Sixteen of the UK’s best pizza chefs battled it out at Big Penny Social last night. (November 4) with Short Road Pizza coming out top as National Pizza of the year.
The business, which operates out of pubs in Cambridge Heath and Leyton, was deemed the best by a panel of judges, while ACE Pizza, which is based in Lauriston Road, Victoria Park, was crowned Bloggers Choice for their The Capish pizza.
Short Road Pizza was founded in Leytonstone during lockdown by husband and wife team Ugo Galelli and Kate Prior.
It operates from the Three Colts Tavern in Cambridge Heath and the William The Fourth in Leyton, where its winning pie The Short Road Marinara is served up with Short Road tomato sauce, confit garlic purée, spicy chimichurri, fresh stracciatella, Cantabrian anchovies and oregano.
The champion pizza was cooked up by chef Riccardo Demuru, who also went home with the alternative slice award for his plant-based Caramelle Piccanti, featuring Cooks&Co Sweety Drop Peppers, Cooks&Co Dried Porcini Mushrooms, Oh, Grate! vegan parmesan, slow cooked tomato sauce, vegan stracciatella, Calabrian chilli hot honey, vegan basil pesto and nuts.
“It has been a journey,” said Galelli. “I feel really proud and honoured to be here, so proud of the team and Riccardo. I can’t quite believe it. We worked very hard to open in bricks and mortar, and it has only been a year since we’ve been active. It feels amazing.”
Meanwhile ACE Pizza’s Howard Quayle scooped the Bloggers’ Choice Award, judged by Kate Ovens and Big Eats Global for The Capish pizza.
The brand has a residency at the Pembury Tavern in Hackney Downs and opened its first bricks and mortar Italian-New York style pizzeria in June. The menu includes the Hackney Hellboy, featuring veggie ‘nduja, roast peppers, stracciatella, fresh basil, and chilli agavé drizzle, and Capers on Mare Street, with anchovies, nocellara olives, capers, red onion, fior di latte, and chimichurri.
Posting on Instagram they said: “Whilst half of our team are battling it out at the National Pizza Awards tonight, the other half have got you covered in Victoria Park and at the Pembury Tavern.
“We’ve added our 20 inch Capish to Storekit too, so you can grab a slice of the action from the comfort of your own home!”
