Rexburg pizzeria owner is now a member of a team of world pizza champions
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The following is taken from a news release by Righteous Slice.
REXBURG – The owner of a local pizza shop is joining the ranks of the top pizza chefs in the world.
Bill Crawford, who owns Righteous Slice at 175 West 200 South No. 100 in Rexburg, has accepted an invitation to join the World Pizza Champions team.
The WPC team promotes pizza making as a respected craft and a viable career choice through international competitions, educational outreach, public demonstrations, and community-based service.
“From the time I first started making pizza, I looked up to the WPC for their commitment to elevating pizza as a craft and as a profession. Being on the team is an incredible honor. I hope I can be a blessing in their lives by offering my support, encouragement, and experiences,” Crawford says.
People have to be invited to join the team. Membership is based on skill, character, compatibility and “selfless effort on behalf of the industry.”
“We do not accept new members based on outside inquiries,” the WPC’s website says. “Team members are carefully selected from among world champion competitors and acclaimed industry leaders.”
Bill has been competing internationally for the past several years, including the World Pizza Championships in Parma, Italy where he placed first among all Americans in the Classic Division in 2022. He also won the Grand Championship in the Real California Pizza Contest in 2023.
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“My pizzeria’s strategy is to delight guests with high quality pizza and genuine hospitality. I push myself and my team to constantly learn and improve. This is why I compete — not to win, but to learn. Winning is nice, too. But winning isn’t the point. I am there to make friends, to learn, and to help others do their best, especially if it means they win. Because for me, coming away with new friends and knowledge is winning. Being a member of the WPC supports this strategy.”
Crawford isn’t the only Righteous Slice pizza maker who competes on the world stage.
Last week, his team had four people enter the International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas. Owen Gentry, 18, of Rexburg, placed ninth out of 50 competitors in the World’s Best Cheese Slice competition. Crawford took first place in the Northwest Region in the Traditional division with his New York style pepperoni and sausage pizza.
Bill and Cheryl Crawford, together with their six children, started their Neapolitan pizzeria with a wood fired pizza oven on a trailer in 2013. They subsequently opened a permanent location in 2018. They recently added an additional oven to serve more familiar New York-style pizza, along with their original Italian-style pizza.