UK chef fears he was SABOTAGED by rivals at international pizza competition

A British chef fears he has been sabotaged by rivals who may have stolen his olive oil after finishing last of 429 in Italy’s Pizza World Championships.

31-year-old Danny Child from Norfolk competed in the competition in the Italian city of Parma earlier this year.

The pizza chef noticed his olive oil was gone 15 minutes before the match was due to start and froze while the other chefs around him were preparing for the match.

He told a journalist, “We’ve had a little incident,” before asking him to go get some oil from a vendor at the nearby fair, the Financial times reports.

He prepared his station by putting all of his ingredients in the refrigerator, but left his olive oil on the counter, only to realize it was gone shortly after.

The pizza chef noticed his olive oil was gone 15 minutes before the match was due to start and sent a journalist to get some from a vendor at the nearby fair

Mr Child said another competitor warned him to avoid falling victim to foul play by never leaving his ingredients unattended.

The competition, where 429 chefs gathered to find out who makes the best pizza, is prestigious and whoever comes out on top can make their pizzeria a destination for fans of the Italian dish.

The British electrician turned chef, who quit his job during the pandemic to open a pizza van with his wife Lucy, wanted to experiment with a new recipe during the competition, using beer and honey in his pizza – which the judges probably didn’t appreciate,” he wrote on social media afterwards.

He said, “On reflection, I kind of lick my wounds. There were so many factors that I really hadn’t foreseen.’

He also encountered a number of other mishaps at the event, such as the oven not being hot enough, no paddle to place subjects on his pizza, and wearing black instead of chef’s whites, which led to him submitting his creation to the jurors presented while his jeans were. colored by flour.

After finishing last, Mr Child said he was “gutted” but admitted that the Italian chefs he had to face had “killed everyone”: “I threw in some pizza, saw those guys and then went to drink beer and sulk. They are just so good,” he told the Financial Times.

He opened his pizza van in Norfolk after the pandemic shut down construction sites, which was so successful he expanded it to a full restaurant in August

After finishing last, Mr Child said he was “gutted” but admitted that the Italian chefs he had to face had “killed everyone”: “I threw in some pizza, saw those guys and then went to drink beer and sulk. They’re just that good’

The British electrician turned chef, who quit his job during the pandemic to open a pizzeria with his wife Lucy, wanted to experiment with a new recipe during the competition, using beer and honey in his pizza

When he told his social media followers that he had lost and promised to return in 2024, they were full of compassion and congratulated him on his participation, with many telling him how good his pizzas are.

He opened his pizza van in Norfolk after the pandemic closed building sites, which was so successful that he expanded it to a full restaurant in August.

Despite his failure in the competition against mostly Italian chefs, Mr. Child is determined not to give up and said he understands why the judges scored him low for “striding forward in flour-covered jeans.”

He also said the language barrier was a problem as he couldn’t tell the judges what was in his dough when asked.

But the event and Parma’s other pizza makers have inspired the British chef to ‘add and change’ his menu, writing on social media: ‘Better prepare for next time. Being more confident in what I wanted to do and not changing it at the last minute.

“Overall I feel down about it, but I feel like we’ll be twice as many competitors next time.”

When he told his social media followers that he lost and vowed to return in 2024, they were full of compassion and congratulated him on his participation, with many telling him how good his pizzas are