Chris Ostapenko Wins World’s Best Cheese Slice

If you’re like Kevin and think outsmarting Joe Pesci is cool, consider what it would be like to win a $5,000 big check for making the World’s Best Cheese Slice at the 2025 International Pizza Expo. In fact, Chris Ostapenko of Slice on Broadway makes a cheese slice so glorious, the city of Pittsburgh declared May 6, 2025, Slice on Broadway Day in his honor.

Ostapenko tells Pizza Today that he makes about 100 cheese pizzas on Friday nights at the shop, and he followed the same method in this year’s International Pizza Challenge. “The rules were simple: Make the best cheese pizza you can,” he says. “I made the pizza as I do every day in the pizza shop, and the results paid off.”

Chris Ostapenko of Slice on Broadway in Pittsburgh celebrates his World’s Best Cheese Slice Championship win with team mates at International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Slice on Broadway.

Those looking to follow in Ostapenko’s footsteps should know he’s worked at Slice on Broadway for 15 years. If that doesn’t intimidate you, you might be ready to follow his steps:

• Cold ferment pizza dough for 48 hours
• Use house-made tomato sauce
• Liberally apply a house blend of cheeses

“I think this pizza stood out because of the balance of the flavors that we try to accomplish between the dough, sauce and cheese,” he says of winning over judges and claiming the division trophy.

Following Ostapenko’s win in Las Vegas, the Pittsburgh community showed up to support him by ordering his award-winning cheese pie. “I made more pizza that weekend than I have in a while,” he says. “People were coming to try the World’s Best Cheese Slice!”

World’s Best Cheese Slice History and Rules

The International Pizza Challenge debuted the World’s Best Cheese Slice division at Pizza Expo 2024. Unlike some other divisions, World’s Best Cheese Slice has strict guidelines for competitors:

• No par-baking.
• Must use red tomato sauce.
• Only grated cheese and dry spices are permitted
• Once the pizza is in the oven, no toppings or drizzles can be added aside from olive oil

Contestants select their best three slices, which are presented to judges blind.

Andy Huynh Wins Inaugural Prize

Andy Huynh, Cowabunga+, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, wins the World’s Best Cheese Slice Division at International Pizza Challenge 2024.

The first year the International Pizza Challenge opened its division devoted to World’s Best Cheese Slice, Andy Huynh brought home the trophy to Cowabunga+ in Hamilton, Ontario. As the owner of Cowabunga+, Huynh uses a sourdough starter and tops his cheese pizzas with marinara sauce, a Canadian mozzarella blend, Fior di Latte and oregano. Of course, only grated cheese is permitted during the competition.

Additionally, Huynh had to travel to Las Vegas with his pizza dough, some of which was packed in luggage lost by the airline, along with other ingredients. This left him without sufficient dough to compete for the coveted Pizza Maker of the Year award, which is open to division champions on the final day of Pizza Expo. Rather than rush the dough that needed to be ready the next day, the pizza maker asked a Cowabunga+ staff member to fly the pizzeria’s signature 72-hour fermented dough down from Canada.

“Luckily for us, we had a lot of support from our suppliers on the floor of the Expo. When we explained what happened, they were happy to give us some sauce and cheese,” Huynh tells Canadian broadcast station The News Forum. The baggage “landed about midnight Wednesday night, and by Thursday at 7 a.m., we were back on the floor competing again.”

Cheese Pizza Recipes

For a Truly elevated cheese pizza (pun intended), consider Chris Decker’s four-part pie featuring burrata cream and fried basil.

If you have a hankering for cheese pizza but are feeling fancy, Scott Wiener has the steps to create a four-cheese pizza Margharita soufleé.

Finally, you can’t go wrong with a classic cheese pizza. Yes, all for you.

The Great American Pizza Challenge

If you think you have what it takes to win a pizza competition, The Great American Pizza Challenge is taking place Oct. 26-27 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Information about the categories is available here.

In the meantime, happy National Cheese Pizza Day! May your cheese pulls be long and you always have Gouda luck!

The post National Cheese Pizza Day 2025 Falls on America’s Pizza Night appeared first on Pizza Today.

Chris Ostapenko of Slice on Broadway in Pittsburgh prepares his cheese pizza in the World’s Best Cheese Slice Championship at International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Slice on Broadway.

