Two Washington-based chefs made eastern North Carolina proud, placing second and fourth at this year’s International Pizza Challenge in Las Vegas.

Massimo Mannino and Salvatore Passalacqua, co-owners and co-executive chefs at Marabella Italian Restaurant, as well as Marabella Old World Pizza in Greenville and Farmville and Nino’s in Greenville, competed in the Pan Division in the March competition.

Mannino took home the second-place award with the “Grandma’s Pizza” recipe, only missing first place by one point, according to a press release. Passalacqua came in fourth with sfingione Sicilian pizza, a Marabella specialty dating back to the 1940s.

“You have 260 competitors from all over the world, especially people from Italy and as far away as Japan,” Passalacqua said. “Actually for me, it was my second (time). … The second time, it’s not bad.”

Mannino has competed for a few years, as well.

A panel of judges scores the entries based on the following criteria: taste, including the crust, sauce, cheese, toppings, overall taste and creativity; and visual presentation/appearance, according to the release.

“You don’t want to make a mistake,” Passalacqua said. “I was checking every five minutes to see how the pizza was doing — every two minutes actually.”

He said the three-day event included two days for practice baking and the third to compete.

“A lot of hard work goes into preparing for the competition,” Passalacqua said. “It’s that preparation and pressure that helps us improve year after year.”

The family business originated with the opening of a bakery in Italy in 1969. After an economic slump, part of the family immigrated to New York, where patriarch Nino opened a pizza shop in 1983.

The family moved from Brooklyn to open Marabella Italian Restaurant in Washington in 2006, and under the direction of Mannino and Passalacqua, have since opened the other restaurants in Greenville and Farmville.

“I’m extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish this year,” Mannino said. “Each year we learn more about what it takes to win.”

Brian Jacobs, a family friend who manages the businesses’ marketing, said the family is looking forward to the future.

“We want people of eastern North Carolina to be proud of them and what they’ve accomplished,” he said. “We’re very proud that Washington is the start of Marabella.”