For the third year in a row, Pizza Joe’s has claimed a Pizza Peel Award at the Mahoning Valley Pizza Cook-Off benefiting Potential Development. The pizzeria franchise was recognized as the Best Gourmet Pizza by judges with its Italian Philly Steak pizza.
      “We are always excited and happy to participate in the cook-off, first and foremost to support the great work being accomplished by Potential Development, but also to share some great camaraderie with our fellow pizza makers in the valley,” said Katie Seminara-DeToro, of Pizza Joe’s.
      This year’s entry for Best Gourmet had been in the making since December. At the end of last year, Trumbull County middle-school students participated in a new Junior Achievement of the Mahoning Valley Innovation Challenge with Pizza Joe’s. The goal was to develop a new flavor of pizza targeted toward students’ peers.
      Though there were many deserving winners, one of the teams from Lakeview Middle School in Cortland took home the title of best pizza concept of the program.
      The winning team pitched an Italian Philly Steak pizza, and last month they graded three different pizzas from Pizza Joe’s based on their original concept.
      “We brought three different pizzas centered around the students’ original concept and gave them the opportunity to judge taste, appearance and overall marketability,” Seminara-DeToro said. “With just a few tweaks, we came up with the final recipe and clearly it has been a hit with tasters and now the Mahoning Valley Pizza Cook Off judges.”
      The Italian Bulldog (Italian Philly Steak) includes a garlic sauce base, philly steak, red roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. The Boardman Pizza Joe’s franchise is located at 6810 Market St. and is operated by Mario LaMarca.