If there's one thing my teenage daughters and I enjoy lately, it's having dinner in front of the TV, as cliché as that sounds, especially while watching Game of Chefs. The appetite kicks in as we watch, and I may even get more creative while preparing the meal, adding “secret” ingredients, investing in a fresh salad from the heart, and who said plating isn't part of the fun? Do you relate?
Last week, Papa John's hosted a Game of Chefs challenge where contestants were tasked with creating their dream pizzas. The show left our brains spinning because the boldest topping we’ve tried is pineapple and Bulgarian cheese—delicious, by the way. Three pizzas, which received the highest ratings from the judges, are now part of Papa John’s menu for the next month. It was only a matter of time before we ordered them to see for ourselves.
What works for Asaf Granit, Moshik Roth, and Yossi Shitrit is good enough for us. The tasting team included me, my teenage daughters, and my parents—what we call a representative sample of different ages.
For kashrut reasons, we tried the Pesto Artichoke pizza first, created by Chef Benny Hamami. This pizza has a garlic-pesto sauce base, artichoke, touches of mascarpone cheese, fresh lemon pieces, and five Italian cheeses (without tomato sauce).What we thought: The pizza was light and rich in cheese, and thankfully, it didn’t ooze like a bubbling toast in every direction. It was spot-on, with a tasty Parmesan crust, and the subtle pesto sauce was hardly noticeable, which we had worried about. The artichoke blended perfectly; my daughters decided to remove it, so the adults got more of it. All in all, it was a very successful pizza, not too heavy, and we really liked it.
Next, we tried Chef Elad (Poli) Kriv’s Frikase pizza, with a tomato sauce base, tuna with lemon, purple onion, green olives, capers, waffle fries, and mozzarella cheese.What we thought: First of all, our initial thought was: how on earth did no one think of this before? A simple yet brilliant creation, and we couldn’t wait to taste it. My younger daughter discarded the pizza after one bite, simply because it had tuna and onion—flavors kids typically don’t love. In contrast, my older daughter immediately declared it her favorite, and the adults, including myself, had to admit we liked the combination. However, we could have done without the onion, which made the dish feel heavy, so next time, we’ll ask for it without. In conclusion, this is a pizza that should definitely stay on the menu. Papa John's, take note!
Finally, we tried Chef Max Savych’s Lahmajoun pizza, which has a tomato sauce base, beef crumble, white onion, tomatoes, spicy chili, lemon juice, and a drizzle of tahini (without cheese). There’s also a kosher/vegan version at kosher branches with a vegan beef crumble.What we thought: Here, something odd happened. The younger kids loved it because it reminded them of Bolognese, while the older kids were disappointed because they expected a more flavorful, grilled Lahmajoun. The sauce and beef were good, but the flavors were too mild, and we felt it was lacking seasoning. We ended up adding the pizza seasoning that usually remains in its bag, untouched. As mentioned, the younger kids really liked it for this reason. The tahini blended well, and for a moment, we even thought it might be vegan cheese. It was a very good pizza, but it wasn’t quite Lahmajoun, nor can we really call it pizza. I’ll cautiously note that we had very high expectations after watching the show, and as Chef Asaf Granit would say, “Expectations only belong on cushions.”
It’s important to mention that changes were made to the pizzas to make them suitable for delivery, and the menu descriptions should be relied upon. The pizzas are quite successful and live up to the hype, but like always, we’ll probably continue ordering the classic pizza with pineapple as our maximum topping choice.
The Papa Chef Family pizza from the Game of Chefs series is priced at NIS 89.9. The edition will be available at Papa John’s locations for a limited time. Available at Papa John’s branches from 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM (including Fridays and Saturdays).