Mother Bear's pizza to compete for national title

Bloomington's own Mother Bear's Pizza, located at 1428 E. Third St., will compete nationally to win Pizza of the Year at the International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas next week.\nRay McConn, owner and president of Mother Bear's Pizza, entered his own recipe, which is called Divine Swine, into the contest. The recipe was selected as one of four finalists from 112 entries from all over the country.\n"It's really gratifying to have someone on a national level recognize the quality of our pizza," McConn said.\nDivine Swine, which has been served to Bloomington residents and IU students at Mother Bear's for five years, features pepperoni, sausage, ham, bacon and Mother Bear's pizza cheese, said Karen Wisniewski, a manager at Mother Bear's.\nIU students have been ordering Mother Bear's pizza for more than 30 years.\nJunior Jen Walker said she isn't surprised Mother Bear's is in the running for Pizza of the Year.\n"They really are Bloomington's best pizza. I think it's more homestyle, as opposed to fast food pizza," Walker said.\nWhile Walker has never tried the Divine Swine, she said she's seen it on the menu.\n"It looks really good. I've wanted to try it," she said.\nIf Divine Swine wins the Pizza of the Year award, it could mean many more students will be trying it -- and eating at Mother Bear's.\nThe publicity from competing at the International Pizza Expo could mean bigger business for the restaurant in months to come, McConn said.\n"I think it'd be a real boom to be recognized for the quality that we have. A national competition would be outstanding," McConn said. "It would give us a marketing tool that nobody else would have."\nWisniewski attributes the success of Divine Swine to the way it is prepared.\n"It's a meat lover's pizza," said Wisniewski. "Some places that serve meat lover's pizzas put too much meat on it, and you can't taste the individual meats that are on there."\nIn order to enter the contest, McConn submitted an application along with a copy of the recipe and a photograph of Divine Swine. Judges for the Pizza of the Year contest prepared the recipients' recipes and chose finalists based on recipe alone.\nMcConn, along with the head cook and several other employees, will attend the International Pizza Expo.\n"We'll be in Las Vegas for the show, and we're bringing several of our own ingredients and making the pizza ourselves," McConn said.\nMcConn believes part of Mother Bear's success is due to the quality of the ingredients used in its pizzas.\n"I don't think the recipe is unique, but the quality of ingredients that we put on it are unique," McConn said. "Most pizza places offer sausage, ham and bacon, but we go to some effort to buy a very high quality of all of those ingredients."\nBecause he feels the ingredients are such an important part of the Mother Bear's experience, McConn believes he and the crew he brings to the Expo will prepare the recipe better than the preliminary cooks could have.\n"I think it's fairly understated to say that we'll make better than anyone else will," McConn said.\nCompeting and possibly winning a national contest should mean bigger business for Mother Bear's in the months to come, said McConn.\nMcConn is unsure of what the results of the contest will be, but the recognition alone is rewarding, he said.\n"There were over a hundred entries and we were one of the pizzas selected as a finalist. I thought that was a great reward right there," McConn said. "I don't know what our competition will be like, but I think our pizza's excellent, and it can stack up against any competition. I just hope the judges think so."\n--Contact business editor Karen Green at kamgreen@indiana.edu.