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Who will be the winners on the biggest night of the year?
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It’s the question on everyone’s mind now that the finalists in each award and competition category have been revealed. The judges have been busy tasting, deliberating, discussing and debating over the summer. There’s excitement building as the last of the shortlists have been published, with thoughts turning to the PAPA Industry Awards Dinner and the finals of Pizza Chef of the Year. In the product categories, the judges had the mammoth task of tasting more than 50 pizzas for the Manufactured Pizza Award and almost as many entries for the Italian Style Food and Italian Style ReadyMade Main Meal Awards. They deserve a trophy all of their own! A special nod of thanks must go to Michael Eyre and his team at Jestic, who hosted the tasting sessions at their splendid facilities. You can read more about Jestic in our special feature on page 32. There were some fantastic presentations made to the judges for the Environment & Sustainability Award by the five deserving finalists that emerged from the initial judging. Similarly, in the Business & Product Innovation category, there were five outstanding entries that made it onto the shortlist. The major retailer categories are always hotly contested. The judges take into account market data plus submitted information to complement their own expertise to help them reach their decision. For the independent retailer categories, mystery shopping specialists ESA visit all of the shortlisted entries and their findings play a huge role in the final decision making process. For the Pizza Chef of the Year competition, the finalists are selected by category sponsors. The core judging panel for the finals includes head judge and celebrated chef Theo Randall, former winner and renowned pizza chef Marco Fuso, alongside Jestic’s pizza supremo Michael Eyre. They’re joined by a representative from each sponsor for their respective category. The trophies are being polished, the gold envelopes are being sealed and fizz is being put on ice. All that remains is for you to join us.
PAPA Industry Awards Dinner The Sheraton Grand London Park Lane 6 November 2026
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www.pizzapastamagazine.co.uk 08/10/2025 12:20