Caliente Pizza looks to add another award to its collection at International Pizza Expo

When Nick Bogacz of Pine Township returned from his first trip to the International Pizza Expo in Parma, Italy in 2015, he was reinvigorated.

“I saw how culinary-inspired it was,” said Bogacz, owner of the Caliente Pizza chain in the Pittsburgh area. “When I came back, I managed to convince a good friend to leave a fine-dining restaurant and join Caliente.”

That good friend is Caliente chef Eric Von Hansen. And shortly after coming on board, he headed to Parma armed with a pizza recipe that won the expo’s “Best Pan Pizza in the World” title — the “Quack Attack,” which featured duck.

It’s been on ever since — visitors to the Monroeville location can see a wall of accolades hanging just inside the front door.

“Really, what that first win did was inspire a culture within Caliente, of employees wanting to be part of these competitions,” Bogacz said. “We’ve gone to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Naples, Parma, tons of places to compete.”

Later this month, Bogacz will send a team of his best heavy hitters to Las Vegas for the International Pizza Expo on March 22-24. The group will including Monroeville general manager Maurice Barley, who will compete for the first time in the expo’s Italian sandwich category.

“They judge you on presentation, flavor profile and authenticity of Italian food,” said Barley, 31, of Wilkinsburg, who has been working at Caliente for a little under a year. “The past few weeks we’ve been bouncing flavor profiles off one another.”

The result is “The Royal Maiale” (“maiale” is Italian for “pork”). It starts with lonzino, which is a type of Italian cured pork loin, and nduja, a spicy spread made with salami and Calabrian chili peppers. Then comes fresh arugala, pomodoro tomatoes in a sweet brine, fresh mozzarella cheese and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

“Everything goes together perfectly,” Barley said.

And thanks to Barley’s generosity, here’s a TribLive Taste Test video for the sandwich!

In all, eight Caliente employees will head to the expo to compete in categories including pan pizza, non-traditional pizza, box-folding, pizza dough-making and the largest dough-stretch competition.

And when he returns, Bogacz will be preparing to open a brand-new location in Crafton as the chain marks a decade in business.

“The competitions are really a great way of trying to expand the managers’ culinary experience,” he said. “To have them travel and compete, it helps when they come back to the restaurant. Anytime you go to a competition like that, you elevate yourself.”

Over and above, Bogacz enjoys seeing his work crews bonding.

“There’s the excitement, the culture that it spreads, the positive recognition we get, but most importantly, it’s how everyone feels after coming back from a trip like this.”

And while the Royal Maiale isn’t on Caliente’s menu yet — it may be there soon, judging by Bogacz’s confidence.

“When it wins, we’ll add it to the menu,” he said.