Chris Ostapenko, a 15-year veteran at Slice on Broadway in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wins the World’s Best Cheese Slice Division at the International Pizza Challenge during International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas in March. He bested 75 competitors in semifinal and final rounds to win the best cheese slice title, taking home a trophy and $5,000. “When it was time for the results, the Slice crew and many of our pizza friends all gathered,” he says. “When I heard the 3rd and my name was not called, I figured I lost, then second, same feeling. I thought there was no way I won first (Even though my pizza cooked beautifully) and we all started to walk away. Then we heard the magic number 59, Chris Ostapenko and I screamed with my team and could not believe it happened — was in a happy shock for hours and still today.”

The Division sought to proclaim the best cheese pizza slice in the world. Competitors present their top three cheese slices to the judges with slices consisting of dough, traditional red tomato sauce, cheese/cheese blend and spices. Once the pizza enters the oven, only a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil (infused or not), grated cheese & dry spices/herbs after baking are acceptable; No other drizzles, toppings, cheeses, or work on the pizza is allowed once the pizza enters the oven. Fresh basil is not permitted post-bake.

Chris Ostapenko of Slice on Broadway in Pittsburgh checks the bottom bake of his cheese pizza in the World’s Best Cheese Slice Championship at International Pizza Challenge at Pizza Expo in Las Vegas. Photo courtesy of Slice on Broadway.

“I entered the World’s Best Cheese Slice category and the rules were simple, make the best cheese pizza you can. On a Friday night I make about 100 cheese pizzas and I made the pizza as I do every day in the pizza shop, and the results paid off. It was our regular 48hr cold fermented dough, our house made sauce and our regular cheese blend. I think this pizza stood out because of the balance of flavors that we try to accomplish between the dough, sauce and cheese. I also nailed it when baking it this year in the oven. Even though I do this everyday, we are still cooking outside our elements when competing.”

Ostapenko has competed in pizza competitions for years. “I have always loved what I do but winning this competition gave me validation that I am in the right career path,” he says. “I love having the opportunity to compete with some of the best in the world many of which I follow and learn from in the industry. This recognition has given me even more passion and drive.”

Slice on Broadway’s win has gone viral. “We were on every local news station, paper and all over social media,” Ostapenko says. “It was insane and I made more pizza that weekend then I have in a while but it was different because people where coming to try the World’s Best Cheese Slice!”

Damien Moore of Jackknife Brewing, Kelowna, BC took second place and Charles Cullison III of Charlie’s Pizzeria in Kingman, AZ, placed third.

Learn more about Slice on Broadway and follow Slice on Broadway on Instagram.

Check out a full list of International Pizza Challenge winners.

For more competition details from Pizza Expo 2025, visit our hub page.

The post Chris Ostapenko from Slice on Broadway in Pittsburgh wins World’s Best Cheese Slice appeared first on Pizza Today.

Five Locations: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pizza Style:

Our pizza is a simple New York Style Pizza. We use the tag line “New York Style, Yinzer Made Pie”. A Yinzer is a Pittsburgh local, meaning that we make the best New York style pie with a Pittsburgh influence! For our dough we use a high-gluten unbromated flour and our hydration is about 65 percent. This leaves us a nice, fluffy crust with a perfect crunch and chewy texture.

With five locations, what has been key to your growth?

Our key to growth is keeping focused on what we do best and keeping the model simple. We know our product and how to make it right and we always want to stay focused on it and continually improve. We also try to create a work environment where our team can succeed. Each crew member is an important part of the successes of each location.

Your branding is top-notch. What has gone into creating and maintaining it at every location?

Branding is super important to us. We try to keep it consistent across each location with logos, boxes and even down to paint and signage. We want our customers to go to any location and have the same experience. We also try to engage locally in each community that we serve and really make our customers part of our Slice family.

What are the key factors in location selection for your concept?

I like to know the area and feel comfortable before I choose a location. I take the inward-out approach, meaning that I select an area where we are close to other locations but far enough to not take our own customers. With this thought process, we have a base of customers that already are aware of our product and brand.

What’s the biggest challenge you are facing in the business right now, and how are you addressing it?

Like many pizza shops, we are experiencing difficulties finding people to staff. We have many employees that have been with Slice on Broadway for over 10 years, but we are trying to find the new ones that want to join our team. We have begun to offer benefit packages, matching 401K and paid time off. Our staff is the most important asset to our success and we want them to feel at home in our shops.

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