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 finisher:
