Carmela Cataldo is straightforward about how she did at the Pizza Pizzazz. “I didn’t win,” she said. “I got fourth place.” But there’s more to the story. Cataldo, best known as “Carmie,” is 16 years old. She was the youngest of the 45 competitors. It was her first competition. She missed third place and a cash prize by a point (though the Cataldos don’t know whether that was on a scale of a 100 points or hundreds).

She’s pleased. Her dad — Paul Cataldo, owner and operator of Antonio’s Italian Restaurant in Elkhart — is proud. Customers and fellow employees are congratulating her. This would be what you’d call a great start.