08/22/2026
I don’t agree with how these PIZZA classifications work, and this is just my personal opinion.
First, they lump completely different styles of pizza and pizzaiolo into one category. You’ll see a pizzeria at number 13 doing a totally different style than the one at number 20 — two different crafts being judged on the same metric. That’s already a fundamental flaw. It’s like scoring five different fruits on one scale — an apple, a pear, a banana — as if they’re the same thing.
Second, there’s always a sponsor behind these lists, and you never really know if the rankings reflect what they claim to. Maybe there’s influencer or sponsor money involved. You hear the rumors — they might be true, they might not. But the lack of transparency alone is a problem.
Third, there’s no real scoring system you can see. They claim to visit pizzerias around the world with a network of inspectors, but you never actually see that process happen.
For all these reasons, I think these classifications mostly serve ego — for the pizzaiolo and the pizzeria — and, of course, sales. People want to eat at the pizzeria ranked number one, two, or three in the world. A number sells. It’s a business, and everyone involved makes money from it.
But if you’re a true pizzaiolo, if you really love this job, you don’t need a ranking to tell you your worth. I know mine every single day — when a client book me once ans multiple times after. That’s the validation I’m proud of. I don’t need another kind.
This doesn’t mean people who chase these rankings aren’t doing rigorous work — that’s their choice, and I respect it. This is just my opinion, and I’d like to hear what others think.
