Local Residents Win Stone Hearth Pizza Top Chef Competition to Benefit Riverside Community Care

NEEDHAM, MA (January 2014) –Tracy Driscoll of Dedham and Sally Kane of Needham were the winning team in a recent Top Chef Competition held at Stonehearth Pizza, Needham, to benefit Riverside Community Care. The competition featured seven teams of local amateur chefs who were tasked with creating their own unique pizza featuring the ingredients of Stonehearth Pizza; the pizza could not be one presently featured on the menu.

Kane and Driscoll’s The BBLT – Blue Cheese, Bacon, Arugula and Sun Dried Tomatoes was the ultimate winner based on taste, and creative use of ingredients. The pizza will be the special pizza at Stonehearth during the month of January.

Each team was given a lesson by Stone Hearth Executive Chef Ivan Pulecio on how to roll dough, spread sauce, add ingredients and then cook the pizza in the brick oven. While the pizza cooked, the teams created both a name and advertising campaign for their creation. Stone Hearth Co-owner Jonathan Schwarz and Executive Chef Ivan rated the pizzas on a number of criteria including taste, presentation, creativity and the ability to recreate the pizza at Stonehearth during the month of January.

“We were thrilled with the level of inspiration demonstrated by our contestants,” comments Jonathan Schwarz, “The afternoon was a fun, creative way to raise funds for a vital nonprofit — Riverside Community Care – which provides services to individuals and families throughout Massachusetts. Stone Hearth is proud to be able to raise both awareness and funds for Riverside, which annually provides services to over 40,000 residents of the Commonwealth. Riverside is a wonderful resource for every community and is the first responder in many traumatic events such as the Boston Marathon Bombing. The organization serves those in need from birth through all stages of life. We look forward to continuing our support, and in hosting many more Top Chef competitions for charity in the years to come.”

About Stone Hearth Pizza

Stone Hearth makes all food house-made from scratch to ensure better taste, and offer more healthful, clean, entrees. Stone Hearth is committed to sourcing sustainable, organic and local ingredients whenever possible. This is important to us because it ensures a superior product, supports family farming, protects natural resources and strengthens local economies. The Stone Hearth menu has a simple focus —to serve the highest quality Neapolitan style, thin crust pizza, creative appetizers, fresh salads, hearty pastas, delicious desserts and a hand-picked selection of wine and New England craft beer. For more information visit www.stonehearthpizza.com.