Victor Nemes (44), co-owner of the ISLA Pizza pizzeria, located in the historic center of La Laguna, won one of the 30 special mentions of the World Pizza Championship for 2021 and is invited to the next edition of the championship in Parma, Italy, between April 4 and 6, 2022
Every year the World Pizza Championship brings together professional pizzerias from more than 40 countries who compete in 12 different categories and are classified by 24 juries. World Pizza Sharing, the competition that this year was organized online by the World Pizza Championship, who chooses the best pizzerias in the world, chose 30 winning pizzas out of the 755 presented in the competition. Victor Nemes is the only one in Spain chosen as the winner and invited to participate in the following year’s championship.
The pizza presented by Victor Nemes won in the category of classic pizzas and is inspired by the land and sea of the Canary Islands. It is a pizza with Neapolitan dough, 65% hydration and long fermentation. The base has a fish sauce, mozzarella fior di latte, artisanal island goat cheese, aged 12 months, lemon zest, and on top of all these ingredients are added the simmered octopus, marinated fennel and celery and fresh parsley. . In fact, the entire ISLA PIZZA menu, which exclusively offers pizzas and salads, has a very clear concept: the basic recipes of traditional pizza are respected with good quality ingredients, both from Italy and local, and a lot of imagination.
The pizzeria offers classic pizzas but also a special pizza for each of the Canary Islands with original and local ingredients: sweet potato, pumpkin, octopus, artisan cheeses, etc. Victor Nemes is not a novice in gastronomic competitions, being one of the finalists of MasterChef Romania in 2013.
“I always like to experiment with local and original ingredients, and also listen to the opinions of customers that inspire me. I will do the same with the pizza that I am going to present next year in Parma. We hope to achieve a very good result with the Canarian ingredients ”, says Nemes.
If you want to see all the pizzas that competed in the world competition, click here.
A business that was born in the middle of the pandemic
The idea of ISLA PIZZA was born in the spring of 2020 in full quarantine when the two partners were cooking as volunteers for Exquisitez de Canarias food that was donated through various NGOs to families in need. “We decided to do a good thing in an unfavorable context. We want to show that pizza is not junk food, but quality, affordable food that can be eaten anywhere and shared with everyone. A business that can be adapted to these special times that we live ”, declare the two partners -Victor Nemes and Gabriel Blaga Bodea, former owner of the vegetarian restaurant Tapasté-. One of the great advantages of the pizzeria is having its own organic farm in Valle de Guerra where the partners grow ingredients that are not easy to find on the island.
The World Pizza Championship
The World Pizza Championship, (in Italian, Campionato Mondiale della Pizza; internationally known as World Pizza Championship) is an annual gastronomic event in which the best pizzerias in the world compete. Its first edition was in 1991 and is organized by Pizza e Pasta Italiana and PizzaNew. In 2008, pizza makers from more than 20 countries competed. Pizzas are judged on their preparation, taste, baking, and presentation. Pizza competitions include those for the fastest pizza maker, freestyle stunts, and the biggest slice of dough. The headquarters are located in Salsomaggiore Terme, in the province of Parma, Italy. One of the main attractions of the championship is the presence of Miss Italia, who crowns the winners pizzaiolos. It is the world’s largest pizza fair, with more than 6,500 independent chain and franchise owners from around the world. Winners are inducted into their Hall of Fame and are sometimes invited as judges at subsequent championships.
