Pizza Hut has launched a new pizza format, Chicago Tavern-Style Pizza, along with several new pizza toppings.
Tavern pizza is a thin-crust pie usually sliced into squares that is widely eaten in the Windy City, much more so than the deep-dish pies for which the city is better known.
Additionally, Pizza Hut introduced eight new ingredients available on any pizza.
Rachel Antalek, the chain’s chief food innovation officer, told the attendees of a launch party for the new pies at Mister Paradise, a bar in New York City’s East Village, that thin crusts such as those used in the new tavern pies were Pizza Hut’s first crusts and are in line with the way people want to eat today.
“We want our pizza, but we’d like it to be a little lighter, a little fresher,” she said.
She added that Pizza Hut’s make table was due for some new ingredients, and so along with the new pies she added those trend-forward toppings. They are chicken sausage, pesto sauce, spicy marinara sauce, diced garlic, grape tomatoes, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, and crispy cupped pepperoni.
Additionally, Antalek and her team developed a Parmesan-oregano seasoning to sprinkle on top of the tavern-style pies
Both the new pizza style and the toppings are permanent additions to the menu.
The tavern-style pizzas come in four varieties, each starting at $12 for a large:
Pesto Margherita Tavern Pizza: Thin crust pizza topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, grape tomatoes, garlic, pesto, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning, cut into squares
The Ultimate Tavern Pizza: Thin crust pizza topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, sausage, pepperoni, roasted peppers, onions, grape tomatoes, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning cut into squares
Spicy Chicken Sausage Tavern Pizza: Thin crust pizza topped with spicy marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken sausage, roasted peppers, caramelized onion, and Parmesan-oregano seasoning and cut into squares
Double Pepperoni Tavern Pizza: Thin crust pizza topped with marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, classic pepperoni and crispy cupped pepperoni plus Parmesan-oregano seasoning and cut into squares
Pizza Hut, based in Plano, Texas, is a subsidiary of Yum Brands International, based in Louisville, Ky. It operates or franchises more than 19,000 locations globally.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected]