TREVI Italian Restaurant, located at the heart of The Forum Shops at Caesars, hosted a pizza cook-off Wednesday afternoon featuring celebrity judges and local news personalities competing for charity (Pictured: Celebrity judges Anthony Cools, Mariah Rivera, Ashton, Johiah and Big D).
Competing “chefs” included Dave Hall of FOX 5 KVVU, Beth Fisher of ABC 13 KTNV, and 2015’s champion, Doug Elfman, of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Each participant worked with TREVI Executive Chef Jose Navarro to create a pizza using individually-selected ingredients.
The pizzas were scored on taste, creativity and presentation by a panel of guest judges including: famed hypnotist and Paris Las Vegas headliner, Anthony Cools; radio personalities, Big D and Johiah of 93.1 The Party KPLV; and Mariah Rivera and Ashton of FANTASY at Luxor.
In a close race, Hall was crowned champion and earned a $500 donation from TREVI and Landry’s, Inc., to F.E.A.T (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) of Southern Nevada, a non-profit organization of parents and professionals designed to help families with children who have received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Hall’s winning pie featured barbecue sauce, chicken, basil, purple onion, mozzarella and cilantro.
Fisher competed for Hope for Prisoners, and crafted a pizza featuring basil, mozzarella, pesto sauce, pine nuts and red bell peppers. Elfman cooked for Community Cat Coalition of Clark County and created a pizza featuring sliced breaded eggplant, Vidalia onions, roasted peppers, sliced mushrooms, red sauce, a blend of mozzarella, parmesan and fontina cheeses, garnished with shaved parmesan cheeses and an olive oil drizzle, served on a seeded crust with poppy and sesame seeds, along with dried onion and garlic flakes.
In addition to the competition, TREVI also offered specialty priced cheese pizzas for $10, with all proceeds benefiting the winner’s charity.
