Florence Competition Opens for Online Submissions

Does your pizza have a photogenic appeal? A beautiful picture of your pizza could be your entry into the international Pizza Star competition in Florence, Italy. The online preliminaries have just begun and will pare down the number of competitors based on their pizza aesthetics. Once selected, competitors will have to recreate their picture-perfect pizza before a live panel of judges.

The final competition on September 30 will be held in Buoneria, a family event venue with four wood-fired ovens. The atmosphere at Buoneria is local, friendly, supportive and fun. But that’s not to say the competitors have it easy. Italians are getting novel with pizza, taking on daring flavor combinations and perfecting dough down to a science.

See video from the 2018 Pizza Star competition

The highest scoring competitors in 2019 will take home up to $10,000 worth of products. First to sixth places will receive cash prizes. The first place in Classica will walk away with 500 euros (561 USD)!

How does it work

Candidates enter by emailing a photo of their best-looking pizza before August 15. A panel of online judges anonymously rank the pizzas, coming out with six finalists for each of the five pizza categories. Those who qualify are invited to Florence to compete on September 30, 2019.

The five categories are Pizza Classica, Gourmet, Alternative Dough, Regional, and Dessert. Participation and entry into the competition are free. Individuals can submit photos to all categories, but only one photo per category.

Are you ready to send in a picture of a pizza which is both beautiful and delicious?

Here’s what you need to know to participate. Full rules can be found in Italian here.

1. Submit your photo

Send an email to star@pizzamaster.it by August 15, 2019.

Be sure to include the following

In the subject line: First name, last name, and category

In the email: Repeat your first name, last name, and category. Add your telephone number, your city/country, a description of your pizza, and the name of the pizzeria you are representing.

In the attachment: a photo of your pizza (one per category, without any sort of logos, watermarks or identifying symbols).

If you’re submitting photos for multiple categories send one email per category.

Purple potato purée gives this pizza its brilliant hue

2. Confirm your spot in the finals

If your pizza is selected you will get an email with the following sentence for each category you’ve been selected for: SEI STATO SELEZIONATO

You can respond with one of two choices:

ADERISCO – You will join the competition and fill out paperwork for signing up.
RINUNCIO – You will not compete in Florence and will give up your spot.

If you are selected for multiple categories you can decide which ones you want to compete or not compete in individually.

If you do not respond to the mail with either aderisco/rinuncio within 48 hours, you will be disqualified from the competition and will not receive a participation certificate.

Good luck and may the best pizza win!