The California Milk Advisory Board is looking for the most creative professional chefs in America to showcase their inventive use of Real California Cheese in winning pizza recipe concepts. For the 2023 Real California Pizza Contest, CMAB will award prizes totaling $30,000, and any professional chef or culinary student in the U.S. is eligible to enter.

Chefs can submit recipes into three categories: Cal-Mex, the REAL Californian, and Plant-Forward. Cal-Mex recipes should focus on toppings that fuse flavors from California and Mexican cuisines and feature Hispanic-style cheeses from California. The REAL Californian draws inspiration from the Golden State by highlighting California cheeses and toppings. And finally, the Plant-Forward category will highlight pizza recipes that emphasize delicious flavor combinations of fruits, veggies, and Real California Cheeses.

“With more than 78,000 pizzerias in the U.S. and another 100,000 plus restaurants serving some type of pizza or flatbread, pizza is an important category for California dairy and a perfect platform for showcasing innovation with the Golden State’s award-winning cheeses,” said Mike Gallagher, Business and Market Development Consultant for the CMAB.

The final bake off starts August 2, 2023, at The Culinary Institute of America - Copia in Napa, Calif. All finalists will receive a cash prize. Finalists who are not category winners will receive $500 each. The winners in each category will receive $5,000, and the best overall pizza recipe creator will receive an additional $10,000 grand prize award.

In addition to the recipe, contestants must provide a short essay describing their personal and professional inspiration for their pizza creation. The deadline for contest submissions is May 21, 2023.

Pizzaiolos and chefs everywhere craving a bigger piece of the pie, some of that dough, or just the glory of being crowned pizza champion can review the contest requirements, qualifying cheeses, and complete an entry at https://pizzacontest.realcaliforniamilk.com/.