We would like to dedicate this book to all our Pizzaiolos, past and present, who have lovingly handcrafted our pizzas over the years.
In 1965, an Englishman had a dream: to introduce great Italian pizza to the UK. That man was Peter Boizot MBE. Inspired by his travels, he wanted to bring the flavours of Italy closer to home, and the first PizzaExpress was born. The restaurant used authentic ingredients to create proper Italian pizza, cooked in a genuine pizza oven a simple but radical idea in Sixties London.
Driven by passion, ingenuity and the desire to get a decent pizza in London, Peter wanted his legacy to be not only about food but also the whole UK dining scene. Great food at an affordable price in stylish surroundings his idea seems straightforward now, but at the time it was ground-breaking and blazed the trail for those that followed.
AND SO IT BEGAN
As a young man, after finishing school, Peter jumped at the opportunity to spend three months in Italy teaching English to the four children of a wealthy family. It was his first trip to the country and he quickly realised it would not be his last. He immersed himself in the Italian way of life, falling in love with the culture, the people and, of course, the food, which was certainly more colourful and exciting than hed been used to in his hometown of Peterborough. At a young age, Peter had decided he did not want to eat meat, and the abundance of vegetarian dishes he enjoyed in Italy was a culinary eye-opener. It was on this trip that he was introduced to pizza for the first time. When he told his hosts how he loved watching the pizzaiolos in their striped T-shirts in the local pizzeria, skilfully kneading and tossing the dough, they arranged for their chef to cook homemade pizza. The bright, vibrant colours and the incredible flavours of the dough and mozzarella enthralled him and a life-long love affair began.
After completing his national service and a degree at Cambridge, Peter embarked on an exciting journey, travelling and working all over Europe. Wherever he was, he took in the social scene and enjoyed the music and restaurants. Always on the lookout for great pizzerias, he found them all over Europe and the seeds of an idea started to grow.
Peter returned to Britain in 1965. London was swinging to the songs of The Beatles, girls wore mini-skirts, boys wore flares and Peter was surprised to find this was the only city in Europe where he couldnt buy a decent pizza. Taking the expert knowledge he had acquired on his travels, he was convinced that he could provide quality, affordable Italian fare to Londoners. All he needed were premises, a proper pizza oven and customers.
The oven came first. Peter knew it was impossible to recreate the authentic taste of Italian pizza without a genuine Italian oven. He flew to Rome and went directly to Signor Notaro, the manufacturer of the oven he wanted to buy. It cost 600 and he arranged for it to be delivered to England, along with a man to operate it.
Strapped for cash after this purchase, Peter went on the search for premises and had a stroke of luck. When he met with the person who was to be his mozzarella supplier Margaret Zampi, widow of film director Mario Zampi she told him how she was keen to sell her husbands failing pizzeria, but only to someone who shared his vision of making great pizza in London. The deal was done and 29 Wardour Street, in the heart of Londons bustling Soho district, became the first PizzaExpress. The only problem was that when Peter tried to install his prized oven, he found it was so big and so heavy (it weighed a tonne) that it couldnt fit through the door. So what did Peter do? He asked some friends to help out and they knocked the front wall down. The oven was in!
When the first restaurant opened it sold pizza in slices and there were only a few tables. As in traditional Italian pizzerias, the idea was that you bought your pizza, then ate it standing up or took it away with you. Peter also remembered one of the great pieces of advice hed been given: Italian pizzerias always offer free pizza when they first open, so he did too and the Soho-ites loved it. The oven from Rome and its operator worked long hours to meet the demand.
As with any business starting out, Peters restaurant evolved, following advice from close friends and customers. From eating pizza off a piece of greaseproof paper, things soon moved on to offering paper plates and plastic cutlery (which sometimes melted in the hot cheese!), then finally to real cutlery and crockery. Peter realised that the London customers wanted to sit down, so he invested in more tables with the finest marble tops. He even changed the shape of the pizzas, deciding that round was the way to go. PizzaExpress was new, exciting, cool and totally different to anything Londoners had seen before. Queues started to form.
In 1967, restaurant number two opened in Coptic Street, Bloomsbury, and was an instant success. Peter employed fashionable Italian restaurant designer Enzo Apicella to bring his individual look and feel to the new premises and held an extravagant opening party Peter liked a party! Located in an area of London that had few other restaurants at the time, the place soon flourished, and the unique interior with its cool, attractively tiled look and vibrant colours won high praise. The loud atmosphere that was part of the appeal was due to the sparse design and use of hard surfaces, still a feature of many PizzaExpress restaurants today. Ironically, Enzo Apicellas deafness meant he was unaware of this innovation being a benefit!
Locals appreciated the new lunch venue and there were always flocks of hungry tourists passing by en route to the nearby British Museum. This was also the restaurant where PizzaExpress began its long association with live music, with performances by the Original String Quartet.
Many more restaurants opened up in London and all over the UK, but each one had something special and individual about it, whether in the building or the design. Peter never saw himself as creating a chain; he called his restaurants a necklace of individual gems. The paper plates may have been consigned to history, but the fresh ingredients and lively surroundings are a constant and remain a key part of Peters pizza legacy.
It was a sad day in 2018 when we heard the news that Peter Boizot had died, aged 89. But his dream, personality and passion live on, as they have done since he sold the business in 1993. Times change, people change, fashions change, but one thing remains constant: pizza.
Looking to the future, we at PizzaExpress take inspiration from Peters pioneering spirit and keep that alive today. Were passionate about what we do and proud of using the best ingredients to make perfect pizzas, so we want to share that with you. In the following pages, youll find our secrets to successful dough-making, our favourite topping recipes, plus all the little extras such as salads, dressings and sauces everything you need to know to make amazing pizzas in your own kitchen.
At PizzaExpress we are very particular about the quality of the ingredients that go into our pizzas. We want to share some information with you to help you source the best items, but first we want to tell you the story of our passata, which has been made to the same recipe and by the same producer in Italy for well over three decades.
