Oscar Venegas Brings Home Best 3-Cheese At Real California Milk’s 8th Annual Pizza Contest

California has long been America’s #1 state when it comes to dairy, topping even the mighty Wisconsin when it comes to milk output—and by no small margin. Realizing many Californians are unaware of this fact, eight years ago the Real California Milk Board put together an event to showcase the use of California dairy products on everyone’s favorite comfort food: pizza. 

Over the ensuing years the Real California Pizza Contest has become one of the most prestigious pizza competitions in the industry, growing in step with the rise of American artisanal pizza, and attracting top pizza competitors from across the nation. This year the contest took place at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa, where over 200 chefs vied for recognition. Judges at this year’s event included some familiar names, including Pizzeria Da Laura’s Laura Meyer, award-winning pizzaiolo Glenn Cybulski and Tony Gemignani. 

The contest is broken down into two categories: On the Menu, recognizing pizzas with strong commercial menu appeal; and California Freestyle, which emphasizes bold, original pizza creations that showcase California-inspired ingredients. Both categories must feature multiple Real California dairy products. 

This year Chef Zack Calder of Nevada’s Left Coast Pizza lassoed the Grand Prize, along with the top spot in the On the Menu category. His pizza, which he dubbed Valley Heat, Vine Sweet, featured Real California fresh mozzarella, Monterey Jack, queso fresco, and fresh fruit, balanced with a savory, peppery bite. In the California Freestyle category, the top prize went to Chef Jimmy Henry of Harleysville, Pennsylvania’s Jimmyhank Pizza. Henry’s Detroit Style Motor City Elote pizza was inspired by his love for Mexican street corn, combining Real California low-moisture mozzarella, cotija, and crema with roasted corn and smoky notes. Sounds wild, and clearly the judges loved it.

Meanwhile, in a special team event, our very own Oscar Venegas teamed with Ryan Ososky from West Hollywood’s Dtown Pizzeria to nab the top prize in a three-cheese pizza bake-off. The two paired Real California low-moisture mozzarella, hatch chile-flavored Jack cheese, and a parmesan-style cheese to create a rich, nutty, slightly spicy pie that won the judges over. And here’s the kicker: soon you’ll be available to enjoy that pizza right here at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana. 

This week I sat down with Oscar to talk about his experience at the Real California Pizza Contest, and lightly edited for clarity and length, our conversation is below. 

Joe Bonadio (JB): Oscar, congratulations. 

Oscar Venegas (OV): Thank you. 

JB: We find ourselves here again! You just managed to pull off yet another trophy, this time at the Real California Milk Pizza Contest. Tell me a little bit about this event—from what I understand, it’s become a really important event for the industry. What is it that makes this contest different than the others? 

OV: Yes, this one’s a little bit different from anything else that I’ve competed in. What makes it unusual is how you enter it. You’ve got to create a recipe, take a picture of your pizza and send it to them, then just hope that the judges read your ingredient list. Obviously, you have to use all California cheeses in order to enter, but then you get to put your own little twist on it.  

This year they had a Freestyle competition and an On The Menu competition. The On The Menu one was basically intended for pizzas already on your menu that use California cheeses. I chose Freestyle, where I got to be a little bit more creative with it. So I entered my own Al Pastor pizza, which I called the Golden Coast Pastor, and I used about five different California cheeses in it.  

JB: Awesome, Golden Coast Pastor. Five cheeses! I guess you figured man, if they want me to use California cheese, I’m going to use some California cheese on this thing. 

OV: Yeah, exactly. So that’s what got me in. 

JB: So is it correct that there are over 200 people who submit pizzas to get in to this contest? 

OV: Yes, that’s what I was told, there were about 200 contestants. 

JB: And how many people actually get to compete? 

OV: This year, only eight. They had two categories, and they only chose four for each category. So I was lucky enough to be one of the four finalists. I was really honored to be chosen to go to Napa and compete in this crazy, fun event.

JB: That’s cool, you deserve it. So this is your third trophy. 

OV: This is my third one, yes. I’m starting to collect! My wife made me a whole wall. When I came home the other night, it was nice to see she had everything all posted up.  

JB: You’re going to need like five or six of those for when you decide to open your own place, so you better keep at it. (Laughter) 

OV: Exactly. So I’m still going to be competing. I want to have a couple more trophies under my belt.  

JB: So tell me about competing at this thing. So often when you’re competing, you’re going in and dealing with judges you don’t know, and maybe you’re in a strange circumstance. In this case you’re in Napa, which is as good as your backyard when you’re in San Francisco. And two of the three judges are people that you’ve worked with for years. 

OV: Honestly, when it’s random and I don’t know the judges, it’s less pressure. When you actually do know some of the judges, it’s a little additional stress, just because I want to make sure I turn out the best pie. Also I know they’re going to be looking really closely at the specs of the pizza when it comes to judging it. So having Laura and Tony try my pizza was definitely nerve wracking.  

JB: I believe it. 

OV: Yeah. They’re not going to go easy just because I know them. 

JB: So tell me a little bit more about your pizza. Where did you get the idea for this thing? 

OV: So for the one that I entered with, I was with Rebecca [Rebecca Scaramuzzino, Tony’s GM) and she was showing me a recipe for pineapple chutney. And from that we kind of bounced ideas off each other. What would go great with pineapple on a pizza? Which is already a forbidden thing to do. But we figured if we’re going to put pineapple on a pizza, let’s do something with meat: Al Pastor. Al Pastor goes great with pineapple, and it opens up the book to add any sorts of cheeses you want, which is perfect for this competition.

