Amateur Pizza
Competition
Think your homemade pie can hang with the pros? Here's your shot. No restaurant required — just you, your pizza, and a Forno Bravo oven on the Front Range's biggest pizza stage.
Home Cooks,
This One's for You.
The Amateur Pizza Competition is the festival's open call to Colorado's home cooks and hobby dough-slingers. If you've spent weekends chasing the perfect crust in your backyard oven, this is your stage — right in the middle of the inaugural Colorado Pizza Festival.
It's a cheese-pizza throwdown — a single division, no toppings. Fifteen amateurs bring their own pre-made dough, sauce, and cheese and fire their pies on the festival's Forno Bravo oven. Enter below, and if you're selected, you'll compete live on September 5th.
How It Works
- Submit your entry below by August 21, 2026.
- Fifteen competitors are selected and notified by email by August 24.
- Bring your own pre-made dough, sauce & cheese — or pick up donated flour from Moxie Bread Co in Longmont (optional).
- Check in at 2:00 PM; the bake-off begins at 2:30 PM on the Forno Bravo oven.
- Judging wraps by ~4:00 PM; scores are tallied and the winner is announced shortly after.
The Format & Rules.
A single-division cheese-pizza throwdown — no toppings. Fifteen amateurs go head-to-head on one central Forno Bravo gas-assist oven, each judged on crust, technique, and taste. You bring the dough, sauce, and cheese; we bring the oven, a prep tent, and — if you'd like it — donated flour.
What You Bring
- Your own pre-made, proofed dough, ready to shape (enough for one 12–14" pizza; bring extra in case of a mishap)
- Your sauce and cheese
- A container or wrap to transport it all
- Any personal tools you like — optional
What We Provide
- A scheduled bake slot on the central Forno Bravo oven
- A prep tent with tables
- Basic station tools — peel, bench scraper, cutter
- Donated flour from Moxie Bread Co, 103 Main St, Longmont — optional
The Ground Rules
- Cheese pizza only. After baking, the only additions allowed are olive oil, grated cheese, and herbs
- No on-site dough prep — arrive with your dough proofed and ready to shape
- You shape, top, and load your own pizza; staff handle the oven for safety
- No brands or names on anything you present — instant disqualification
- Present your best three slices to the judges
How Judging Works
- 2–3 judges score every pizza to the hundredth of a point
- Dough & Crust — texture, structure, char, crumb (1–10)
- Technique — assembly, sauce & cheese, oven handling (1–10)
- Overall Taste — the complete pizza (1–10)
Throw Your
Apron in the Ring.
Free to Enter · Entries close August 21, 2026
Fill out the form below to enter the Amateur Pizza Competition. We'll review entries and notify selected competitors by email. Fields marked * are required.