We sat down with the Britain’s Best Pizza judging panel from 2024 to get their thoughts on this years competition, the future of the pizza landscape and more. Read on to discover esteemed pizzaiolo and original Britain’s Best Pizza judge Marco Fuso’s top tips for creating an authentic Italian pizza. Joined by Italian food influencer Elisabetta (aka theitalianfoodaholic) who shares why food trends are integral to any pizza operator, and Rich Baker, sustainability pioneer and owner of Flat Earth Pizzas, Britain’s Best Pizza 2023 winner.
Did you enjoy taking part in this year’s Britain’s Best Pizza competition?
M: I really enjoyed it, especially the panel this year being the three of us. We had different views on the pizzas, but in the end we all agreed on what was the best pizza.
E: I loved it, it was a great experience. It was my first time as a judge and it was really fun to get to know the other two judges and talk to Marco, who's got such great knowledge on pizza.
R: It's been fab, it's just so nice to meet people that love pizza and are so passionate about it. With Marco and Elisabetta, we were surrounded by people that love food, that's a great experience and we are very passionate people, so it was great.
Why do you think operators should enter Arla Pro’s Britain’s Best Pizza Competition?
M: The Britain’s Pizza Competition offers traders a chance to be viewed, to get into the market, to be known and to win this amazing competition, which would bring lots of popularity to their business.
E: First of all it positions them in the market as a brand that’s really into pizza. Arla Pro puts so much interest into the UK’s best pizza and pizzerias, it’s a really great partnership that helps them get visibility, particularly on social media.
R: It's a great prize, that's a fact, but it's really good for your profile. I think for us, it gave us a lot of credibility and it is also a sort of sense check, it helps you evaluate what you're doing. The entry process makes you consider why you want to enter, what you’re doing at the moment and where you could improve. No matter how small you are, it gives you credibility and an accreditation for wanting to strive for the UK’s best pizza.
Do you expect the pizza market in the UK to keep growing?
M: Yes - pizza is having its moment and pizza is, right now, the favourite food. Not just in the UK, but all over the world. And it’s not going anywhere because it's a simple dish made with few ingredients - if good quality ingredients are used, pizza can amaze the palate of everyone.
E: There has been so much growth over the past couple of years when it comes to Italian restaurants and pizzerias specifically, because the demand is growing a lot. I think we are going to see more specific restaurant openings - so far we've had mostly Napolitan pizzerias, now we're seeing Detroit pizza and all these different things.
R: Pizza has gone from convenience to being, credible, but interesting, exciting, cool, varied, and global. The pizza landscape was very much family owned, Italian or chains 10 years ago, therefore it wasn't really showing the potential of what people can do. Will it keep growing? Yes. Because there is still so much opportunity in new styles of pizza or pizza that hasn't been communicated well into the UK. You can now go out and eat fantastic pizza and have a good beer and a good glass of wine for £20 a head, whereas before, you would go out for a nice meal at about £60 a head.
Marco Fuso
Marco is an esteemed pizzaiolo with years of experience under his belt and a passion for pizza. Specialising in authentic Italian pizza, head judge Marco was looking at authenticity and baking technique when judging our finalists.
As an esteemed pizzaiolo, what is the most important part of a pizza to you in terms of authenticity and baking technique?
As a pizzaiolo that has been making pizza for a very long time, the dough is my focus every single time. Obviously using the best ingredients makes a big difference, but I think the best part is, people like to work with love and passion. It's not just about making a product, making pizza is something artisanal. So, whoever makes pizza must put a bit of love and passion into it.
What were you looking for in terms of authenticity when judging the finalist’s pizzas?
The dough is the base that brings the other ingredients to life, so that was a big focus. But again, having other top-quality ingredients, like the Arla Pro mozzarella or a good quality tomato sauce, makes the perfect authentic pizza.
You must see a lot of pizza throughout the year, what are you hoping to see in next year’s competition?
Well, this past year the entries have been amazing. We’ve seen lots of people showing great flavour combinations through pizza, so this can only improve. I really hope to see more fusion ingredients, a little bit closer to gourmet style, because this is where pizza is moving. It's not the dish that it was 20 years ago - pizza is evolving and with that, pizzaiolos are evolving too.
With years of experience under your belt, what would your top 3 tips be for pizza operators looking to make an authentic Italian pizza?
Well, top tip number one is to use great ingredients, especially when the first three on the list are flour, tomato, and mozzarella. Secondly, be fully loyal to your customers and always try to deliver the best quality. And the third is, try to make every single pizza, simpler pizza. It doesn't have to be full of ingredients, but it has to look beautiful and taste great.
Explore more of Marco’s tips here.
As our original Britain’s Best Pizza judge, how do you think 2024’s competition compared to the first year in 2023?
We had way more entries this year because the competition is getting more popular between operators. But this year I think the skill level was higher than the year before. I felt very proud of being part of the Britain's Best Pizza Competition.
From a global perspective, which country or city has the best pizza trends and why?
Well, Italy stands out because obviously pizza was created in Italy. Cities like Rome and especially Naples are always the one all the world looks at, but right now we're having a very good moment in the UK, where some of the best pizzerias in town have created this kind of crispy London style. New York slices are also very popular, all over the world.
Elisabetta Basile
Elisabetta (aka theitalianfoodaholic) is an Italian food influencer living in London. She shares the best places for all things Italian food & drink across London and beyond. When judging the finalists, Elisabetta was looking for trending ingredients and innovative flavour combinations.
