Text reads: Crafted with creamy, fresh mozzarella, 100% organic tomato sauce, zesty Primo pepperoni, marinated roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, fresh basil and Roma tomatoes. All on a thin, crisp cornmeal dusted crust.
None of this is surprising until you consider who is selling this pizza, the franchised chain, Round Table Pizza.
Ok, what is going on here? Is this something that foodies will embrace or pooh-pooh? I'm guessing tsk-tsk. For one thing Round Table calls this "organic" yet only makes claims that the sauce is 100% certified organic tomato sauce. What about the toppings? The crust?
They also use the term "artisan" because the pizza was developed by "Artisan chefs with ties to local farmers markets". But does that make it "artisan"? I don't think so really. Artisan means a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft. Whether a worker in a Round Table Pizza is a skilled worker is debatable. Is pizza making a trade? A handicraft? I'm just not sure.
What I am sure of is this. One way or another Round Table is embracing the language of Alice Waters. Of course it wasn't slow food principles but the result of focus group testing that sealed the deal. I do wonder who it tested well with--those who eat at Round Table Pizza or those who seek out organic and artisanal products. Either way, this is something a 500 restaurant chain sees as a good move. Is Round Table a savvy marketer, hoodwinking the public, or the leader in a new food revolution? What do you think?