A Nepalese chef from Canberra can now lay claim to making some of the best pizza in the world.
Hemnath Thapa Maga aka Chef Hemm, the head chef at Pizza Artigiana in Macquarie, was recognised in the recent Best Chef Awards.
The online awards list the top 100 pizza chefs in the world.
Chef Hemm came in at 100, one of only two chefs in Australia to make the field, with the top positions dominated by chefs from the home of pizza, Italy. Other countries in the top 10 included Spain, Japan, the United States and Denmark.
The 28-year-old, who has more than 74,000 followers on Instagram, was humbled to be recognised among the top pizza chefs across the globe.
Chef Hemm has been in Canberra for three years, before then working in Sydney.
He's been a chef for nearly six years, including back home in Nepal.
"When I started here [at Pizza Artigiana], I started making the pizzas and fell in love. It's been an awesome journey for me," he said.
"And I'm doing this thing for the rest of my life. That's it."
Chef Hemm says there are simple ingredients to make a good pizza.
"Love, patience," he said. "It's pretty important. You need to be really passionate about those things. The main thing is good-quality flour. Cheese. Everything."
Part of the patience is using dough that has been rested for 24 hours at room temperature.
"You need to love what you're doing," he said.
Chef Hemm also expertly kneads the dough.
"When I'm stretching, I try to push all the air to the outside [so the crust is airy]," he said.
Pizza Artigiana has restaurants at Jamison and at Verity Lane in the city.
While a classic Margherita is always popular at Pizza Artigiana, one of Chef Hemm's own creations is also gaining loyal fans.
The "Chef Hemm Top 100" pizza includes Fior Di Latte mozzarella, provolone and gorgonzola cheese, and Nduja spicy pork sausage.
Pizza Artigiana owner, Tuscany-born Silvio Miceli, was glad to see Chef Hemm get his due recognition.
"It's amazing," he said. "It's an international award. Pretty special.
"If you look at the list, there's some of the absolute best chefs in the world and to be in the 100 is a big honour."
Chef Hemm said he wasn't trying to beat the Italians at their game. He was running his own race and enjoying the journey.
"It's not like that. I respect every one because everyone has their own style," he said.
"I respect everyone who is competing with me."
The other Australian to make the list was Michele Circhirillo from the 48h Pizza e Gnocchi Bar in Melbourne, who came in at No.90.
And Chef Hemm is looking forward to another big development - his partner is due to have their first child in December.
