Breaking News English

An Australian chef has won a prize at the World Pizza Championship in Italy. Pizza maker Johnny Di Francesco runs an Italian restaurant in Australia. He scooped the award in the traditional Neapolitan pizza category. He beat dozens of rivals from Italy and all over the world. Italians might be shocked at the thought of an Australian (or indeed any non-Italian) winning. However, they can be happy that Mr Di Francesco has roots in Italy. His family is from Naples, home of the legendary Neapolitan pizza. Furthermore, he trained at the city's prestigious cooking school.

The World Pizza Championship is held annually to determine the world's best pizza makers and artists. It began in 1991 and over 600 chefs enter. Expert judges look at the preparation, taste, bake and presentation of the pizzas. There are also awards for the fastest pizza maker, freestyle acrobatics and the longest dough stretch. The judges this year restored Italian pride by announcing the winner of the best classic pizza was a master chef from south-east Italy. He said it was the pinnacle of his career. He had "craved" the prize since first entering the championship in 2000.