FOUNDER and principal of Mr Bird’s MYO Nicholas Bird has finally found the machine to produce one of his favourite foods — pizza.
FOUNDER and principal of Mr Bird’s MYO Nicholas Bird has finally found the machine to produce one of his favourite foods — pizza.
Mr Bird said he is well-known for his penchant for pizza with anchovies, and after years of searching for ways to incorporate pizzas into the MYO franchise mix it has finally happened.
Mr Bird’s MYO National Operations Manager Alan Green discovered the Ferrari Italian pizza cookers at a food trade fair in Melbourne and after discussions with Mr Bird the team have purchased 25 machines which will be rolled out in stores this week.
And just like a Ferrari Formula One car, the Ferrari pizza oven goes at a fast pace.
“It cooks the pizza in two minutes,” Mr Bird said.
“I have been looking for a machine for a while but the long belt machines take too long. It is five or six minutes before it cooks and that’s just too long for us.”
Mr Bird said while the pizzas were part of a strategy to boost sales in winter, they would be available all year if they proved popular enough.
“In winter the sale of sandwiches drops off so we are always looking for alternatives,” he said.
“We’ve got jacket potatoes and soups and beef wraps and the pizza thing could be all year round.”
The pizzas are priced at $6 each and, after several trial and error attempts, come complete with a crispy oven-roasted base.
The pair tried using different types of dough but Mr Bird said they turned out a little too chewy and not good enough to use. So after different attempts with various products he and Mr Green decided that Lebanese bread provided the flavour and crispiness they were after.
And of course it comes with the complete range of Mr Bird’s MYO fillings.
“How many choices do you get at a normal pizza place?” Mr Bird said.
“About 20 or so but here you get 75 and you choose what you want and how much you want.”
Mr Bird said that initial trials of the machines in a few stores have indicated a strong interest in the two-minute pizza, with some stores already asking for a second pizza oven to cope with demand.
