New pizza takeout passes the taste test
PIZZA lovers flocked to the grand opening of Derby’s newest pizza takeout.
Honest Pizzas, a New York-style outlet which boasts the biggest pizzas – 18-inches of delicious gooeyness – in Derby, served free slices to hundreds of foodies from its Manor Road base on Saturday.
Set up by husband-and-wife Easton and Anastasia Andrea – who also run House of Darwin, in Chellaston – Honest Pizzas hired a 2003 New York yellow taxi and welcomed Project Whippy; the exciting ice-cream spin-off from Derby doughnut entrepreneurs, Project D to the launch.
Sisters Alice and Jess came from Sheffield to enjoy pizza and doughnuts, while couple Mat and Jess, who moved to Belper from New York three years ago to work as maritime archaeologists, said the pizza reminded them of home.
Developed by head chef Richard Dean, Honest Pizzas make their dough and speciality sauce on site using mainly locally-sourced ingredients. The classic pepperoni proved a best-seller, while there has been huge demand, too, for their soft-baked cookies.
Easton said: “Richard has great knowledge and has been key to our early success. We use, where possible, British-farmed produce and we buy our meat in from Owen Taylor and Sons. Some of our produce is imported from Italy. We want to ensure our pizzas are the best that you’ve ever tasted.
“Our ethos is that we want to sell high-quality, New York-style pizzas to the people of Derby for a reasonable price. We have a simple pricing structure and our products are, as the name suggests, honest.”
An Italian pizza is, traditionally, cooked using a wood-fired oven and baked on a pizza stone. They take just a few minutes to cook and are thin and crispy.
A New York-style pizza also has a thin base. But it is cooked in a pizza pan, on a conveyor belt and has a larger crust. Easton said: “My wife and I visited New York and loved their pizzas. They differ all over America. For example, Chicago pizzas will have a deeper crust and, quite often, this is filled with cheese. “Not many people would choose to set up a business in lockdown but we have – and it’s proved hugely successful so far.”