Rosario Scarpato is studying a small pizza with the focus of a building inspector. The analogy is apt.

The crust gets a professional poke from his fingertip. Then he gazes across the surface - is the consistency right? - before he signals an OK to slice the pie.

Until this lunchtime event in Beijing, the 8th Italian Cuisine World Summit Roadshow has been a showcase for Italian chefs, a Michelin-starred extravaganza in seven restaurants over six nights. Today, however, the chefs in the spotlight are Chinese, about a dozen young men and women who have honed their skills in some of the best Italian restaurants in Beijing and Tianjin. Over the next two hours, three of them will win a chance to compete for China at the Italian Pizza World Summit in Dubai later this year.