Mercurio's Gluten Free Pizza Wins Big in Italy
Rico of Slice On Broadway and Anna Crucitt of Mercurio's competed on an international stage in Rimini, Italy at SIGEP World.
Hi there!
Pittsburgh pizza making continues to stand up to the best in the world. While the International Pizza Expo isn’t until March, competition season has already kicked off in Italy. This past week Rimini Italy hosted SIGEP World, a huge trade show dedicated to the world of food service community. This year they are also hosting the Pizza Senza Frontiere - World Pizza Champion Games. This is a competition made up of pizza makers across the world competing in a variety of categories. If you’re ranking in this competition it’s a fair bet that you’re doing something intriguing and excellent.
And it’s no surprise that two very consistent stalwarts of the Pittsburgh pizza community traveled to Italy to compete and did Pittsburgh proud. Anna Crucitt of Mercurio’s won first place in the Gluten Free pizza category while Rico Lunardi placed fourth in the pizza and wine category.
Mercurio’s Wins First Place for their Gluten Free Pizza
Mercurio’s is the standard of Neapolitan pizza in Pittsburgh. Possibly the most authentic “real” Italian pizza that they perfected over the years available in the city. After conquering the traditional pizza, Mercurio’s expanded into making gluten free pizza.
Gluten free pizza gets a bad rap for being “tasteless” and “boring.” And that was true ten years ago, but flour, science and technique have come a long way to deliver gluten free pizza that is on par with pizza full of gluten. Mercurio’s produces a solid gluten free pizza that is recognized among other Pittsburgh pizza institutions. When Sara Boyer of Iron Born was experimenting with making a gluten free pizza she reached out to the folks at Mercurio’s for advice.
Anna Crucitt took the Mercurio’s gluten free pizza to the World Pizza Champion Games at SIGEP World and came away with the first place trophy. This is a huge win in a huge competition featuring international pizza competition. A daunting experience, but Anna wasn’t too worried. “I wasn’t nervous for the pizza at all,” Anna told me via Instagram. “Competing in that arena is intense but once I was in the station, it felt just like I was doing my own thing.”
That confidence stems from a tradition of quality and excellence. The Mercurio’s crew has competed in other pizza championships and typically walks away at the higher end of the ranking. In 2022 Anna and Nick Mercurio placed third in the tandem division of the International Pizza Expo. They know how to compete.
Knowing how to compete as these games is important because there are so many variables to prepare for. The cooking environment is foreign, your equipment is different and you have to supply your own ingredients. Anna made some tweaks to their standard gluten free pizza to make it competition ready.
I changed the flour ratios due to cooking in a 600* oven hrs a 900* oven that we do at home. I also put a low moisture shredded cheese on it because of the cook time at the lower temp. Our house made mozz would have never survived. I also adjusted the baking powder and salt up a bit but overall it’s very similar to the recipe we offer in shop! Just had to adapt to the competition conditions.
That sort of savvy is what helps you win championships and is a testament to her pizza making prowess. You can get the Mercurio’s gluten free pizza at both of their locations.
Rico Lunardi Competes on Team US Pizza
Rico Lunardi is a competitor who is getting national recognition. In the 2023 International Pizza Expo he placed fifth in the traditional pizza category. Since then, he has gone on to compete in a number of competitions and was picked to represent team US Pizza at the World Pizza Champion Games. While he placed fourth in the pizza and wine category, missing third by five points, it’s a testament to the quality and dedication Rico brings to his pizza.
I reached out to Rico about his experience. He sent over the above pizza and said there were over 600 competitors and over 250k attendees. An astonishing stage to compete on, but a good warm up for this year’s competition circuit.
Pittsburgh pizza makers continue to thrive on the pizza competition stage. Always great to see international recognition. It’s not easy to compete on that level, but as our local sports teams falter, Pittsburgh pizza makers are picking up the slack.
Thanks and pizza ya later!
-Dan Tallarico, Pizza Journalist