Turin-born Dr Luca Montorio recently secured a significant contract that will see his authentic Italian-style pizza sauce from Newtownards on sale in major stores across Northern Ireland.
He owns PEPPUP, a small business that’s been creating widely acclaimed Italian style sauces, relishes and dressings since 2014 for customers in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.
And Derrylin’s Crust and Crumb bakery, already a major supplier of pizza bases and topped pizzas to major supermarkets, especially Aldi, the leading German discounter, recently launched its products in the Middle East at the big Gulfood Expo, one of the world’s biggest food shows held annually in Dubai, the commercial hub of the affluent United Arab Emirates.
Crust and Crumb is now Ireland’s largest manufacturer of ambient, chilled, frozen flatbread and garlic bread products.
The family business specialises in producing pizza bases, topped pizzas, flatbreads, garlic baguettes/slices, and tortillas, alongside an extensive range of gluten free and vegan dough-based products.
An east Belfast pizza shop, Flout!, has won acclaim from the UK’s number one food reviewer, Food Review Club, scoring a perfect 10 out of 10.
They are at the forefront of a taste revolution which has seen the Italian favourite become a popular dish here and is increasingly attracting local food companies to develop ingredients for pizzas.
Pizza, of course, has a long history. Flatbreads with toppings were consumed by the ancient Egyptians, Roman and Greeks.
But the modern birthplace of pizza is Italy’s Campania region, home of Naples.
Neapolitans required inexpensive food that could be consumed quickly. Pizza – flatbreads with various toppings, eaten for any meal and sold by street vendors or informal restaurants – met this need.
Dr Montorio, a marine biologist by profession and now resident in Portaferry, is a direct bridge to the world of authentic Italian pizza, specialising in ingredients for the dish and for other Italian foods, including pasta.
The latest deal with Henderson Wholesale in Newtownabbey will see his unique pizza sauce on sale in every Eurospar store across Northern Ireland.
Luca’s range of products is also on sale in hundreds of farm shops, independent groceries, delis and butchery outlets in the Province and the Republic.
Sauces have also been supplied to supermarkets in Britain.
Luca says: “The new business with Eurospar is an immensely important development for us and will increase awareness of our pizza and other sauces throughout Northern Ireland.
“Italian foods are now immensely popular, especially with home cooks.”
Among other local companies contributing to the pizza popularity are Kennedy Bacon in Omagh, a producer of dry cured bacon bits for toppings; Corndale Farm Charcuterie in Limavady, which supplies chorizo and other cured meats; Burren Balsamics in Richhill provides a range of oils developed by chefs Susie Hamilton Stubber, founder of the multi-award winning business, and development chef Bob McDonald.
And Karen Boyd switched from running her own pizza takeaway to producing pizza base kits that enabled local people to make their own pizzas and toppings at home.
Karen set up Pizzado to make bases in Portavogie. She gained awards for her DIY pizza bases and also supplied a range of outlets, including Aldi, the leading discount stores in the Republic.
Indie Fude, the popular deli in Belfast and Comber, has also linked up with Italian cheesemaker David Thani, the owner of Velocheese in Belfast, to create a range of Italian cheeses for use in pizzas.
David was the first in Northern Ireland to make his own mozzarella, the favoured topping for pizza.
The small business in Belfast, Indie Fude x Velocheese is now creating Italian-style cheeses for pizzas, including ricotta and burrata.
Flout! Pizza, based in Portview Trade Centre in east Belfast, was acclaimed by the Tik Tok-famous reviewer and his 600,000 followers.
Along with getting a perfect score, Food Review Club said the New York-style cheese pizza he tried rivalled Lucali’s, a Brooklyn outlet considered by many as the best pizza in the world.
Flout! might be open for just over a year, but owner Peter Thompson appears to have the secret sauce, and the magic dough, with his New York and New Haven-inspired pizzas rising to quick acclaim across the UK and Ireland. He named the shop in a nod to his disregard for conventional pizza.
Peter explains: “I honestly didn’t know what Food Review Club would think. Knowing the power of social media, it was all a bit nerve wracking.
“Our pizza is distinctive because everything has been born and raised in east Belfast – the dough, the place, the ethos. And that is quite unique.
“You see pizza typically has rules, but I think rules are boring, and they promote a homogenous product. I don’t want to make imported, cookie-cutter style pizza.
“I take inspiration from my favourite pizza shops in the US, after all it has some of the best pizza in the world, but ultimately I want my pizza to be unique to Belfast.
“There’s no reason why the best pizza in the world can’t be made in Belfast! We have access to amazing produce from suppliers right across the island, and access to amazing equipment, and a customer base that appreciates quality.”
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