# 296. Lars Smith on Competing, Branding, and Pizza Excellence

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hot-slice-411519/296-lars-smith-on-competing-branding-and-pizza-excellence
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hot-slice-411519/296-lars-smith-on-competing-branding-and-pizza-excellence.md
Podcast: [The Hot Slice](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hot-slice-411519)
Published: 2026-02-05T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1860996/episodes/18628306-296-lars-smith-on-competing-branding-and-pizza-excellence.mp3
Audio file: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1860996/episodes/18628306-296-lars-smith-on-competing-branding-and-pizza-excellence.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-hot-slice-411519/episodes/296-lars-smith-on-competing-branding-and-pizza-excellence
Duration seconds: 2110

## Resource

Send us Fan Mail This week, we chat with champion pizza maker and industry leader Lars Smith. Lars co-owns State of Mind Pub and State of Mind Slice House in Palo Alto, California. Fresh off his recent trip to Italy, Lars competed at the Sigep World in Rimini. His finishes include 2nd place in Pizza in Teglia, 11th place in Pizza alla Pala and 25th place in Pizza Classica. He highlighted his winning pizza, a seasonal winter squash and mushroom pizza with blue cheese, hazelnut, and lemon...

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## Transcript

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