Free Event: “Great Pizza Taste-Off”

FREE EVENT: GREAT PIZZA TASTE-OFF… Who has the best pizza in town?  Who is the absolute best pizza style, sauce, and flavor?  Which place in town is your group’s favorite?  Whoever is willing to give you the best deal or the one that is actually the best? 

There is a way to find out and have a free event night… “The Pizza Taste-Off” 

The idea is simple and tasty.  You are going to create a pizza buffet of all of the supposedly best pizzas in town and then have your students decide on the winner and the “Official Pizza” of your youth group/church. Plus, it is FREE PIZZA for your group, at least once?!

Get all the students in your group to vote for their favorite pizza place and pizza (style, topping…).  Once you have collected all the votes over a set period of time.  Contact each of those places, plus add on a few more places that might be new or smaller in the area.  Maybe you can end up supporting a local business owner!?

Call each of the places and tell them that you would like to sponsor them and make them the OFFICAL PIZZA of your group.  If they are chosen by your students, you will set up an account with them, and they will get ALL of your pizza business for the year (maybe permanently).  Tell them you will make a plaque (or a small banner) that you will reward them with that they can hang up in their shop, plus you (with your church’s permission, hang up a banner in your youth area).

All they have to do is be willing to donate one cheese pizza and one specialty pizza to your event.  Make sure to ask them to “square cut” the pizza so that there will be smaller “sample” size pieces also so your kids can taste all or at least a bunch of the pizzas.  Give the pizza place a time and date of the event, so they can deliver (*that is kind of a hidden test just for you as well?)

Make a ballot. Include things like a scale from 1-10 on the sauce, cheese, crust, spice, and so on.  Depending on your region, it might be additional things like foldability (East Coast Thin) of the best deep dish (Chicago). Have students vote for first, second, and third-place pizzas.  Be creative and have fun with it!

Set up a couple of long tables, put out the plate and napkins, and serve some drinks.  You have yourself the “First Annual (insert your group name) Pizza Taste-Off.”  You can make this a stand-alone event, with other games and even a lesson, or includes this as part of another event (lock-in, party, retreat.), or even just make it a special surprise night at youth group!