What happens when two pizza-obsessed friends from Hamilton, Ontario, chase their dream—and end up winning the world’s best cheese pizza title in Las Vegas?
In this episode, we visit Cowabunga Pizza in Hamilton, Ontario, where Andy and Justin took the pizza world by surprise by bringing home first place for best cheese pizza at the 2024 Las Vegas Pizza Expo. From humble beginnings during the pandemic to serving slices with fried chicken, peanuts, and pineapple, they’ve built something truly unique. We dive into their dough process, the challenges of competing on the world stage, and why their approach to pizza (and business) breaks all the rules.
Highlights:
0:53 – Can the best pizza really come from Canada?
1:07 – Winning the 2024 World Cheese Pizza Championship in Las Vegas
1:36 – Inside the dough room: sourdough starter, hydration, and fermentation secrets
3:55 – Competing at Pizza Expo with missing dough, sauce, and cheese
5:09 – From Instagram friends to pizza partners
6:21 – Opening Cowabunga right as the pandemic hit
7:32 – Why they experiment and break pizza “rules”
9:14 – The Cowabunga pizza: peanuts, fried chicken, and pineapple
9:44 – Sauce secrets and their cheese blend
11:37 – Pepperoni Plus: jalapeños, spicy honey, and Canadian cheese
13:20 – Why they use pizza screens (and why it’s controversial)
16:29 – Tasting their world-famous cheese slice + garlic dip
18:39 – Reflections on growth, expansion, and “what good dough really means”
Check them out:https://www.cowabungapizzeria.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/cowabungapizzeria/?hl=en
Thank you to our show sponsors:
Bacio Cheese:
Corto:https://bit.ly/457DNII
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Shot by Marlin MackEdited By Valentine Phelippeau
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