Key Takeaways:

• Record-setting attendance at Pizza Expo 2026 brings together pizza professionals to share practical industry insights.
• Explore highlights from the International Pizza Challenge and World Pizza Games, where new flavor trends and pizza-making skills are showcased.
• Learn how Pizza Today Village is the new hotspot for expert seminars, meaningful connections and knowledge you can apply year-round.

Industry Gathers at Pizza Expo for Education, Inspiration and Camaraderie

Pizza Expo 2026 was one for the record books by every measure: more attendees, exhibitors, competitors and activations than ever before. After the ovens cool and exhibitors clear their booth space, however, what remains each year are the relationships built and strengthened.

“The energy was at an all-time high this year. We had record numbers in nearly every category that we track,” says Jeremy White, brand director for Pizza Expo. “It’s a whole new Pizza Expo, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how everything turned out.”

Wylie Dufresne Gives Inspirational Keynote

With a Michelin star and James Beard Award under his belt, Wylie Dufresne is not the first person you think of when envisioning an old-school New York City pizzeria. But three years ago, the ever-versatile Dufresne launched Stretch Pizza, where he specializes in classic New York-style pies.

He applies the same curiosity at Stretch that he brought to his fine-dining establishment, wd-50, and encourages other pizzeria owners to do the same. For example, a staple of wd-50’s dessert menu was a molecular gastronomy version of the everything bagel: ice cream with a cream cheese base rounded into a bagel-shaped cylinder and paired with freeze-dried smoked salmon shredded into “floss” and served with dehydrated cream cheese and pickled onions.

Stretch Pizza also offers an everything bagel on its menu, but there it’s a New York-style pizza topped with a cream cheese sauce, chives, Mozzarella, Parmesan and, of course, everything bagel seasoning.

Dufresne defines “obsessive learning” as a practice of “asking the same question … until the answer actually changes.” In this example: What is an everything bagel? “In the kitchen, obsessive learning feels like play.”

Mattenga’s Shares Operational Tips During Keynote

If Wylie Dufresne’s speech was aspirational, the joint lecture by Hengam and Matthew Stanfield was organizational – and that is no accident. The married owners of Mattenga’s Pizzeria in San Antonio, Texas, both are trained engineers who purchased a failing pizzeria and applied their science backgrounds to solving the equation of success.

From staffing challenges to operational hurdles, the Stanfields leaned into what Hengam calls the Mattenga’s “Playbook,” which contains everything from calendars for cleaning and maintenance to guidelines for labor and food costs. Training manuals and common scenarios employees will face also are addressed in the playbook, with the Stanfields stating that setting expectations is the best way to set members staff up for success.

“Management problems are solved with a clearly communicated disciplinary process and an accountability culture,” Hengam Stanfield says.

Products and Services

All told, Pizza Expo 2026 featured more than 40 educational seminars, 12 live demos by respected pizzaioli from around the world and 13 paid workshops – not to mention the “Secret Menu” of seminars and demos held in the all-new Pizza Today Village. Of course, attendees return to the industry’s largest event for more than the education schedule.

The exhibit hall is the most eye-catching aspect of the International Pizza Expo, this year featuring more vendors than ever offering products and services tailored specifically to pizzeria owners. From oven manufacturers to creameries sampling all manner of cheeses as well as point-of-sale and pizza box providers, the Pizza Expo exhibit hall is where operators meet vendors to take their businesses to the next level.

“Without question, the Pizza Today Village was the largest and most important addition to the Pizza Expo show floor,” White says. “It’s an activation the likes of which Pizza Expo has never seen. It brought so much value and energy to the show. It really stood out, and I’m still getting comments about it from attendees and exhibitors alike.”

International Pizza  and Sandwich Challenges

One of the most anticipated features at Pizza Expo is the International Pizza Challenge (IPC), where pizza makers from all over the world see how their skills stack up to those of their peers. IPC judge Mark Zabrowski, co-owner of California-based Much Ado About Pizza, warned against viewing the competition as comparison, however. “You’re really not comparing them, you’re trying to take the pizza on its own value,” he tells Pizza Today, adding that 2026 trends included well-balanced heat and good flavors. All told, Zabrowski’s judging session took about two-and-a-half hours and ended with a dessert pizza. “It was a nice way to polish off the debauchery,” he says.

