By Brian Hernandez
Juan Robles, the executive chef at Triple Beam Pizza in Los Angeles, emerged as the grand champion of this year’s hotly contested California Pizza Challenge, sponsored by REAL California Milk and hosted by PMQ’s U.S. Pizza Team, in Anaheim, California.
The competition took place earlier this week in conjunction with the Pizza Tomorrow Summit and the California Restaurant Show. It tested everything from speed and precision to balance and maybe even bravery.
After all, one of the contest winners was 17-year-old Arabella Justice, an employee of Pizza Modo Mio in Charleston, South Carolina, who stunned the judges with her poise, creativity and sauce-forward pie in the Young Pizza Makers event. “This was my first plane ride, my first time on the West Coast—just an incredible experience,” she said.
She also had some advice for other young people who might be eyeing future pizza-making competitions. “Honestly, just go for it,” she said. “You never know what could come out of it.”
Robles, meanwhile, took first place in the Pizza in the Pan category, then went on to face fellow L.A. pizzaiolo Griffin Baker of Secret Pizza in the Secret Basket Bake-Off. That win clinched the grand championship for Robles while Baker claimed No. 2 overall in the competition.
Here’s a day-by-day round-up of the event:
Day 1:
The opening round of the 2025 California Pizza Challenge included three key events: the Traditional Pizza Division, Largest Dough Stretch, and Fastest Box Folder. From classic pies to competitive precision, day one was all about honoring the craft—whether through flavor, finesse or flat-out speed.
Traditional Pizza
1st – Griffin Baker, Secret Pizza LA
2nd – Rico Lunardi, Slice on Broadway
3rd – Chris Battiste, Mia Ava East Coast Pizza
Baker impressed judges with a stripped-down, New Jersey–style pie: sauce, cheese and just the right amount of pepperoni. “The secret is simplicity. Local tomatoes, a good dough, pepperoni, cheese. That’s it. That’s all you need,” he said.
Largest Dough Stretch
1st – Nicholas Harper, Peace of Pie on Hartwell
2nd – Roberto Ramirez, Yeah Buddy Pizza
3rd – Griffin Baker, Secret Pizza LA
Fastest Box Folder
1st – Roberto Ramirez, Yeah Buddy Pizza
2nd – Sean Dempsey, Dempsey’s Brewery Pub & Restaurant
3rd – Mike Pitera, Pizza a Modo Mio
Day 2:
Pizza in the Pan
1st – Juan Robles, Triple Beam Pizza
2nd – Dominic Tedesco, Amore Taste of Chicago
3rd – Mike Tholen, Mangia e Bevi
Robles’ pizza stood tall—literally. With a beautifully fermented dough and a structure that echoed his fine-dining roots, he delivered a pan pie that felt more Roman than Motor City. Elegant, airy, and intentional from top to bottom, it was a sign of things to come. “Honestly, it’s all about the dough,” Robles said. “The Marra Forni ovens were excellent. I really got the height I was looking for in my pizza.”
Young Pizza Maker (Ages 14–17)
1st – Arabella Justice, Pizza a Modo Mio
2nd – Kieran Ronquillo, Mangia e Bevi
3rd – Quentin Burtner, Mangia e Bevi
Justice won her category with a score of 342.95 points. She also played a starring role on Pizza Modo Mia’s social media throughout the contest as owner Michael Pitera made sure to put her in the spotlight. Also testing her mettle: The Young Pizza Maker contest was postponed from day 1 to day 2. But if waiting an extra day made her nervous, you couldn’t tell it by the composure and professionalism the teenager showed in the reels posted throughout the event on Pizza Modo Mio’s Instagram account.
Fastest Pie Maker
1st – Roberto Ramirez, Yeah Buddy Pizza
2nd – Mike Pitera, Pizza a Modo Mio
3rd – Nicholas Harper, Peace of Pie on Hartwell
With top finishes in two of three athletic events, Roberto Ramirez was officially inducted as the newest member of the U.S. Pizza Team Pizza Athletic Division after Day 1. And with his consistently strong showings in Fastest Pie Maker, Fastest Box Folder, and Largest Dough Stretch, the team is confident in its decision. “Roberto’s speed, consistency, and energy were undeniable across the events,” said David Sommers, owner of Mad Mushroom and USPT Athletic Coach. “We’re excited to welcome him to the squad—and maybe just a little scared to race him.”
Day 3:
3-Cheese Challenge
1st – Sean Dempsey, Dempsey’s Brewery Pub & Restaurant
2nd – Giovanni Labatte, Tievoli Pizza Bar
3rd – Mark Zabrowksi, Much Ado About Pizza
After years of podium finishes, Dempsey finally snagged the gold. “That elusive first has always been the one we’ve been chasing,” he said. “It’s really cool to finally get this monkey off our shoulder.” What made the difference? “I had some advice from judges up in Napa [during the Real California Pizza Contest held a few days earlier] to reorganize how we made the cheese shine… and here we go.”
Best Traditional Sauce
1st – Mike Pitera, Pizza a Modo Mio
2nd – Sean Dempsey
3rd – Rico Lunardi, Slice on Broadway
Pitera’s sauce was a revelation in balance and brightness. But for him, this one was personal. “This is my Sunday sauce,” he said. “It’s a sauce that I sell in the stores. It’s a sauce that everybody loves. And it just feels really, really good to see that everyone else was enjoying it.” What set it apart? “Simplicity. If you use really good fresh ingredients, and you cook it the right way—slow-cook it, don’t rush it—that’s what makes it special.”
Secret Basket Face-Off
1st – Juan Robles, Triple Beam Pizza
2nd – Griffin Baker, Secret Pizza
In the final throwdown for the grand championship, Juan Robles (Pan Winner) faced off against Griffin Baker (Traditional Winner) using a basket of surprise ingredients: Point Reyes Fennel Blue, Cow Girl Hop Along Aged Cider Washed Cheese, pork belly, a trio package of Italian meats, tomatillos, cactus pears, guava, kabob veggie pack and the wild card: Texas Hot Honey from the USPT’s very own RC Gallegos of RC’S NYC Pizza & Pasta-The Woodlands.
Juan’s chef instincts kicked into overdrive. Faced with that basket of unexpected ingredients, he took a fine-dining approach and made it work on a pizza (pictured above). He braised the pork belly in guava for a sweet-savory foundation, built flavor around the Cowgirl Creamery’s Hop Along, and used the Texas hot honey to balance the richness.
“It was a nice prize at the end of the rainbow,” Robles said. “A lot of hard work goes into getting to this level…Honestly, it’s all about the dough.”
Robles’ fine-dining background gave him the edge. “I treated that pork belly like I would in a restaurant—braised in guava. It worked really, really well. I’m just stoked. I’ve never been to Italy before. I can’t wait to see how my pizza holds up on the world stage.”
And Griffin, calm and composed in his first-ever competition, proved why he’s one to watch. “I was not expecting to win. I just wanted to make a product I was proud of, and the judges enjoyed it as much as I do,” he said.
PMQ and the U.S. Pizza Team would like to thank the sponsors for the California Pizza Challenge: Real California Milk, Marra Forni, MFG, Grain Craft, and Gi.Metal.
