The Best Pizza Awards will honor the 100 best pizza chefs in the world as the ceremony returns to Milan, Italy, this month for its third edition. Could you be on the list?
Taking place on June 25, the high-prestige event will bring together 500-plus international guests, including more than 300 of the world’s top pizza chefs, journalists and gastronomic innovators for an immersive celebration of pizza’s past, present and future, according to a press release.
The Best Pizza Awards’ independent global voting panel comprises 512 experts from 60 countries and is designed to ensure transparency and excellence, eliminate commercial influence, and give chefs the final say.
Seventeen U.S. pizza chefs made the top 100 list in last year’s awards ceremony, which was held in Milan on September 30. Mark Iacono, owner of Lucali in New York, finished at the top of the American pack at No. 12, while Dan Richer of Jersey City’s Razza Pizza Artigianale claimed the No. 16 spot, and Sarah Minnick, the pizzaiola behind Lovely’s Fifty Fifty in Portland, Oregon, was ranked No. 20, followed by Wylie Dufresne of New York’s Stretch Pizza at No. 24.
Anthony Mangieri of Una Pizza Napoletana was ranked at No. 28 last year, even as he was chosen as the world’s best pizza chef for 2024 by 50 Top Pizza. Juan G. Perez, executive chef at Posto in Boston and a featured speaker at PMQ’s upcoming 2nd annual Pizza Power Forum earned the No. 60 spot.
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Marisol Doyle of Leña Pizza & Bagels, located in Cleveland, Mississippi, represented the small-town South at No. 83, while Giorgia Caporuscio, owner of the acclaimed Don Antonio in New York, was ranked No. 84.
Click here to check the full list of U.S. pizza chefs who made the top 100 in last year’s Best Pizza Awards.
“The Best Pizza Awards is about more than rankings,” said Christian Gadau, co-founder of the Best Chef Awards and the Best Pizza Awards. “That’s why we’re proud to introduce Pizza Talks, a platform for thought-provoking conversations with culinary trailblazers like Gabriele Bonci and Francesco Martucci, as well as special guest Eduard Xatruch of the avant-garde restaurant Disfrutar. They’ll be joined by a lineup of visionary speakers who will ignite dynamic discussions across the past, present and future of pizza.”
The Best Pizza Awards Gala will unveil the 2025 Top 100 and special awards for excellence in pizza, including:
- The Best Pizza NextGen
- The Best Pizza Margherita
- The Best Fried Pizza
- The Best Pastry Pizza
- The Best Pizza Icon
- The Best Pizza Experience
- The Best Food Art Pizza
- The Best Science Pizza
- The Best Street Pizza
- The Best Pizza Social Media
- The Best Pizza Identity
The Best Pizza Awards are powered by Molini Pizzuti. This year’s theme is “Beyond Culture & Origin,” offering “a deep dive into how pizza continues to evolve, from ancient origins to boundary-pushing interpretations.”
Additionally, masterclasses will feature Franco Pepe and Amalia Costantini, offering hands-on insights into both traditional and modern pizza-making techniques.
A post-awards pizza party features celebrated pizza chefs and chefs from Italy, New Zealand, and beyond, including Pier Daniele Seu, Floriano Pellegrino, Roberta Esposito, and Vaughan Mabee.
