FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WORLD PIZZA PERFECTIONISTS CONVERGE ON NY
TO COMPETE FOR COVETED AMERICA’S PLATE

The United States Seeks 1st Win; China Vies Minus Top Chef

OXFORD, MISS. (March 3, 2008) -- Some of the world’s top pizza makers from six countries will battle for the Fourth Annual America’s Plate on March 10 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, as a featured event of the NY Pizza Show, which takes place in conjunction with the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show. An estimated 18,000 spectators and participants from all over the world will attend the three-day convention.

The America's Plate is an international culinary pizza competition that is held in New York every March. The award is an elegant, engraved silver plate. The trophy plate now resides in Spain after its team was awarded the coveted prize for being judged the Best Pizza in the World, following a two-year streak from the Australian team, which had taken the Plate each year prior.

To earn a spot in the field, each participating country selects its best pizza team from a series of sanctioned competitions. The preliminary 2008 field features teams from France, Australia, Finland, China and the United States. Each team develops a specialty pizza which is evaluated by a panel of experts following international judging criteria. Recipes are a closely guarded secret prior to the event, and teams often bring flour, seasonings and even water from their homelands to ensure flavor consistency and quality. Judging is based on appearance, taste and commercial viability.

The United States has never won the America’s Plate, and will be pinning its hopes on David Smith II of Smith’s Pizza Palace Plus in Emporium, Pa., who won the Best Pizza category at the American Pizza Championships in Orlando, Fla. last September. China’s team was dealt an unexpected blow last Thursday, when top chef Songlin Liu was denied a travel visa by the Consulate General of the U.S. This is the second consecutive year that the leading Chinese pizza chef was denied a non-immigrant visa. Other members of the Chinese team will make the trip and participate.

The New York Pizza Show is sponsored by PMQ Pizza Magazine (www.PMQ.com). For more America’s Plate information and photos from the 2007 competition, visit www.americasplate.com.

Events of Interest – Timeline

Sunday 3:30 pm - 5 pm US Pizza Team Acrobatic Trials
Monday 10:00am - 1:00pm America’s Plate Competition
Monday 1:30-2:00 pm Winner Announcement
Monday 3:00 -3:30 pm Kids Throw-Dough demo
Tuesday Noon International Acrobatic Demonstation

Competition Criteria

Criteria for the America’s Plate event are available on the website at www.AmericasPlate.com or upon request.

-NYNewswire-