the Marsal Wave oven. We also offer the Fire oven from TurboChef that will bake a single Neapolitan style – yes fresh dough too – to perfection (no microwaves in this model) in seconds.”
Creating a one-stop shop for the leading brands in professional pizza equipment has also been a goal for Pecinka Ferri. That has been accomplished with a trio of the most respected mixer lines: Globe, Doyon, and Varimixer and three of the nation’s standard bearers in refrigeration equipment: Bally, Continental and Desmon.
Among the company growth over the last year, Pecinka Ferri has carved its’ unique niche in the marketplace through their on-going commitment to looking at the challenges of an evolving pizza menu through the eyes of its customer base. To accomplish that goal, they added one of the bright young talents in the industry, Chef Nicholas Mercogliano CEC, CPC to their team. With Chef Nicholas’s guidance, the PF Forum will feature pizza that will be prepared utilizing many of the leading purveyors of pizza ingredients including Caputo flour, Grande cheese, Fontanini cheeses, and Stanislaus tomatoes. The event will also feature top olive oil, salumi/ “charcuterie”, American Metal Products will be on hand to display, provide samples and to further educate.
“It will be a full day of live pizza baking on five very different style ovens, classroom opportunities, and an information fair,” Ferri continued. “Our goal is for our guests to have a better understanding of the nuances of pizza especially the impact of oven and mixer choices on both the finished product and the budget.”
“We are convinced that pizza is a perennial favorite within all market segments. With a few simple quality ingredients, prepared fresh and served hot is a recipe for great margins because of pizza’s low food cost,” Ferri concluded.
Registration is currently open for the event in New Jersey and a second session that will be hosted on May 30th in Philadelphia. Foodservice professionals can sign up on the Pecinka Ferri event page, or by calling 973-812-4277 or via email to joe@pecinkaferri.com. Guests are also welcome to come on the day of the event without pre-registering.
