DELHI — With the rich aroma of melted cheese in the air, pizza lovers of all ages gathered to choose the best pizza in town and support local charities.
Sonshine Soup Kitchen's inaugural Pizza Wars saw participants compete Thursday night for the best cheese or signature slice in the greater Derry area. The event was held at the Pinkerton Academy Senior Café, 5 Pinkerton Street, with his eight pizzerias in Derry, Londonderry and Pelham serving up their best menus.
Ethan Knowles, 14, of Windham, said pizza is his favorite food and considers himself a pizza connoisseur.
“It’s great to come together and see different places and people you might not know about,” Ethan said. “And you can try multiple pizza places.”
Ethan's favorite of the night was from his hometown's Friendly Red's Tavern, 22 Haverhill Road in Windham, but not all voters agreed.
Kelsen Brewing Company 44 Nashua Road, Londonderry won the award for Best Specialty Slice.
Meanwhile, the vote for cheese ended in a three-way tie between Kelsen Brewing Company, Paisano's, 4 Chester Road, Derry, and Rig-A-Toni's, 38 West Broadway, Derry.
Laura El Azem said the idea for the war came from the Londonderry Knights of Columbus, which had been holding pizza war events for years.
El Azem, a member of the Sonshine Soup Kitchen board of directors, said he loved going to Pizza Wars and wanted to bring it to Derry.
“It seemed like a good idea and we decided it would be fun,” El-Azem said. “We want people to know (about Sonshine). We have a lot of support from the community and a lot of people recognize our value.”
All proceeds went to Sonshine Soup Kitchen, which provides meals to those in need Monday through Thursday from 4:30 to 5 p.m.
Tickets were $20 for adults and free for children. Each pizzeria was limited to one specialty cheese pizza, but they could bring in as many specialty pies as they wanted.
Some had more standard Supreme Pizza-style toppings, while others went out of the box, like with hot honey, spicy maple syrup, and even chicken pot pie pizza.
In addition to the pizza, desserts and drinks were donated by Domino's and prizes were given away in a raffle.
“I thought it was a great idea,” said Derry resident Jamie Comrie. “I like that it’s for a good cause.”
