California Pizza Kitchen will be on the Oct. 17 episode of TNT's new series "On The Menu," the first cooking competition show to give viewers at home the chance to taste the dishes they see on screen.
California Pizza Kitchen CEO G.J. Hart and senior vice president of culinary innovation Brian Sullivan join celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse on the judging panel, with Ty Pennington serving as the host.
Beginning Oct. 18, guests will have the opportunity to try the episode's winning pizza in California Pizza Kitchen restaurants nationwide, with $1 from every sale of the winning "On the Menu" pizza going to Make-A-Wish from Oct. 18 through Jan. 4, 2015. The partnership is part of California Pizza Kitchen's Inspired Acts corporate giving program.
"There's a lot going on in October: It's National Pizza Month, we're participating in a first-of-its-kind TV show, and we've got a great new pizza coming out," Hart says. "There's no better way to channel all of this excitement than by raising money and awareness for Make-A-Wish, an organization that has made a lasting impact on the lives of so many children and families."
"California Pizza Kitchen and Make-A-Wish both share an appreciation for creativity and inspiration," says Make-A-Wish America president and CEO David Williams. "Whereas California Pizza Kitchen continues to implement new, creative pizzas, Make-A-Wish continuously challenges itself to grant more and better wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions."
While CPK fans and "On The Menu" viewers will have to wait until Oct. 17 for the big reveal, California Pizza Kitchen is throwing a month-long party to celebrate National Pizza Month leading up to and after the episode airs.
From Oct. 1 through Oct. 16, fans can put their culinary knowledge to the test with California Pizza Kitchen's Guess the Pizza app and predict the ingredients in the winning On the Menu pizza. Submissions will close Oct. 16, the day before the episode airs, and anyone who guesses the ingredients correctly will win free CPK for a year.
