Cataldo

Born and raised in Northern Indiana, Carmela Cataldo has grown up and worked within the restaurant industry, officially starting to work for her father, Paul Cataldo in their family restaurant by age 10. Over the years, she has worked in many different areas of their restaurant in both the front and back of house, though diving into pizza making by age 14, after her brother left for college. She began competing in various competitions at age 16, taking 4th place in 2019 at the Pizza Pizzaz Competition in Columbus, OH, and taking 1st place the following year in 2020. She became the youngest competitor to win.

The fast-paced environment of the kitchen and the ability to continuously create and grow in skill, kept Carmela coming back to the restaurant throughout college. After graduating college in December of 2023, Carmela now works full time for her father, as a Kitchen Manager and Events & Banquets Coordinator, alongside her sisters, Alannah, Caitlin, Gemma (1st Place, Traditional Division, International Pizza Competition, Las Vegas, NV, 2023), and Gianna (2nd Place, Young Pizza Maker of the Year, Atlantic City, NJ, 2023). Carmela hopes to continuously work in Antonio’s, growing, learning, and always hungry for more.

• 2024 -  1st Place, International Pizza Competition, Mid-American Region in the Traditional Division, Las Vegas, NV

• 2024 - 11th Place, International Pizza Competition, Traditional Division, Las Vegas, NV

• 2023 - Top 20, International Pizza Competition, Non-Traditional Division, Las Vegas, NV

• 2021 - 1st Place, International Pizza Competition, Mid-American Region in the Non-Traditional Division, Las Vegas, NV

• 2021 - 2nd Place, International Pizza Competition, Non-Traditional Division, Las Vegas, NV

• 2020 - 1st Place, Pizza Pizzaz Competition, Columbus, OH

• 2019 - 4th Place, Pizza Pizzaz Competition, Columbus, OH

• 2016 - Assistant, Campionato Mondiale della Pizza, Parma, Italy 

Antonio’s Italian Ristorante
1105 Goshen Ave
Elkhart, Indiana