Emporium pizza-maker hailed

Dave 'Smitty' Smith finished fourth in the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas recently, putting his pizzeria, Emporium's Pizza Palace Plus, among the world's best. Here, Smith (left) and another member of the United States Pizza Team toss dough during the competition.

Emporium's Pizza Palace Plus can now rightly call one of its products "among the best in the world."

Dave Smith recently returned from the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas with a fourth-place finish among 60 pizza-making finalists.

Critical acclaim and customer reaction to their menu have persuaded Dave and his wife, Marlene, to open a branch in Port Allegany.

Pizzeria owners from around the world fanned out over an area the size of five football fields during the Las Vegas event to check out the latest in ovens, recipes, decor and refrigeration.

A select few from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Italy and Korea were chosen, based on judges' assessment of their recipes, to participate in the culinary competition.

The Smiths' "cajun chicken pizza" was among the finalists, so they packed their dough, sauce, cheese and toppings on ice for the flight to Nevada.

Pizzas were judged on taste, appearance, quality, baking characteristics and marketability. Pizza Palace came in fourth among the 60 entries.

"Coming from a little town in the sticks, I'll take it," Dave Smith said. "I can now tell people we serve some of the best pizza in the world."

Smith also excelled in some of the more fun events, with a fifth place in "largest stretch" for crusts. In earlier competition, he's been a top finisher for "fastest pizza maker."

"Our employees have a lot to do with our success," Smith said. "We want to thank them for holding down the fort while we were away competing."