Who may enter: Contest open only to legal residents of the 50 United States the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older as of the time of Entry and are either employed or otherwise professionally affiliated with a restaurant or pizzeria or enrolled in an accredited secondary culinary school.

Category #1. On the Menu: An innovative pizza recipe already on your regular menu or a recipe available as a seasonal item or special Limited Time Offer. Dairy must be a key ingredient, as each recipe must contain a minimum of two Real California cheese or dairy products, with one of the cheeses being Mozzarella.

Category #2. California Freestyle: An original, cheese-centric pizza recipe using a minimum of three Real California cheese or dairy products including Mozzarella alongside ingredients and toppings grown or popular in the Golden State.

The Finalists and their Entries will be judged by a judging panel at the Cook Off as follows:
– (1) Live Inspiration Presentation to the Judges (10%, which will be judged based on a combination of personal background, inspiration for the Entry, speaking and presentation skills, and charisma);
– (2) pizza taste & flavor (30%); (3) the inventive use of California dairy products (30%);
– (4) pizza bake & texture (15%);
– (5) visual appeal & appearance (15%) (collectively, “Final Judging Criteria”).

In the event of a tie, the tying Finalist Entries will be determined by the score received for use of California dairy products. In the event of a further tie, the tying Finalist Entries will be re-judged based on the Live Inspiration Presentation scores of the Finalists. The top scoring Entry in each Pizza Category will be the Category Winner, and the top scoring Entry across the two Pizza Categories will be the Grand Prize Winner.