Blackburn News – Ricardo Veneza – Sept. 26, 2016

The first round of Windsor’s Pizza Fest put on by Higher Limits is in the books.

Windsor filmmaker and pizza fan Gavin Booth is one of the judges determining which pie is the city’s best. He feels the festival is a chance to further connect the community to a source of hometown pride.

“The pizza places in Windsor donate so much pizza to help schools, help the community, help artists,” says Booth. “Working as a filmmaker I’ve had so many lunches and dinners sponsored by pizza places.”

Booth — now living in Los Angeles — swears by Windsor pizza and makes sure to get some on every trip back to the city.

“Put it this way, I’m lactose intolerant but the only thing I will go outside of that dietary restriction for is Windsor pizza,” says Booth. “I’ve tried to convince the whole world that Windsor pizza is the best. Every time I fly home, literally when I land at [Detroit Metropolitan] Airport the first thing I do is call my favourite pizza shop and order a pizza so it’s ready when I cross the border.”

Philippe Octavien is another of the judges and is taking the job seriously, not wanting to show any favouritism in his judging.

“I’m trying to stay neutral, keep the pallet neutral and just see what they’re going to offer,” says Octavien. “Looking for a nice, light, flaky crust, some good sauce and some nice fresh toppings.”

The event Thursday night at the cannabis lounge saw four pizza places on offer with five further rounds of sampling spread out across September, November and December.

A new pizza champion is set to be crowned on December 1 as part of the festival.