Shakey’s Paves The Way for Junior PizzaMasters

Making A Milestone

For the summer, the maker of the World Famous Brick Oven-baked Thin Crust Pizza gave its young patrons a taste of how it is to be full-fledged PizzaMasters. During the first week of May, Shakey’s opened its doors to energetic kids aged 7-12 years old in a workshop that taught them what goes on behind their favorite pizza parlor. 

Deserving to be called a milestone, what sets Shakey’s Junior PizzaMasters Workshop apart from the usual summer programs mounted by other restaurants is that it features a productive curriculum - the very first time the pizza industry has seen such a summer workshop and the very first time one has been done this way in the country. Apart from sitting through the usual storytelling and other activities aimed to entertain children, the Junior PizzaMasters had an eventful time participating in fun discussions, making pizza and serving guests.

Mr. Vic L. Gregorio, Shakey’s Philippines Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer emphatically shares the restaurant’s vision: “We came up with this compelling summer program for kids because we did not only want to showcase our best tasting quality food, but also our wowing service. More importantly, it is our way of truly living out the Shakey’s Fun, Family, Pizza thrust. In fact, the whole team really worked hard to make learning enjoyable for our Junior PizzaMasters. We had strived to create a productive yet delightful environment and now, we are just very happy to see all these kids enjoying, learning about the brand and experiencing how it is to work in a real Shakey’s store.”

 

Work And Play

Truly, the workshop days were filled with fun and learning in a productive environment. There’s no better way to spend the summer than meeting new friends who share the same passion. Indeed, the 7-day workshop helped build the children’s confidence especially since they learned the value of working as a team. Moreover, they got the chance to be more acquainted with their favorite Shakey’s products as they excitedly learned how some of these are lovingly prepared.

Among the lessons, the kids had a blast making their favorite pizza. The kitchen was filled with glee and excitement as the real Shakey’s PizzaMasters taught their young apprentices basic dough tossing skills. The other activities that the participants had experienced under the guidance of trained experts included: basic equipment and utensil familiarization so that they’d know how to use the basic equipment and kitchen tools properly, and actual dining hall management like opening and greeting, order taking, and food serving so that they’d know how to entertain their guests.

Another much anticipated activity was the “kitchen in a bus” tour wherein the Junior PizzaMasters got to see the inside of the Shakey’s On Wheels. Another innovation from Shakey’s, the Shakey’s On Wheels is the country’s first roving restaurant that brings fun, family, pizza to even more people - recently, the company had acquired a second unit which is now being sent to different Fiestas all over the country.

As part of the curriculum, the participants were also given an overview of the history of Shakey’s, how the brand became a part of Filipino life, its values as a fun, family restaurant and its all-time favorite food offerings. Now, they know all the secrets to becoming a great PizzaMaster! As Barbie P. Ocampo, Marketing Head of Shakey's Philippines shared: “This is Shakey’s way of reaching out to our valued market. Through this fun program, we hope to strengthen our young patrons’ love for the brand by giving them a summer to remember. Because in reality we would like Shakey’s to be a complete experience for our loyal guests so besides serving them their favorite pizza, chicken and Mojos, we are making strides to offer them more engaging activities as well.”

A Grand Celebration

In keeping with its tradition of being the go-to place for fun, family, pizza, Shakey’s hosted a mini dough tossing competition to close off the workshop. The Junior PizzaMasters got to show off the skills they had learned to their friends, family and proud parents. As a great indicator of the program’s success, the afternoon was filled with excitement as delighted moms and dads watched their kids grow into the PizzaMasters that they had only previously dreamt to be. As one of the parents expressed during the workshop, “Another great idea from Shakey’s! The kids are enjoying but at the same time, they are learning too. The activities were well thought of – even I enjoyed watching my son participate. To top it all off, he now has many new friends! Great job, really!”

It was a very memorable day for the kids and they can’t stop talking about how much fun they had. “I really want to be a chef in the future. Thanks Shakey’s for making me feel like one,” said a smitten 10-year old girl. As an added treat, each one of them came home with a t-shirt announcing I am now a certified Junior PizzaMaster as well as a summer filled with precious experience. A 7-year old boy couldn’t have put it any better: “I super had fun! I can’t wait for next year” while his new 8-year old best friend excitedly exclaimed: “I’ll be a forever Shakey’s Pizza Lover!”

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