"Dominos pizza" news and stories

When you hear about Pizza Hut's "new Ultimate Stuffed Crust Pizza," you might think it's déjà vu -- haven't stuffed crusts been around for years? True, basic idea of stuffed crust pizza is nothing new, however their new "Ultimate" Stuffed Crust Pizza takes the slice's edge to a new level, adding not only cheese, but also meat inside. The result is an interesting new rearrangement of their staple ingredients that should satisfy anyone's curiosity about just what Pizza Hut could do to make their fare even more gluttonous. Here's how they rate:

The Claims: Pizza Hut's new Ultimate Stuffed Crusts come in two varieties: Pepperoni (with cheese), or the superlative "Meaty," stuffed with pepperoni, Italian sausage, bacon, and cheese. Both pizza pies come with up to three toppings of your choice. We found no calorie count information for this specific product at the restaurant, nor at PizzaHut.com, although a non-ultimate Stuffed Crust Pizza with pepperoni toppings weighs in at 380 calories per slice (1/8 of a pie). With "Meat Lover's" toppings it's 480 calories per slice, so the Ultimate's calorie count is probably going to be a lot more than that, depending on what toppings you choose.

The Price:$12.99 for a large pie with up to three toppings. (Prices may vary at participating locations.)

By now you're probably all familiar with Domino's "Pizza Turnaround" commercials. The documentary-style ads bend over backwards to convince consumers that yes, the company knows their pizza wasn't great, but things have changed. Evidently Domino's feels they've made thier point, so they're turning their attention to a new frontier: chicken. A new ad campaign launches next week, featuring a chicken chef named Tate and a new line of boneless chicken and chicken wings, reports Nation's Restaurant News.

Just as school districts across the country are banning things like sugary soft drinks and candy, here comes Domino's announcing its plan to double the number of school cafeterias serving its pizzas within the next year.

But wait! Don't go crying to Jamie Oliver just yet.

Domino's calls it the "Smart Slice," and while it may not be smart enough to finish your kid's trigonometry homework for her, the company says that it's actually a healthier alternative to regular pizza, one which has been formulated to meet newly released federal guidelines for school lunches. The Smart Slice includes a crust made from 51 percent whole-wheat flour, reduced-fat mozzarella, and sauce that contains 35 percent less sodium than the pizza chain's traditional sauce. It's currently being served in more than 120 districts.

Muslims in three British cities can take Domino's off their speed-dial. It seems the pizza company thought that it could transform this Middle-East-meets-West culture clash into gold, but its plans failed miserably.

A year and a half ago, the pizza chain began offering halal-only menus at three of its outposts in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods of Birmingham, Bradford and Blackburn, according to London's Daily Telegraph.

But Domino's apparently overestimated the gusto with which Muslims would welcome the opportunity to order American-style pizzas topped with ingredients whose processing and preparation conform with Islamic law, while the absolute banishment of one Quranic taboo -- pork -- seemed to have alienated the stores' native British clientele.

The story ends (as so many of these stories do) with a corporate press release: "[The halal menu] hasn't had the impact expected and the company has reluctantly decided to return to a conventional Domino's menu in all three stores," quotes the Daily Telegraph.

First, Domino's decided their pizza was lame and told us about it. Now, in a continuing effort to open company doors to consumers, the pizza giant's newest marketing tactic is taking on none other than...marketing tactics.

In their newest commercial/campaign, Domino's takes us behind the scenes at a pizza photo shoot, where we can see all the time and preparation that goes into making a pizza commercial look good -- and, more importantly, into making the pizza itself look good.

Featured in this new three minute video is Margaret the Hand Model, who claims she's done "many cheese pulls" in her day. For the unfamiliar, a cheese pull is literally where the slice of pizza is pulled away from the pie, visually showcasing the cheese's elasticity and gooeyness. "It requires great concentration," Margaret goes on to say. "You have to know when the cheese is ready to be pulled. Just feeling the cheese. I breathe when I lift up."