ELKHART Ind.--- An Elkhart teenager took home a major accolade at Sunday's Pizza Pizzazz competition. 17 year old Carmela Cataldo won "Best Pizza in the Midwest" at the event.
Cataldo says she's been making pizza since she was 10 years old. Last year, at the age of 16, she came just one point shy of a third place finish at Pizza Pizzazz.
This year, not only did Cataldo win the event, but she was also the youngest competitor.
"It’s like being a mouse in a circus," said Cataldo. "It was definitely intimidating."
Cataldo's entry for the competition was her specialty "Vegas Fortuna" pizza. The Vegas Fortuna is now being served at her dad's restaurant, Antonio's.
"She has a passion for pizza like I do so I hope that she follows in my footsteps someday and takes the torch and runs with it and does bigger better things with it," said Pete Cataldo, Carmela's father. Pete Cataldo is also an award winning pizza chef.
Carmela says her dad is who inspired her to start cooking. "Watching Dad compete and seeing, 'Oh! Dad’s third, he’s second. Dad finally got first!' that just kind of inspired me," said Cataldo.
Cataldo says she hopes to one day win the World Championships in Italy.