( CNN ) -- Australian pizza is now officially the best in the world . Well , sort of . Judges at last weekend 's Campionato Mondiale Della Pizza ( Pizza World Championship ) held in Parma , Italy , awarded the world 's top margherita pizza title to Australian chef Johnny Di Francesco , owner of the 400 Gradi restaurant in Brunswick , a Melbourne suburb . Di Francesco , 36 , beat more than 600 competitors from 35 countries to take home the Specialita Traditionale Garantita pizza prize in the annual competition . The win and subsequent publicity has made the small restaurant he owns in his hometown an overnight sensation . `` It 's been an amazing reaction , '' Di Francesco tells CNN . `` Honestly , I just went to Naples to do what I love . I did n't think it was going to make such a stir . '' `` A lot of people think it is easy to produce a margherita but it is one of the hardest ( pizzas ) to produce , '' Di Francesco told Australian website Good Food . `` With a lot of other pizzas it 's easy to mask the flavor with toppings so you do n't really get the flavor out of the dough . With a margherita there is no hiding anything that is n't right . '' Competition rules are strict on what ingredients can top the dough on the margherita : only peeled tomatoes , certain types of mozzarella , garlic , olive oil , salt and fresh basil leaves are used . Pizza the traditional way . Di Francesco , who says he 's been making pizza since was 12 years old and studied pizza-making at the highly regarded Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana in Naples , Italy , calls himself a traditionalist when it comes to making pizza . `` It 's an honor to be part of what ( Verace Pizza Napoletana ) does , striving to preserve a traditional way of making pizza the way they 've done it in Naples for hundreds of years . '' Although he 's claimed the world title , Di Francesco has no plans to raise the A $ 20.50 ( $ 19.30 ) price on the margherita pizza made daily at 400 Gradi . `` No , not at all , '' he says with a laugh . Italian chefs were n't entirely shut out of the winner 's circle at the competition . As reported by Good Food , Italian chef Julius Scialpi took home the `` classic pizza '' prize for a pizza made with mozzarella , eggplant , nostrana , breadcrumbs and anchovies with burrata . 400 Gradi , 99 Lygon St. , Brunswick East , Victoria , Australia ; +61 ( 0 ) 3 9380 2320 ; daily , midday-11 p.m .
An Australian chef has taken home top honors at the World Pizza Championship in Italy . Winning chef Johnny Di Francesco learned to make pizza in Naples , Italy . The competition is held every year and attracts thousands of chefs from around the world.