It’s hard to beat this truly bellissimo treat!

Pizza fan fanGreg Greg Ford wanted to try something a little bitb different so went to the Stone-Oven Pizza Company. Here’s what he thought ...

IT’S beginning to look a lot like Christmas, at least it is in those areas that had a dusting of snow in the last couple of days. Elsewhere we have to rely on the appearance of the town centre Christmas tree (we’ve got two this year!) and the piercing tones of Mariah Carey while you’re queuing for a pint of milk to mark the official start of the festive season.

I’ve recently moved to the area from Sheffield, forgot to bring any decorations with me and decided while watching the drizzle out of my window on a cold December night that I was in need of some festive cheer.

That was when I remembered reading about Ben Pavone’s StoneOven Pizza Company on Wilton Road in Humberston and their decision to run a competition for new pizza ideas.

The winner? A Christmas dinner pizza topped with Italian sausage wrapped in proscuitto, turkey, sage and onion meatball and a side of cranberry jam.

Perfect.

I and my fellow home diners hopped on to the Grimsby and Clee Eats app to order our pizza so first off a word about the experience of ordering through that service. The layout is clean and easily navigable although the app does have an annoying habit of going into a lengthy refresh when you’re on the screen with available restaurants in your area. Communication is mostly through email so you’ll need to keep an eye on them although some basic notifications are sent to the app to confirm your order and tell you that the restaurant has dispatched it. There was a delivery fee of £2.50 with a minimum order value of £15 set by the restaurant.

Our order was with us within an hour and the delivery driver was cheery enough and followed instructions to leave it in the porch. To the food, well, I’ve have to say this is among some of the best takeaway pizza that I have ever had the pleasure of tucking into.

We ordered a ‘The Christmas One’ pizza, another topped with chicken, pepperoni and Italian sausage and a final pizza topped with mushroom, salami Milano and ham.

Every single pizza had an exquisite stone baked base that was perfectly cooked all the way through meaning no sloppy centre even with the unusual ingredients on ‘The Christmas One’.

The Stone-Oven Pizza Company promises that all cured meats are from a small, award-winning farm and charcuterie in the north of Italy and Fior di Latte mozzarella is shipped straight from Naples and tomatoes are sourced from San Marzano.

You can tell.

I’ve eaten a fair few pigs in blankets during my time, some would say too many, but I have never had one as fine those they’re using to top a pizza here.

The cheesy layer of each pizza was rich and generous and sits on top of a well seasoned and flavoursome classic tomato base that had a welcome sharpness considering the rich ingredients we had chosen. Each pizza had a rich warm rustic feel that made everyone smile after they’d taken their first bites, the cranberry sauce for my own pizza was welcome in its side pot giving you an option for a extra Christmas flourish even if you’re not the biggest cranberry fan. Overall I’d have to rate it among the best takeaway pizzas that I have ever come across, I’d also rank it up there with some of the best takeaway food that I’ve had full stop. If you’re craving some rustic pizza with a proper stone baked base and maybe something with a festive twist, look no further than this new offering for the Grimsby area. The Stone-Oven Pizza Company can be found on the Grimsby and Clee Eats app or though their website www.stone-ovenpizza. com for collection and delivery seven days a week.