Unlike in years past, most IPC judges were not restricted to a single category (except for judges in the VPN subdivision of the Neapolitan contest). “There is no specific division that you judge. It’s completely blind,” says 2026 IPC judge Michael Androw, owner of E&D Pizza Co. in Avon, Connecticut. “You never know what’s coming next.”

Androw says he noticed more creativity among the entries, noting that imagination wasn’t limited to the Non-Traditional Division. He also says the quality of Detroit-style pizzas is improving as more pizzaioli master at the style.

Master Pizza, which coordinates the contest, instituted a new training program for judges so they all would approach scoring the same way. “It’s now a uniform system where everyone’s on the same page,” Androw tells Pizza Today.

First-place finishers in the International Pizza Challenge are as follows:

Pizza Maker of the Year

Mirko D’Agata – Pizzeria 900, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Best of the Best

Carmine Candito – ’O Munaciello, Miami Florida

Traditional

Patrice Desmeules – Pizzeria 900, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Non-Traditional

Frederico Santos – Square Pizza Co., San Diego, California

Neapolitan

Loredana Passariello – La Leggenda Pizzeria, Miami Beach, Florida

Pan

Mirko D’Agata – Pizzeria 900, Montreal, Quebec

Italian Classica

Paulo Guerra – @PauloMakesPizza, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

World’s Best Cheese Slice

Kevin Moreira – Boa Bakery, Binbrook, Ontario, Canada

Bacio Legacy

Wilhelm Rodriguez – Papa’s Pizza, Cabo Rojo Puerto Rico

Daiya Dairy-Free Traditional

Kevin Moreira – Boa Bakery, Binbrook, Ontario, Canada

International Italian Sandwich Challenge

Ciro Lubrano Lavadera – Pizzata Pizzeria, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

World Pizza Games

On the first day in a pizza kitchen, employees of all ages learn to fold pizza boxes and stretch dough. According to Ken Bryant, who runs the World Pizza Games on behalf of the World Pizza Champions, that is what makes the Games so exciting.

“The dough stretch is really something that everybody learns Day One in their stores. So, there’s a lot more people who have a skill set for that competition,” Bryant says, adding that two World Pizza Games divisions involve stretching dough: Largest Dough Stretch and Fastest Dough.

For Largest Dough Stretch, contestants have five minutes to get their dough as big as possible, and any holes in the dough must be closed before time is called. For Fastest Dough, competitors must stretch 12-ounce dough balls cover five 12-inch pizza screens as quickly as possible. In the Box Folding division, competitors fold five 12-inch pizza boxes as fast as possible. The Pizza Triathlon involves a segment of all three categories.

For crowd favorite Acrobatic Dough Tossing, contestants choreograph a routine full of tricks and perform their set to music. Individuals who take first place in the 1st Division advance to the Masters Category, which includes 1st place winners from other years as well.

The winners in each category of the 2026 World Pizza Games were:

Individual Acrobatic

Masters Division: Francis Tolu – Pizzeria Venezia, Algine, Valencia, Spain

Individual Acrobatic

1st Division: Casey Cole – Pizza Patt’s, New Vienna, Ohio

Fastest Dough Finals

Katja Korkko – Kotipizza Ii, Sorosentie, Finland

Largest Dough Finals

Matt Hickey – Caliente Pizza & Draft House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Fastest Box Folding Finals

David Whisker – B.C. Pizza, Boyne City, Michigan

Pizza Triathlon

Finals: Matt Hickey – Caliente Pizza & Draft House, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Building Community

Competitions, sales and education aside, the relationships forged and strengthened at Pizza Expo are the beating heart of the event. As brand director, it’s a responsibility that White takes seriously – and one where he finds incredible pride.

“It means everything,” White says. “Pizza Expo is an integral part of the pizza industry. It’s where we elevate and celebrate this great industry we all love. It’s a driver of business, of education, of making the pizza world a true community. The environment at Pizza Expo is unmatched. It’s really, really special.”

KATE LAVIN is Senior Editor at Pizza Today.