A pizza competition in Las Vegas has handed a major win to a Miami restaurateur, and it came with some history.
Loredana Passariello, co-owner of La Leggenda Pizzeria in Miami with her husband Giovanni, became one of the first women to win the Neapolitan division of the International Pizza Challenge on March 24, according to WPLG Local 10.
Passariello told WPLG she had spent years working alongside her husband before deciding to compete herself. Before moving to the United States, she worked as an accountant in Italy, then helped build La Leggenda Pizzeria with Giovanni, whom she has been with for 30 years, the station reported.
“I [wanted] to prove that all those years of sacrifice can actually yield results,” Passariello told WPLG Local 10. “I wanted to validate our shared work and see what those 30 years of working side-by-side with him had truly amounted to.”
“So, I decided to put myself to the test,” she said.
She entered the International Pizza Challenge’s Neapolitan division in Las Vegas on March 24 and won.
Pizza Today reported that her winning pie used the same fermented dough recipe method she uses at the restaurant. The pizza was finished with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh garlic, oregano and olive oil, then baked for one minute in a 450 degree Celsius oven.
Passariello also showed how she made the pizza in an Instagram reel, adding “lots of oregano” and extra virgin olive oil.
“Quite unexpectedly, I won! I won a very prestigious championship,” Passariello told WPLG Local 10.
She said the result felt “rewarding,” adding, “long live women!”
La Leggenda Pizzeria also posted about the result on Instagram and shared the moment Passariello was announced as the winner. In the video, Passariello and Giovanni hugged as the announcer reacted to a woman taking the title.
“I mean, if there was ever a doubt that this women in pizza movement is going somewhere, here you go,” the announcer said. “This is really unbelievable.”
According to Pizza Today, Passariello’s win in the Neapolitan division also made her the only woman in the 2026 competition to compete for Pizza Maker of the Year.
“It’s a great honor and also a responsibility,” Passariello told Pizza Today, adding, “I hope this result inspires more women to enter this field and believe in themselves.”
She also told the publication she wants to compete again because she loves “challenging myself and continuing to grow.”
Passariello told WPLG Local 10 that she also wants to encourage girls and women to try something new.
The win adds to a household already familiar with pizza awards. According to La Leggenda Pizzeria’s website, Giovanni has won awards including the International Pizza Challenge and holds a Guinness World Record.
In a video filmed at the restaurant after the competition, Passariello said she “did not expect to win” and, along with her husband, thanked her late friend Umberto Fornito, whose name was engraved on the award she received, according to the post.
In another reel, Giovanni wrote in the caption that the victory was “a story of love, sacrifice, and passion” and said it meant even more because he had previously won a category at the International Pizza Challenge.
Passariello gave a similar reflection to Pizza Today.
“After more than 30 years working side by side with my husband, this victory represents love, sacrifice and dedication,” Passariello told Pizza Today. “It’s a dream come true.”
📸 Credit: La Leggenda Pizzeria/Instagram
