Dave Housman of Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria in Edmonton was guaranteed a spot in the finals after winning Canadian Pizza magazine’s Chef of the Year contest. Canadian Pizza’s Chef of the Year runner up, Adrien Vachon of Fat Cat’s Pizza in Welland, Ont., scored second in the Open 1 division of the preliminaries with a score that earned him a Wild Card spot in the finals. Pasqualino Oliveri of The Grand Pizzeria in Ottawa scored first place in the Open 1 category to secure his place in the championship round.

Housman scored 92.7 to finish sixth overall with his pie topped with sweet Chorizo sausage and mushrooms. Vachon earned 87.45 for his Canadian pizza topped with pepporoni and maple bacon. Oliveri chose mushrooms and pepperoni for his pizza, which scored 88.35.

Eddy Rossignoli of Italy took top honours in the traditional division with a score of 107.35, followed by Jane Ellen Mines of the U.S. with 102.95. The remaining competitors in the final field were Gianluca Procaccini of Italy (99.45) and Bruno Difabio (98.75) and Paul Duran (96.43), both of America.

In the non-traditional division, first place went to Theo Kalogeracos of Indonesia after winning 136.40 points. William Olund of the U.S. was second with 132.55 followed by fellow American John Gutekanst, who was right on his heels with 132.15.The remaining competitors in the finals were three Americans—Abe Collins (126.85), Edward Barbeau (118.6) and Frank Baird (125.7)—plus Damon DeRuiter of Australia (115.7).