Pittsburgh Chefs Win Top Honors At Las Vegas Pizza Expo

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Caliente Pizza & Draft House has reached the "Pinnacle of Pizzadom."

Three chefs brought back major awards from the Pizza Expo in Las Vegas.

Chef Eric Von Hansen was the Northeast Division Champion in the "non-traditional" category.

"I wanted to do something that would make it pop, something no one else in Pittsburgh, no one else in the world, was doing," he says.

Lifting a slice of pizza, he adds, "You can see here, the air bubbles. That's what you want when you eat a pizza."

Chef Nick Fink was the Northeast Champ in the "traditional" category.

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"The ricotta's a nice creamy smooth cheese," he says, as he adds toppings to a pizza. "It doesn't have the hit you in the face flavor that the mozzarella and provolone does."

He topped off his winner with ten types of sausage.

Caliente also came back from Vegas with a World Championship. Chef Matt Hickey claimed the world title, spinning 103 centimeters of dough.

"You kind of treat it very gently," he says, tossing an uncooked pie into the air. "And you've got to pay attention to where it's already thin."

Caliente has locations in Bloomfield, Allison Park, and Mount Lebanon.