So, you think you make the world’s best pizza… now’s your chance to prove it
The world’s biggest pizza competition arrives in South Africa on June 24 and independent chefs from across the country have the chance to win a place in the international final.
From its humble beginnings in 2009, the Global Pizza Challenge has developed into the planet’s biggest pizza competition.
For the first time ever, the Global Pizza Challenge has moved to Africa’s Big 7, the continent’s premier Food & Beverage Show, & The Hotel Show, the premier hospitality event for Africa, where passionate independent pizza chefs will demonstrate their gastronomic masterpieces first-hand. The challenge runs over three days from June 24 to 26 at Johannesburg’s Gallagher Conference Centre.
The competition is celebrating its 10th birthday this year and the South African winner will walk away with a trophy, 15,000 Rand in cash and will head off for the international final at the end of the year. The top six receive a hamper.
The GPC is backed by chefs’ associations from around the world, but the competition has humble beginnings by chefs who loved pizza, says Executive Chef Martin Kobald, a GPC judge who is well known to millions in South Africa from TV’s Little Big Cook Off.
“The challenge was inaugurated in 2009 by a few professional chef friends with a passion for pizza,” he said. “With pizza growing in popularity all around the world at a staggering rate, the chefs wanted to create and develop an international platform for countries to showcase their pizza making skills, cultural flavours and sheer culinary passion. Now we work with chefs’ association from around the world.”
Martin, who is one of the four judges at GPC Africa 2018, is well known internationally. He is Vice President of the Worldchefs Association of Chefs (WACS), and he is the Honorary Past President of the South African Chefs’ Association (SACA).
After almost 10 years, there are numerous professional chefs involved in organising, judging and managing events across the world.
The GPC brand run by Chef Martin and Jeff ‘the Chef’ Schueremans, top chef and fellow judge, who is former Vice President & Competition Director of SACA, who has cooked for people including Nelson Mandela, U2 and South Africa’s Bafana Bafana world cup football team. Both are honorary members of SACA’s Academy of Chefs.
Competitors for the South African final will be chosen from those who enter their recipe online before June 15, who will be invited to The Gallagher Centre, Johannesburg.
“We are very excited to be the new elected official host of the Global Pizza Challenge at Africa’s Big 7 and The Hotel Show, they make a great partnership and it is a privilege to welcome such esteemed chefs as judges and to offer the opportunity for our thousands of visitors to be part of it,” said Christine Davidson, Vice President Africa of dmg events, the show organiser.
The GPC is a key competition during Africa’s Big 7 2018, an exhibition and conference that attracts visitors from across the continent. Last year buyers from more than 30 countries visited Johannesburg to source not only the latest food and drink products, ingredients and packaging machinery but also to find new partners and conclude some huge export and import deals.
Africa’s Big 7 is part of Africa Hospitality Week 2018 bringing together the world’s leading suppliers with more than 15,000 decision makers at Africa’s three key exhibitions:
- The Hotel Show Africa brings global exhibitors showcasing products across interiors, lighting and design, technology, security, catering equipment and more.
- Africa’s Big 7 is the continent’s leading food & beverage event since 2001 where visitors source new ingredients, finished products, processing, packaging and logistics solutions.
- And new for 2018, iHost is the showcase for suppliers of the innovative technologies & equipment for foodservice, catering and back of house operations.
- Co located with SAITEX the largest product and trade fair in Africa
Find out more and enter the Global Pizza Challenge at globalpizzachallenge.com/events-2018/south-africa-2018/.
Discover more about Africa’s Big 7 and Africa Hospitality Week 2018 at www.africahospitalityweek.com