Kokova Magazine

World Pizza Champion and Acrobat Graziano Bertuzzo has been showing off his skills in front of Royal Victoria Dock ahead of the UK Finals of the World Pizza Championships at IFE13 today, (Wednesday 20th March 2013).

It is the first time these championships have been held in the UK.

IFE, the UK’s biggest and most respected food and drink trade exhibition, will be working in partnership with Campionato Mondiale della Pizza to host not one, but two prestigious competitions - the UK Final of the World Pizza Championship, and the European Final of Giropizza of Europe.

The European Final of Giropizza, the largest competition of its kind in Europe, kicked off proceedings yesterday on the 'Meet The World' stage, located in the international Walk The World section of the show.

Today the drama and excitement will continue as the UK finalists of the World Pizza Championship take to the stage.

For the past 22 years, roughly 450 competitors from 30 different countries have risen to the challenges set by the longest running and most visited pizza event in the world.

Pizza has never been more popular in the UK, particularly within the restaurant scene. From the extension of Brixton born Franco Manca and Soho House Group's Pizza East, to the latest sourdough craze, pizza is the talk of the season and visitors to IFE will see the world's finest battling it out to win the coveted titles.

At IFE13, UK competitors will be pushing their pizza-making skills to the limit in a bid to be chosen to represent the country at the finals in Parma, Italy on the 15-17 April 2013.

The pizza industry is really thriving in the UK and there is a real appetite to learn the tricks of the trade and the skills involved in creating the perfect pizza. It's great to see IFE hosting the competitions and raising the profile of the pizza sector, in a fun and engaging way.

Jim Winship, Director of The Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association (PAPA) which is also supporting the event