Jairo was nine years old when he was already mowing lawns with a string trimmer to help out at home.
In Moreno, he collected cardboard and cans with his brother, just so he would not have to ask his mother for a single peso. Later, the family moved to Barracas and things got worse: they ended up living on the streets until the City Government gave them a room in a hotel.
There, in 2019, Jairo climbed onto the roof amid a fire and got two babies and an elderly man out alive.
He entered the food business as a pizza delivery driver and ended up standing behind the counter. He studied flours, fermentation, and protein percentages at APYCE, until he became a Master Pizzaiolo.
The 2° World Pizza and Empanada Championship 2026 brought together more than 100 master pizzaiolos from around the world, and Jairo Ayrton Carrizo Peñaloza, 27, took home both titles: World Pizza Champion and World Champion of Argentine Pizza, with an organic onion fugazzeta that won over the judges.
Now, from his Mima Pizzería location in Palermo, he is preparing to compete in Spain and Italy.