Arla Pro launches its inaugural national pizza competition for professional chefs, operators and pizzaiolos, with a £5,000 cash prize on offer
Pizzaiolos, chefs and professionals making and serving pizza across Great Britain are being invited to enter Britain’s Best Pizza competition – the first of its kind from Arla Pro.
The premise of the competition is simple: enter by providing some basic details online, and a mystery diner could be coming to visit your business. If you reach the final round, then esteemed independent head judge, Marco Fuso, will pay you a visit to sample your pizza for himself before deciding the final winner.
Pizza is one of the nation’s favourite dishes and has seen exceptional growth over the past couple of years, with a 6.4% increase in 2022 alone. Pizza operators are also hugely diverse, ranging from street food vendors to quick service outlets, through to pubs offering pizza or full-service Italian restaurants. Every type of business is eligible to enter the Awards – and it’s this diversity that makes this arguably one of the most exciting new culinary competition launches in recent years.
Donna Eaton, Head of Marketing at Arla Pro UK, said: "We wanted to give operators working in our exciting industry the opportunity to get the recognition they deserve, so decided to launch the competition to do just that. But this competition isn’t just about creating a great pizza. We know that fantastic food experiences are a sum of parts, so it’s important to us that the competition will judge entrants in their own establishments. When they’re on their own turf, so to speak, they can put their best foot forward in an environment in which they’re comfortable, where they know their own oven, kitchen set up and have their trusted team around them to support."
Award-winning pizzaiolo Marco Fuso has been appointed the competition’s head judge and will be visiting the top 3 finalists later in the summer to conduct a final round of judging. With over 20 years’ experience spear-heading pizza across Europe through his own restaurants and consultancy service, Marco has worked with pizza professionals from all over the world.
Marco will be judging each entrant on everything from the taste and texture of their dough and their use of toppings to deliver complementary flavours, through to the businesses sustainability credentials, customer service and overall experience.
Along with the esteemed title of Britain's Best Pizza, the winner will receive a £5,000 cash prize for their business, along with a training masterclass from Marco worth over £1,000.
Arla Pro, the foodservice division of Arla Foods and Europe’s largest dairy company, has launched the competition with the goal of celebrating the UK’s best pizza creators. Specialising in dairy products and solutions created in partnership with chefs, including mozzarella and pizza topping cheese available in a range of formats, Arla Pro is proud to supply innovative ingredients to help pizza businesses flourish.