So we got creative. We started adding one cheese after another. We chose triple cream brie from Cowgirl Creamery, and a queso fresco from El Mexicano, which was a cheese that I didn’t realize was California cheese. But it has the seal and it’s made in California, which is good to know because I grew up with queso fresco. It’s something I would always eat when I was younger, so I’m excited to have it on the pie. Then there was Rumiano whole milk mozzarella, Belfiore smoked mozzarella and El Mexicano jack cheese.  

JB: So you chose to include Al Pastor on this pizza, which is a personal favorite of mine. I’ve got to say, I’m curious where that recipe came from. 

OV: So this recipe, I had to make it my own. So I had to go old school, and call  up my mom. I was like hey, I’m entering this competition. I need the Al Pastor recipe. So I went up to Sacramento and worked with her, and she ended up giving me ideas and experiments to do.  

Unfortunately, although this pie got me in the door, it did not win. The pie that I won with was from the three cheese category which they put together after they announced the winners for the On The Menu and Freestyle contests. They teamed the chefs up randomly with one another, and in this year’s competition, the winners from both the On The Menu and Freestyle contests got teamed up together. So right off the bat, we all thought they were going to win again, considering they won their own categories. 

JB: You got teamed up with someone you haven’t worked with before. 

OV: Yes. Ryan Ososki and I got teamed up together, which was perfect because we both had a plan going into this. I already had an idea of what I wanted the crust to be like, and he already had two cheeses in mind to work with. So we said you got the cheese, I got the crust, let’s get it together.  

Along with the Rumiano whole milk mozzarella we ended up going with Sierra Jack, a hatch chili cheese from Willows, CA, and I chose the San Joaquin Gold, a parmesan style from Fiscalini Farmstead in Modesto. Ryan had the bright idea of elevating the pie a little more by using Copia’s own fresh garden, and picking some fresh cilantro flowers.  

JB: That is clever.

OV: It definitely gave the pie a little more taste and texture. 

JB: Again, this is on the three cheese pie. 

OV: Yes, this is the three cheese competition. When we presented the pie to the judges, all three of them looked at each other, and said this pie would have beat every other pizza that we’ve had in this competition so far. Meaning the pizzas that won On The Menu and Freestyle—this pie could have beat both of them. We kind of got scolded a little bit: we were told that this is a cheese competition, so we should be focused on the cheese that goes in the pizza. But being chefs, we want to add more flavor, more textures.  

JB: So the al pastor with the pineapple was a bit too much? 

OV: It was a little bit too much. Trying it now, I realize that the acidity might be too overpowering for the cheeses that went on it and you wouldn’t be able to appreciate the cheeses.  

JB: You probably wouldn’t taste them all, at least they wouldn’t shine. 

OV: Exactly. So in the 3-cheese contest, we were forced to just focus on the cheese, and only use three ingredients. One had to be mozzarella, and the other two could be any California cheese we wanted. So once we were able to zero in and highlight the flavors of those cheeses, it created a whole new different pizza, an elevated cheese pie. And that ultimately got us the three cheese win.  

JB: That’s awesome, Oscar. And I understand pretty soon we’re going to be able to have this pizza right here at Tony’s. 

OV: Yes! Right now I’m currently sourcing those specific cheeses, and once that’s done we’re going to add it to our High Five style, which is very similar to what I created over there: a really thin crust pizza, heavily baked. That way it just  becomes super stiff, crunchy, with a perfect texture. So yes, we will have this on  the menu very soon, as the official California Cheese Pizza Competition Winner.  

JB: Nice! I can’t wait to try it. What’s it going to be called? 

OV: It’s going to be called the Blossom & Hatch Pizza, considering both the micro cilantro blossoms and the hatch chili cheese are showcased on that pie. 

JB: Fantastic. When can we expect that? 

OV: Currently we’re getting the menu ready, so in the coming week we should have it set and ready to taste.  

JB: And I’ll be here to try it. So Oscar, when’s the next competition? 

OV: Next competition is going to be Pizza Expo 2027, but I’m also excited to take the knowledge that I gained from this year’s Real California Pizza  Competition and apply it for next year’s contest. This time I want to make sure the cheese is shining on my pie.  

JB: Live and learn, right? The judges seemed to give you some pretty valuable feedback. 

OV: Exactly. 

JB: So, anything else to report? 

OV: Well, right now we’re all getting ready for the Pizza and Bagel Festival which is coming up on August 15th. We’re going to be showcasing a lot of different pizzerias and bagel vendors. And there’s a new music element to it, so hopefully that’s going to bring a lot of people into the neighborhood. 

JB: Oh, it’s going to be a great event. 

OV: No doubt. And ticket sales are pretty good, up to par with last year. So if you haven’t got your tickets yet, you better grab them fast before they sell out, and we do not sell tickets at the door.  

JB: Yeah, I hear you. So Oscar, congratulations again on win #3. That’s three trophies in what, four years? You’ve got a pretty good pace going. 

OV: I’m trying to catch up. I want to get my 13th win, you know? Maybe my 14th. Who knows?  

Don’t have your tickets yet? Tickets for the fourth annual SF Pizza, Bagel & Beer Festival can be purchased here.