Last night, amidst pounding thunder sticks and cheering spectators, Domino’s named Dennis Tran the 2007 World’s Fastest Pizza Maker. Tran, a Domino’s Team Washington regional director from Silver Spring, Md., made three large pizzas in an impressive 49.1 seconds. That’s making three pizzas in just over 16 seconds each! Tran won $5,000 in prize money, a trophy and the coveted title presented by Domino’s Chairman and CEO David A. Brandon.
“Taking second place was not an option,” said Tran. “This competition brings out my competitive nature so I brought speed and confidence to the table to defend my title. I am proud to be a Domino’s team member.”
The finalists represented Domino’s Pizza stores from around the world, as far away as India. 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.
Tran has been a Washington-area regional director for two years and has been a Domino’s team member for 17 years. A returning champion, Tran won the 2006 World’s Fastest Pizza Maker title with a time of 55 seconds. His new time of 49.1 seconds sets a new world record for Domino’s Pizza.
Domino’s began the “World’s Fastest Pizza Maker” competition in 1982.
“Domino’s Pizza is extremely proud to employ the fastest pizza makers in the world,” said Brandon. “The World’s Fastest Pizza Maker competition emphasizes our commitment to safely delivering piping hot, great-tasting pizzas to our customers’ doors as quickly as possible.”
Runners up included Dennis Ryan from Glendora, California, who took second place with a time of 56 seconds and Emanuel Dicks from North Old Town, Virginia, who took third place with a time of 57.1 seconds.
The “World’s Fastest Pizza Maker” competition was held at Domino’s Worldwide Rally, the company’s bi-annual event attended by thousands of Domino’s team members and franchisees from around the world.
Founded in 1960, Domino’s Pizza is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “DPZ.” Through its primarily franchised system, Domino’s operates a network of 8,394 franchised and Company-owned stores in the United States and more than 55 countries. The Domino’s Pizza(R) brand, had approximately $5.1 billion in global retail sales in 2006, comprised of $3.2 billion domestically and nearly $1.9 billion internationally. During the first quarter of 2007, the Domino’s Pizza(R) brand had global retail sales of $1.2 billion, comprised of nearly $770 million domestically and approximately $471 million internationally.
