An explosion of cheesy goodness for pizza lovers

Once an Italian dish, pizza has gained worldwide acceptance to become one of the world’s truly universal food items. A range of adaptations has arisen to suit the dietary preferences of various cultures, and the potential for more pizza variants is endless.

Some pizza brands have been fortunate to earn enduring appeal. However, they, too, innovate and continuously improve on their product.

Pizza Hut is one of these favorites. First introduced in the Philippines 27 years ago with one store in Park Square, the Pizza Hut chain has since grown to a total of 132 branches nationwide. As the pioneer in delivery services, Pizza Hut pizza remains a convenient and tasty snack or main meal for several generations of pizza-lovers. In 2005 alone, an estimated 7.5 million pizzas were sold throughout the country. Other favorites like pasta, salads, desserts, and other items served in the five Pizza Hut bistros continue to gain a loyal following as well. It is plausible that part of the management and sales success attained by Pizza Hut Philippines owes to the fact that the stores are 100 percent company-owned.

Perhaps, a key to the continued growth of the Pizza Hut brand is its success in getting communications messages across to consumers. Elaine Guzman, vice president for marketing, confirms that, indeed, some Pizza Hut commercials have earned recognition for both creativity and effectiveness. The latest award was garnered in January 2006, with Pizza Hut Philippines winning the Yum Reel award from Yum Restaurants International, the main franchiser who set the global parameters for choosing the winner. For rating significantly above the target in brand positioning, for relevant consumer insight, and for creativity, Pizza Hut Philippines won over 100 television entries from all over the world with its "Mist" Delivery commercial.

As a consumer, I can personally attest to the effectiveness of Pizza Hut’s information strategy. Soon after the Cheesy Volcano innovation was introduced almost six weeks ago, my family of food adventurers and I quickly tried the new variant. The pizza is described as having "an explosion of three cheeses bursting from the crust," and all of us cheese lovers who tried this new alternative have been convinced that it is our new favorite.

The crust is stuffed with three kinds of cheeses: mozzarella, provolone, and cheddar. Mozzarella is known as the "pizza cheese." It is a southern Italian cheese, originally made from water buffalo’s milk that has a white color and a mild flavor. The American version of mozzarella is used in Pizza Hut’s cheesy volcano. Made from cow’s milk, it is drier and stringier than the variety made from buffalo milk, and becomes very elastic when melted. For me, the chewy quality of melted mozzarella cheese is one of its major attractions.

We all know and like cheddar, of course. Cheddar is a firm cheese made from whole cow’s milk with a color ranging from mild to sharp. However, some may be familiar with the term "provolone" without knowing exactly what it is.

Provolone is an Italian pasta filata cheese made from water buffalo or cow’s milk with a light ivory color and mild, mellow flavor. One characteristic of provolone is that it doesn’t crumble when you cut it. Pasta filata, by the way, is an Italian term to describe the curds resulting from a cheese-making process. In making provolone cheese, the curds are heated until they are elastic and can be stretched into ropes, kneaded and shaped. Like I always say to the readers, don’t be intimidated by foreign phrases. They usually refer to something really simple.

Anyway, Cheesy Volcano pizza with your choice of toppings is a sure winner. I knew this with my first bite of pizza some weeks ago. Talking with Guzman several weeks later, I confirmed my initial judgment. The figures from Pizza Hut’s marketing division indicate a 30 percent increase in sales with cheesy crust. Considering that Pizza Hut used up one million kilos of cheese last year, it is mind-boggling to imagine what the cheese consumption will be like this year!

"So, why are you writing about something as commonplace as Pizza Hut’s Cheesy Volcano instead of the fine dining that is usually your topic?" the readers may ask. Well, aside from the fact that Pizza Hut’s Cheesy Volcano is readily available to all who want to try it, food writers like most people, get tired of the usual "gourmet stuff" too. For me, the Cheesy Volcano pizza has become a comfort food – good to eat in bed on indolent days while watching sappy tearjerkers or watching weight-loss infomercials and dreaming of a nicely toned body someday. Besides, the best part of ordering in is that you don’t have to contend with traffic, the quality of the food is consistently good, and Pizza Hut guarantees that the pizzas arrive "hot and on-time or your pizza is free."

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Call Pizza Hut at 911-1111 for deliveries.