Given that you’re a food influencer specialising in authentic Italian pizza, why do you think it’s important for pizza operators to consider trending ingredients on their menu?
I think what makes it important is that one pizza with the right ingredients could help you go viral, or get very popular. If you manage to find that one pizza and you promote it on social media and people start coming and trying it, then they get to know the rest of the menu. It’s really important to have hero dishes, those one or two items on the menu that are really aligned with current trends, then you can create the rest of the menu however you like.
What makes a good pizza trend for you, in terms of innovation and flavour balance?
I think it’s important to make trends accessible to everyone, for example having a gluten free option and a vegan option to cater to everyone in a way. When it comes to flavour balance it’s really important to not overdo it when it comes to toppings – that’s one thing that I see a lot and when it comes to Italian food I think it's really important to keep it simple.
Looking back over the finalists visits this year, what was the most interesting pizza trend you saw in this year’s competition?
Definitely the winning pizza from Red Goat Kitchen. I really like the fact that they kept it almost traditional. It’s a pizza that you could easily find in an Italian pizzeria, but they made it with locally sourced ingredients which gave it a different twist. You could taste all the flavours, like bresaola, the main ingredient that they used in the pizza. Bresaola is usually from Northern Italy, that's the most popular area where you get that that meat, but they managed to find a quality supplier that was just as good from the UK. They took a lot of care on ingredients and they made sure to create something unique by keeping it as traditional as possible.
Can you share some advice on how UK pizza businesses can effectively use social media to enhance the pizza profile and to attract a broader online customer base?
I actually do that as part of my job, I manage social media pages for restaurants and pizzerias. I usually tell my clients to make sure that you grow a network of influencers and partner with local influencers to invite them to try your menu, that way you start getting authentic reviews. The one thing that's very important on Instagram and TikTok right now is to post regularly and to post videos - it doesn't have to be anything crazy and you don't have to be the best video editor in order to do something successful. Keep it simple, post 2-3 times a week on your page and always make sure that you promote your specials.
Find our top tips for creating operator led, engaging social media content here.
What are the top three trends that you predict to see in pizza over the next 5 years?
I think that we are going to care, sustainability is going to be the number one trend. People are getting more and more mindful of what they’re eating and where the ingredients are coming from. I also think that we're going to see different flours, there are already some pizzerias that are doing charcoal or wholemeal pizza and I think we're going to see more and more alternatives over time. Trying new ingredients and new flavour combinations is going to be more common, even myself as an Italian I am becoming more open to trying new flavour combinations.
Rich Baker
Rich from Flat Earth Pizzas took home the trophy in 2024 with his winning Kimchi Florentina. He is passionate about all things sustainability and was looking closely at our finalist’s sustainability credentials, from ingredient sourcing to back of house procedures, food waste and materials.
As the winner of BBP 2023, how has this impacted Flat Earth Pizzas in 2024?
The winning pizza became our number one bestseller, and it still is right up there. Winning was a sense check for us, we looked at our sustainability credentials and we are now part of the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) - we've just been awarded 3 stars. My wife Sarah is very much focused on sustainability through our sourcing, supplies, product, through to everything else. To have a board outside your front door that says Britain's Best Pizza is also a really good thing!
We know that sustainability can be a daunting topic, why do you think it’s important for pizza operators and do you have any tips on how independent operators can get started?
It’s important for any operator, pizza or not, but particularly pizza because it gives you an opportunity to look at local sourcing. You can use local flour, but it doesn’t have to be all local flour. You could put some local grain in, like they did at Red Goat Kitchen for the winning pizza. You can source veg locally, looking at what's in season and using local produce. Processes and procedures you should manage as well, you can use certain aspects of your products that you could give away, or get collectors to pick it up and recycle it, which is which is quite an easy thing to do. A lot of pizza operators get their used coffee grounds collected. If you talk about sustainability of your menu, it lets people see and think a little bit more about when they go out to eat, what they do, where their food comes from, or where it goes.
What could operators do to improve their sustainability?
For a quick win, take cling film and foil out of your business. Use plastic containers - we've never used cling film or foil. We take food waste and compost it, so check with your waste provider what they do and how they could re reuse your waste. Pickling is another thing that's good, it preserves food and that’s really helpful for menu planning.
What were you looking for when visiting the 3 finalists in terms of cooking equipment, ingredients and sustainability credentials?
Ingredient sourcing was really important to me. Imagination and creativity, how they use the menu and how they combine ingredients for different items on the menu. As an example, Red Goat Kitchen use their leftover pizza dough to make bread, and it’s really nice bread, so that was really impressive. I was also looking at operating principles – things like segregated waste, using more plant-based products and using local ingredients. Red Goat Kitchen used good, locally sourced meats, they were passionate about what they were using and there was always a story behind it.
Are there another pizza operator that do sustainability well - in the UK or out of the UK?
Interestingly I will go UK – I have two. One is called Sodo, they've got 4 or 5 restaurants and they buy local. They mill a tiny bit of their own grain and they have a good ethos on who they use as suppliers. The other one would be Pizza Pilgrims, who are now B Corp Certified. Pizza Pilgrims is a very known, fun, vibrant business but they do look across the whole sector. One of the SRA’s principles is about people and Pizza Pilgrims tend to look after their people, paying and training them well. They are very good at the whole umbrella effect of sustainability running through their business.
Think you’ve got what it takes to create the UK’s best pizza? Head to the Britain’s Best Pizza hub now to learn more about the competition and how to enter.
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