Sponsored By

Papa John’s introduces gluten-free crust systemwidePapa John’s introduces gluten-free crust systemwide

Rollout follows test in five markets

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

August 7, 2017

1 Min Read
Nation's Restaurant News logo in a gray background | Nation's Restaurant News

Papa John’s has rolled out a gluten-free crust to its more than 3,300 domestic locations after testing it earlier this year.

The crust is made in a separate facility from other crusts, but the Louisville, Ky.-based chain still advised against people with Celiac disease or severe gluten intolerance eating the pizza due to risks of cross contamination.

The crust is made with sorghum, teff, amaranth and quinoa. A two-topping pizza with the crust is available for $9.99. It was tested earlier this year in Los Angeles, Phoenix, St. Louis, Houston and Nashville.

In a press release announcing the rollout, Papa John’s chief ingredient officer Sean Muldoon said it took the chain more than two years to develop.

“The fact that our pilot customers [in the test markets] told us they loved the taste proves that we made the right decisions,” he said.

Domino’s introduced a gluten-free crust in 2012, and also warns about cross-contamination risks.

In 2015, Pizza Hut introduced a gluten-free pizza to about a third of its domestic restaurants. The crust’s ingredients and preparation is certified by the Gluten Intolerance Group.

Papa John’s new crust is the latest in a series of ingredient changes at the chain, which has gotten rid of artificial flavors and colors, high fructose corn syrup, MSG and the preservatives BHA and BHT. It also uses only cage-free eggs and chicken raised without antibiotics.

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter: @foodwriterdiary

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor of Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality.

Hi is responsible for spotting and reporting on F&B trends across the country for both publications. 

He is the co-host of a podcast, Menu Talk with Pat and Bret, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities, and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

Subscribe Nation's Restaurant News Newsletters
Get the latest breaking news in the industry, analysis, research, recipes, consumer trends, the latest products and more.

You May Also Like