“Many competitors are pushing the limits of their toppings with marinades and infusion techniques. I look forward to seeing the Neapolitan and Classic divisions grow.” – Jeremy Galvin, president of Master Pizza and IPC lead coordinator

Every year, the International Pizza Challenge is a study in the evolution of pizza in all its variations, themes and disciplines. “Creativity” was the word to sum up the 2025 Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas. We were introduced to black rice crusts and variants on modern “Pinsa” crusts, which contain varying degrees of soy, wheat and rice to produce an airy crust with less gluten.

Kazunori Takeishi from Hokkaido Pizza Giocoso in Asahikawa, Japan, presented a first-ever pizza with Marzipan atop white kombu (an edible kelp) and sea grass. Another uber-creative pie came from Justin Wadstein, owner of Sleight of Hand Pizza in Santa Cruz, California. His chorizo pizza with roasted butternut squash and matcha-goat cheese sauce on a red jalapeno oil crust was a grand slam with Cotija cheese with quail eggs. The number of entrants in the Neapolitan division was amazing, with Mirko D’ Agata from Pizzeria 900 in Montreal, Quebec, winning first place for his Marinara pizza.

The Spice Of Life

“The International Pizza Expo and Challenge were a huge success again this year. This competition is well on its way to becoming the largest pizza competition in the world.” – Michael LaMarca, owner and CEO of Master Pizza

Pizza chefs brought flavor profiles from around the world to Pizza Expo this year. The Asian chefs who competed in the California Milk Advisory Board Pizza Competition crafted light pizza crusts topped with bold and spicy flavors to show off the wonderful varieties of California cheeses. The Kung Pao chicken pizza with mushrooms and asparagus – presented by Shi Zhao from Acme Pizza in Shanghai – was outstanding. Amrafel Tomas from PizzaHacker in San Francisco presented a beautiful prosciutto and fig jam pizza with micro basil and aged Parmigiano Reggiano on a long-fermented dough.

Entries in the new Midwestern pan pizza category were stunning in their simplicity. This category had numerous round pizza pans filled with dough and topped with cheese and sauce (Grandma style), then baked and finished with garnishments. Bradley Randall of Avers Pizza in Bloomington, Indiana, proved the key to a great Midwest Pan Pie is the way the pizzaioli use the pan walls to direct medium-hydration dough into an airy, bold statement crust.

Brainstorming

“The competition was so well organized this year that it was a pleasure to be a part of. (Contestants) were presented the best ovens to choose from, clockwork precision from the organizers and transparency from the experienced judges.” – Domenico Crolla, award-winning chef, restaurateur, Pizza Champion, judge and Ristorante Oro, Glascow, Scotland

Like Chef Crolla mentioned, the best thing about the International Pizza Challenge this year was the evenness of the judging. For over a year, Scott Weiner and Jeremy Galvin brainstormed about ways to make judging more fair for everyone. Michael LaMarca, Hassi Sadri, Scott Anthony, Bill Oakley and many others worked to make the judging as flawless as possible, without the possibility of topping or style prejudice. Each judge was required to attend an orientation meeting that enabled them to judge pizza disciplines in a fair and even manner.

Pan Handlers

“As an IPC judge, I look for two things: First, no flour on the crust, even sauce lines and even distribution of cheese and toppings. Secondly, ingredients that do well together without any one thing overpowering others.” – Frank S. Zabski, owner of New Haven Pizza School

Detroit- and Roman-style pizza contestants dominated the Pan Division competition. The sizes of these popular pizzas were as varied as the toppings and fricos used. Some traditional pizzamakers opted for Wisconsin Brick Cheese to create a crispy bark, while others used cheddar, Asiago and aged mozzarella. Ben Tobin from Mezzaluna KSQ won Best Non-Traditional-Northeast and third in the world with his fabulous Detroit-style Reuben Pizza.

This year also brought an influx of square and rectangular Sicilians and Roman-style pizza competitors. Davide Lubrano Lavadera won first place in Roman style and second place overall as he blurred the lines of tradition by making a long Roman pan pizza with mushrooms and topping it all at once (Grandma-style) without par-baking the dough. A rye and Tipo 0-floured poolish dough was adorned with wild leek, Prosciutto cotto roses, pickled chiodini mushrooms and truffled caviar.

Jay Falk, district manager of Caliente Pizza and Draft House, finished second in Roman style with an amazing white and yellow New York sharp cheddar frico placed after a par-bake in a long Roman pan, making a “cheese plate” around the pan. House-made spicy sausage, fresh mozzarella, smoked provolone, ricotta, hot pepper jam, roasted pistachios, lemon zest and Parmigiano followed for a real winner.

I saw Adam Sachs make a pizza that I thought was amazing: A square Sicilian with tomato sauce, aged mozzarella, house-made pork butt sausage, jalapeño bacon, pickled candied peppers, hot fermented backyard honey, stracciatella and Corto agrumato.

Cloud Nine

“I like the higher hydration doughs that are being brought into the competitions. The technical side of dough science is amazing, and I appreciate the time and skill set that a baker needs to produce these great pizza crusts.” – Glenn Cybulski, restaurateur, industry consultant and IPC judge

High-hydrations doughs really made their mark this year. Many pizza pros showed true craftsmanship, such as the beautiful pizza made by Rebecca Scaramuzzino, assistant general manager at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco. She created a brunch-style pizza with smoked Gouda, aged mozzarella, applewood-smoked bacon, raw red onions, micro arugula and edible flowers with a maple-bourbon glaze.

Speaking of airy, the Pizza alla Palas showed well in the IPC’s Non-Traditional Division. A great example of innovation in this category was a smoked salmon Pizza alla Pala with granny smith apples, candied lemon zest, hazelnuts, whipped ricotta and basil pesto.

Some of the biggest surprise hits were entries for World’s Best Pizza Slice. This year’s contestants really rocked the dough in this category. From thin and crunchy to airy and light, this category brought everything down to the basics – crust, sauce and cheese, all combined for the world’s best bite!

Walls Start Tumbling Down

“In over 20 years of competitive pizza making, I’ve seen contestants pour their hearts and souls into competition. This can be a good and bad thing because of overthinking and overtopping, which upends the overall taste profile they initially wanted.” – Jason Samosky, five-time World Pizza Champion

Some contestants stumbled a little due to nervousness or because they rushed their pizzas. Some Detroit-style pizzamakers in the Pan Division pulled their frico-crusted pies from the pans a little too early or had too much cheese on the frico, which bloated the pizza’s walls and made the frico fall.

Some contestants kept the pies in the oven too long without checking the bottom of the crust. I saw this numerous times, and the voices inside my head started screaming, “pull it out!”

The use of microgreens and edible flowers elevated first impressions of many pizzas – but sometimes, these latent garnishes melted on a too-hot pizza.

As many judges have said, soft cheeses can play a large role in finishing pizzas. I also witnessed some pizzas that weren’t cool enough to top with a soft cheese such as stracciatella, which created a pool of watery liquid.

Even with these few examples of pizza faux pas, the International Pizza Challenge was a spectacular way to see the evolution of pizza reach new heights.

JOHN GUTEKANST is the owner and CEO of Avalanche Pizza in Athens, Ohio. Instagram: @jgutekanst