Frenchman's Unconventional Pizza Wins Him Top Honors At The Pizza World Championships

A Frenchman by the name of Ludovic Bicchierai was crowned the world's best pizza-maker at the 25th annual Pizza World Championships in Parma last week. Bicchierai beat out 650 pizza-makers from 35 different countries, and is only the third non-Italian ever to win the top prize, reports The Local.

"This is the second time I've taken part in the competition, but this year I thought I'd use the traditional French fish soup as my inspiration," Bicchierai said. His pizza, inspired by Provençal cuisine, was topped with tomatoes, bream carpaccio, mozzarella, courgette flowers, prawns, and Tabasco sauce.

Bicchierai was awarded the title, a 'prestigious pizza gong,' and a voucher for 1,000 kilograms (~2200 lbs) of free flour. Event spokesperson Patrizio Carrer says, "Even though pizza is an Italian icon, it's always a pleasure for us to see foreigners walk away with the prize from time to time."

Second and third place were awarded to two Sicilians, from Siracusa and Messina.

Check out our list of the world's best cities for pizza.