The California Pizza Challenge (CPC) sponsored by REAL California Milk will take place August 3-5th, 2025 at the Pizza Tomorrow Summit and California Restaurant Show in Anaheim, CA.

Celebrating the state’s long history of producing some of the country’s finest cheese, the CPC will feature 5 culinary events to showcase California cheese, with a Secret Basket Showdown for the Grand Prize of a trip to International Competition in 2026! There will also be a slew of Pizza Athletic categories demonstrating the dexterity and agility needed in the kitchen on a busy night.

Event sponsor REAL California Milk will provide any assistance needed in locating or obtaining any cheese found on the REAL California Milk official website.

Culinary categories will include:

PIZZA in the PAN: Must yield at least 6 pieces and feature at least 1 cheese produced in California. Competitors will have 30 minutes from first touch to hands off. Winner of this category will compete in the Secret Basket Face-Off against Traditional for the grand prize of a trip to compete in international competition in 2026, courtesy of the USPT & their Gold Sponsor, REAL California Milk.

TRADITIONAL: Must be 14″-16″, round, Yield 6 pieces, not made in a pan, and feature at least 1 cheese produced in California(verification will be required). Toppings will be limited to stay within the realm of Traditional. Winner of this category will compete in the Secret Basket Face-Off against Pan for the grand prize of a trip to compete in international competition in 2026, courtesy of the USPT & their Gold Sponsor, REAL California Milk.

YOUNG PIZZA MAKER: The industries next generation of pizza makers will get to square off in their age division (14-17) to see who has the chops to be the next big pizza master. Category will be Non-Traditional, so anything goes as far as toppings.

BEST TRADITIONAL SAUCE: Must make a traditional red sauce. Each competitor WILL BE GIVEN an 18 oz. dough ball, REAL California shredded Mozzarella and an oven. They may make any TRADITIONAL red sauce they wish.  Sauce must only contain traditional ingredients and must be a spreadable, traditional pizza sauce. Small veggies, herbs, oils and cheeses are allowed IN THE SAUCE. No meat is allowed in the sauce. Pizzas must be round and yield at least 6 pieces. Sauces chunkier than a slightly chunky bowl of salsa will be DQ’d. (Salsa will be available onsite for comparison and verification. You bring the chips!) Recipes must be submitted a week before the competition or you will not be allowed to compete and the next on the waiting list will be slated. You will be moved to the back of the waiting list.

THE REAL CALIFORNIA 3-CHEESE CHALLENGE: Pizza must contain exactly 3 cheeses and all cheeses must be produced with Real California Milk. Any cheese included in any other part of your recipe counts towards the total. Example, if you have cheese in your sauce, that counts as 1, and so on. Pizzas must be round and yield at least 6 pieces. Competitors may use additional ingredients and any sauce desired. Competitors must submit a full recipe and 10 competitors will be chosen from the applicants. You must submit the California cheeses you will be using when you register. Event sponsor REAL California Milk will provide any assistance needed in locating or obtaining any cheese found on the REAL California Milk official website.

Athletic Pizza Events will include:

Individual Freestyle Acrobatics: Spin it to win it! The victor of this event earns a trip to Orlando Nov. 11-13, 2025 to compete for a the grand prize of a ticket to compete in an international pizza competition in 2026.

Largest Dough Stretch: Competitors will have 5 minutes to stretch out one 18 oz. dough ball as large as possible. No holes larger than a dimer will be permitted.

Fastest Pie Maker: Competitor will stretch out five 10 oz. dough balls as fast as possible to cover 10″ screens. Dough must cover the entire screen to be counted.

Fastest Box Folder: Competitor will fold five  14″ boxes as fast as possible. Best time wins.