Cleveland’s Michael LaMarca of Master Pizza has taken home first place in the U.S. Pizza Team Fall Trials competition which took place earlier this month in Chattanooga, TN. 

LaMarca’s winning pie, a four-cheese Popeye Pizza made with spinach, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, garlic butter sauce, and balsamic glaze, won him a trip to Italy in May to compete in the World Pizza Championships. 

He’s also won a boatload of other awards locally for his pizzas which can be found at his four northeast Ohio locations: Chagrin Falls, Middleburg Heights, Mayfield Heights, and Twinsburg. 

View a photo of his winning pizza, here.

This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2014.

Alaina Nutile is the Web Editor who oversees all digital content and social media initiatives for Cleveland Scene Magazine and Detroit Metro Times. Before joining the staff in June 2013, she interned at Business Insider in New York City, and at La Hora in Quito, Ecuador. Alaina is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where she double majored in English and Spanish. Her interests include Japanese food, Breaking Bad, and career development advising.