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---
title: World's Best Margherita Pizza Competition Winner From Australia
description: No, it doesn't have Vegemite on it
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author: Samantha Grossman
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article:published_time: 2014-04-16T12:30:14.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:08:50.503Z
og:title: The World's Best Margherita Pizza Comes From a Surprising Place
og:description: Not Italy, as you might expect
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twitter:title: The World's Best Margherita Pizza Comes From a Surprising Place
twitter:description: Not Italy, as you might expect
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![](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte802caede2d855df/69868acaf983e7163f04d504/482171973.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9)


# The World's Best Margherita Pizza Comes From Down Under

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by 

[Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/)


## Samantha Grossman


Apr 16, 2014 12:30 PM UTC

![margherita pizza](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte802caede2d855df/69868acaf983e7163f04d504/482171973.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

Homemade margherita pizza with mozzarella cheese and fresh basil

Homemade margherita pizza with mozzarella cheese and fresh basil Getty Images

by 

[Samantha Grossman](https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/)


## Samantha Grossman


Apr 16, 2014 12:30 PM UTC

If you’re on a quest to find the best margherita pizza on the planet, don’t bother booking a trip to Italy, which was probably your plan. Instead, get yourself a ticket to Australia.

The results are in from this year’s World Pizza Championship, and the winner is Australian chef Johnny Di Francesco, who owns a restaurant just outside Melbourne. Di Francesco’s family hails from Naples, so at least there’s that. Also, his nickname is apparently “Mr. Pizza,” so you can’t really argue with that.

The competition, held each year in Parma, Italy, defines a margherita pizza as a pie “under 35cm in diameter, cooked in a wood-fired oven and contain only certain ingredients, such as peeled tomatoes, cheese, garlic, olive oil and salt,” according to [the _Guardian_. ](http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/14/melbourne-worlds-best-margherita-pizza-wins)

Hundreds of pizza-makers from 35 countries entered the championships, but Di Francesco managed to set himself apart. His secret? Italian-imported flour, high-quality buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. That sounds pretty tame, so we assume he’s just unwilling to reveal his _real_ secret.

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