Woman wins Domino’s 2024 World’s Fastest Pizza Maker Contest for the first time ever

Joana Mendes, an assistant manager at Domino’s in Ipswich, England, has won the chain’s 2024 World’s Fastest Pizza Maker title after making three large pizzas in the record-breaking time of 39.2 seconds. Not only that, she is the first woman ever to win the top marks in the contest.

“This title means everything to me,” said Mendes via a press release provided to Guilty Eats. “For the past two years I have been training very hard and became the first female to win the United Kingdom’s Fastest Pizza Maker competition. From there, my goal was to take it to the next level and be the World’s Fastest Pizza Maker. I had the best people by my side to show me the process and have now achieved one of the biggest goals in my life.”

As a result of this blazing fast (and hot!) pizza making, Mendes won $5,000, a trophy, a championship belt, and most importantly: the title of World’s Fastest Pizza Maker.

“The World’s Fastest Pizza Maker competition celebrates our Dominoids who have taken their pizza-making skills to unparalleled heights,” said Frank Garrido, Domino’s executive vice president – chief restaurant officer. “The awe-inspiring speed and precision these competitors demonstrate is a testament to Domino’s focus on delivering exceptional results. Our franchise owners employ some of the greatest pizza makers in the world, and we are so proud to name Joana as our 2024 World’s Fastest Pizza Maker.”

Held at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas on May 8, 2024, the contest is deceptively simple. All you have to do is create a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, and a mushroom pizza. That involves stretching the dough, saucing the pie, and putting on all the toppings. It does not require cooking the pizza, because that would be insane. However, that’s only half the puzzle (half the pie?) as it’s not just speed, it’s also quality, judged on three criteria: dough/sauce, portioning of toppings and placement.

So for those of you playing at home, that Jackson Pollack-esque splatter you just created won’t cut it in the big leagues, baby!

The contest first began in 1982, meaning it’s 42 years (!!!) with only men as winners. Mendes has been working for Domino’s since 2015, and was mentored by Pali Grewal, who was World’s Fastest Pizza Maker in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Where’s the Fighting With My Family style movie about this? Make it happen, Domino’s!