Sean Dempsey wins Dessert Gold as Giovanni Labbate Pizza & Beer Pairing lands Him on the podium
Some trips are vacations. This one was more like the training montage from Rocky, except the soundtrack is oven fans, the stakes are international (like Rocky IV!), and the funky gym 
odors are replaced with the glorious aroma of fermented dough.
Pizza Senza Frontiere in Rimini, Italy, isn’t a casual stroll through a food show. It’s a world-stage throwdown inside SIGEP WORLD’s Pizza Arena, with hundreds of competitors from numerous countries and 17 categories that can humble you in public if you show up underprepared. For PMQ’s U.S. Pizza Team it was the opposite; team members came home with a gold, a bronze and a stack of finishes that deserve to make the highlight reel of your favorite local news sports segment.
The Rimini roster for the USPT included Sean Dempsey of Dempsey’s Brewery Pub & Restaurant (Watertown, SD); Giovanni Labbate of Tievoli Pizza Bar (Palatine, IL); USPT Culinary Coach Chef Vitangelo Recchia of Bella Napoli Pizzeria & Restaurant; George and Patti Taylor of Taylors’ Pizza House; USPT Team Captain Tore Trupiano and his son Damiano Trupiano of Mangia e Bevi; and Craig Allenbaugh and Deserai Satullo of Sauced Wood Fired Pizza & Catering.
Let’s start with the sweetest headline: Dempsey captured first place in the Dessert category with his Carrots & Cream Dessert Pizza, a carrot cake cheesecake dessert pizza that somehow managed to be both bold and controlled. The concept was comfort-classic flavors, thrown like a clean one-two and finished with championship-level control.
“I used a fermented dough ball, added carrot cake batter, golden raisins and shredded carrots, then cooked it at 620 degrees for 4-5 minutes,” Dempsey said. “After that, I added dollops of New York-style cheesecake batter, crushed walnuts and pistachios, a drizzle of warmed cream cheese frosting, and lemon zest.”
And because dessert pizza can go sideways fast if you chase sugar instead of balance, Dempsey kept the goal clear. “I didn’t want it to be too sweet,” he added. “I wanted to really make it about the actual carrot cake, with a touch of New York cheesecake. But fun side note: My carrot cake pizza has a 1/2 cup of pureed pineapple in it. Not sure if I should mention that.”
Dempsey didn’t stop at dessert gold, either. He placed 7th in 
Mystery Box, and he partnered with George Taylor to earn a top-10 finish in Pizza & Wine, with George heading the pizza component of the pairing.
Labbate took third place in Pizza & Beer pairing, and he wasn’t shy about what made the entry sing. “We’re so excited to share this with everybody,” Labbate said. “We made a classic New York artisan pizza topped with San Marzano sauce, mozzarella, toma, truffle cheese, cup and char pepperoni, herbed ricotta, peppadew peppers, fresh mozzarella, and then the touch of truffle, honey and Parmigiano Reggiano. It just cooked perfectly.”
Now let’s talk about a result that deserves more shine than it often gets in recaps: In a first-time international outing, Satullo placed 4th in Pizza Fritta, which is the kind of near-podium finish that announces itself without needing a microphone, but I’m announcing it anyways. It also came in a competition environment that didn’t exactly make it easy for visiting teams.
The trip marked the first international outing for Allenbaugh. It also doubled as a personal
milestone for Allenbaugh and Satullo, who became newly engaged during the trip. And if you want a perfect snapshot of what competing overseas can feel like, Allenbaugh gave it to us in plain language: “Overall, it was a good experience,” he said, “but there were some hurdles we did not expect. No refrigeration, no provided utensils, no ice, and definitely the language barrier, but we made it work!”
That’s the real story behind the medals and placements. You can prep and practice all year, but Rimini teaches its own lessons the moment you arrive.
Also bringing home world-level finishes were Trupiano, who earned 7th 
in Classica and a top-10 finish in Gluten Free, and Recchia, who took 8th in Pizza in Pala. Add in Damiano 
Trupiano competing alongside his dad, plus George and Patti Taylor representing Taylors’ Pizza House, and the picture gets clearer: this wasn’t just a trip, it was a team effort across categories, styles, and experience levels.
And because no international pizza adventure is complete without a little life happening in the margins, Dempsey also delivered one the most Sean Dempsey post-win notes imaginable: “It’s safe to say, today was a good day.” And if the universe was feeling extra generous, that gold medal would have been chocolate wrapped in foil, which feels like the most appropriate trophy possible for a Dessert Pizza Champion of the World. We have reached out to the Dempsey camp, but have received no comment on that subject as of yet.
