The 3rd annual REAL California Pizza Challenge delivered champions, upsets and a few surprises ANAHEIM, Calif. — After three days of culinary competition and pizza athletics, the 2026 REAL California Pizza Challenge wrapped up August 25 at the Pizza Tomorrow Summit & California Restaurant Show at the Anaheim Convention Center.
Florida-style crust and Roman technique put two U.S. Pizza Team members among the Sunshine State’s best. Florida may not have the centuries-old pizza pedigree of Naples, the foldable-slice mythology of New York or New Haven’s charred claim to fame. But Vitangelo “Vito” Recchia of Bella Napoli Pizzeria & Restaurant in
As Giovanni Labbate’s son Rocco steps into the family trade, his first competition win—at the REAL California Pizza Challenge—becomes a family milestone. Giovanni Labbate knows what it feels like to compete on a big stage. Over the past 15 years, the U.S. Pizza Team member and Tievoli Pizza Bar owner
A curious dive into mofongo inspires four Puerto Rican-style pizza experiments. Every once in a while, I come across a word that sends me down an unexpected rabbit hole. Recently, that word was mofongo. I had no recollection of where I had heard it or what it meant. For whatever
By U.S. Pizza Team Culinary Coach Vitangelo Recchia Roman pizza is a tradition built on science and transmitted through people. In part 2 of this two-part series on the fast-growing style (click here to read part 1), I’ll look at the fermentation timeline framework, revisit my first World Pizza Championship
