SMOKED SALMON PIZZA BEST IN WORLD

Lashings of salsa verde and red onion jam, crispy baby spinach and a smoked salmon fillet atop a dill and parmesan-infused pizza base, a dill and lemon aioli and Huon salmon caviar as the final garnish.

This was the tasty combination judged the best pizza in the world, the hot smoked salmon pizza.

And it is from the Sunshine Coast.

Simon Best, the co-owner of Mooloolaba pizza institution Augello’s and the inventor of the world-beating pizza, travelled to Melbourne last weekend for the Fonterra Foodservices Global Pizza Challenge, an international pizza competition.

More than 400 people gathered to watch Mr Best get the judges’ nod with his delicious slice and beat competitors from the US, South Africa, Italy, Austria and Vietnam.

Now the pizza is on the Augello’s menu so local punters can try the world’s best bite.

“A fair bit of time went into creating the pizza,” Mr Best said.

“There was a lot of trial and error. The main thing to remember is to keep it simple. It is like a fillet of salmon and you just break it up like any sort of fresh fish. Then you add some parmesan and then a bit of red onion jam, and a little bit of cheese. When it comes out I drizzle a caper and lemon mayonnaise over so that every bite you get a little bit of that. And on top of that was a little bit of salmon caviar.”

This year was the first time the competition had allowed Australian entrants.

The competition founder, chef and food consultant Glenn Austin, said the calibre of entrants was high, as was the creativity on show.

“I was impressed with the range of ideas,” Mr Austin said. “I could see a clear, emerging trend in the pizza industry which will become more apparent over the next few months.

“Simon’s pizza demonstrates how a few ingredients can pack a fantastic taste experience.”