Widely regarded as the largest pizza show in the world, the 39th annual International Pizza Expo was held last month in Las Vegas. We recap some of the best bits.
The expo has held the title of the world's biggest gathering of pizza makers and enthusiasts for nearly 40 years now. This year's expo offered a range of exciting activities, from pizza tasting contests and gear demonstrations to the World Games - a sports competition with categories like Freestyle Acrobatic Dough Tossing, Fastest Dough, Largest Dough Stretch, Fastest Pizza Box Folding, the Pizza Triathlon and a Tandem Team Competition.
Also hotly contested were the Non-Traditional Pizza and Pizza World Championships, which showcased innovative creations, such as the bone marrow pizza and perfect examples of traditional pies.
Despite a lot of noise of late across social media around the popular Chicago Tavern-style pizza, Detroit pizza continued to be one of the winners at the Pizza Expo this year, with its cloud-like dough floating into delegates' hearts. The crispy cheese crust, aka the frico, was in plentiful supply, being found not only on square pizza but on the edge of round Detroit variations and "toppings up to the edge" New Haven-style pizzas.
Another pizza to make a name for itself at the show was the Montanara - built from a steamed base which is then deep-fried resulting in a flat bread style base which can be topped with your choice of accompaniments.
Alongside all of the weird and wonderful pizza creations on show, visitors were also attending for the range of typical conference experiences — seminars, networking, gadgets and ingredients from more than 400 exhibitors. Find out more about what to expect from the International Pizza Expo here.
tfp trendhub subscribers can read our foodwatching report on the International Pizza Expo here, covering the movers and shakers of this year's event, the competitions, what was trending and more. If you're not yet subscribed but are interested in receiving our regular trend reports then get in touch using the form below.