The 29th Edition of the WPC has just come to an end. Thousands of people, visitors and insiders have crowded Palaverdi, Parma Convention Center from the 5th to the 7th of April, many booth of professional companies in the pizza sector, looking for the best pizzamaker in the world and moved by the curiosity of meeting a gastronomic universe that has been growing along the years.
After 3 days of shows, more than 1.000 classes, with almost 800 competitors coming from 40 countries, which have confronted in 10 sections divided in two categories (baking classes and the games), the best pizzamakers in the world have been promoted.
Many women and man pizzamakers from the international scenario, but Italians played the main role winning 7 categories. Important placings for France and Croatia.
The Heinz Beck Trophy wins a special mention, headed by the famous chef Heinz Beck who has prized two of the best chef of pizza restaurants around the world – explains Heinz Beck – probably these years of forced halt have been useful for competitors to have more time to exercise. Hungarian chefs have really surprised us, but also the others have presented worthy creations.
“It has been a record edition – states Massimo Puggina, organizer of the event – thousands of participants, visitors and professionals of the sector. The world of pizza continues growing exponentially, same for the pizza market: 141 billion dollars of turnover for 2022, around 7% of global market, with two-digit growth from Asia”.
There were also some interesting moments such as the gin pairing with Scotland, pairing with wines of the Emilian territory and gourmand pizzas created by some professional pizzamakers who have participated and won more than once the World Pizza Championship and the masterclasses for professionals and students.
The winners
Baking competitions:
Neapolitan Pizza STG - Manuel Longobardi, Italia (Campania)
Pizza a Due - Maya Caroline (con Alain Patrick Fauconnet), Francia
Classic Pizza - Paolo Moccia, Italia (Emilia Romagna)
Pizza on the Peel - Giuseppe Criminisi, italia (Sicilia)
Pan Pizza - Camelia Rusu, Romania
Gluten Free Pizza - Fabio Alveti, Italia (Lazio)
The Games:
The Largest - Dario Nardin, Italia (Veneto)
Free Style - Nicola Matarazzo, Italia (Lombardia)
The Fastest - Andi Zikulari, Croazia
TROFEO Heinz Beck
Matei Nicolai / Elisa Striuli (ex equo)
