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National Pizza Awards crown UK’s best pizza — and the restaurant isn’t even open yet
Five Feet, a London pizzeria on Tanner Street in Bermondsey, won the National Pizza Awards’ Best Pizza in the UK title on 3 November, despite not yet having opened to customers. Its winning Sausage and Broccoli pizza earned recognition before the restaurant’s planned 11 November opening, highlighting the dish and the team’s work ahead of its launch.
The pizza is a Sicilian or Grandma-style pan pizza topped with vodka sauce, sausage, cheeses, broccoli rabe and other ingredients. Owner and head chef Jack Ellingham also won National Pizza Chef of the Year in a live contest against 16 chefs; Five Feet beat finalists including Franco Manca, Pizza Pilgrims and Zizzi. Ellingham said the dough is made with stone-milled flour from grain grown about 30 miles away and baked in oiled pans for a light, crisp-bottomed result.
In short
- Bermondsey’s Five Feet won before opening to customers.
- Its Sausage and Broccoli pizza took the top award.
- Jack Ellingham was also named National Pizza Chef of the Year.
Explained simply
The National Pizza Awards is a UK competition that recognises pizzas and the chefs who make them. Its Best Pizza in the UK title is judged through a contest between entries from restaurants and pizza businesses.
Five Feet is a pizzeria planned for Tanner Street in Bermondsey, London. Its owner and head chef, Jack Ellingham, developed a Sicilian-style pan pizza, a thicker pizza baked in an oiled tray, and competed alongside established chains such as Franco Manca, Pizza Pilgrims and Zizzi.
The award drew attention to Five Feet’s food and team before the restaurant began serving customers. It also shows how food competitions can give a new restaurant recognition as it prepares to open.