Who doesn't love pizza? If you're reading this and you don't, well you will by the end. Actually, you'll probably want an entire one to yourself. There is a new pizza place in town, Nonna's Wood Fired Pizza's. And they have brought a taste of Italy to Derry. We spoke with Darren the guy who has brought this new pizza place onto the Independent Derry scene. He's a guy that has found a love for Italian style pizza's and thought that the people of Derry would too. Where his new business venture all began is a funny little one...
Darren has been visiting Italy for the past 12 years and each time he has gone there it seems all things pizza related grasped his attention. He says it was the thin, crispy bases and the fresh, local ingredients that got him interested. He also reckons the pizza's in Italy were unlike any pizza you could get back here and this is what got his mind jogging. But it wasn't just the thin crusts and tasty ingredients that got him so fascinated, it was the traditional wood fire ovens that are used to cook those pizza's in too. So, he decided he wanted to create Italian style pizza's back home in Derry, and we really admire how he went about it. Darren decided he was going to build his very own wood fire pizza oven in his back garden. This was what he needed to allow him to create pizza's just like the ones he had come across in Italy. It took him approximately three months to build the wood fire oven, and an extremely hot one at that. He has told us his wood fire oven could cook pizza's in up to 60 seconds!! It was then through watching Youtube videos on how to make pizza's that he learned the skills needed to make authentic, Italian style pizza's in his own wood fire oven. Which we think is pretty impressive. He then began practicing his pizza making skills in his back garden for family and friends. After getting their positive reactions, Darren soon turned what he had created in his back garden into the Independent business that exists today on Spencer Road, Nonna's Wood Fired Pizza's. Nonna's Pizza's opened recently in June and if you're wondering where the name came from, then we can tell you that 'Nonna' means Granny in Italian. And with Darren having Italian family, we are told the word Nonna gets used quite a lot by the grandchildren, therefore resulting in the name of the business.
At Nonna's, a traditional wood fire oven is also used to make the pizza's for all you hungry customers (although this one is not as hot as the one in Darren's back garden). Birch wood is used in the oven and it is this type of wood that provides a high heat and creates more of a smokey flavour than other woods. The ingredients used at Nonna's Pizza's are sourced from Italy, to give you that Italian taste, and of course locally too. Darren only chooses ingredients of the highest quality and combines these to create the variety of pizza's that are available on the menu. You can find Prosciutto and Rocket, Pancetta & Brie, Meatball Parmigana and Verdure, to name a few. There are also vegetarian options on the menu and if you need a gluten free base, then Nonna's can provide this too.
As well as the wide selection of lovely pizza's that Nonna's sell, there are other delicious options on their menu that you should definitely try. We'd recommend going for the Sharing Antipasti Platter - if you like meat that is, and some really creamy Bufala Mozeralla that tastes like heaven. And, if you are a desert person. Then look no further, because Nonna's Nutella Twists are the talk of the town. You should 100% get involved with one of these after you've had you fair share of pizza. It's probably best to make sure you have a big appetite going here...
And as Halloween is fast approaching, Darren has told us that there will be a Halloween special on the menu, so keep an eye out for this one. He's even gone and thought about what Nonna's Christmas special might be, we are looking forward to these verrrry much. You are probably all really hungry now so we will leave it there. But if you fancy trying Nonna's then you can call in, find a seat and full table service will be provided. If you don't have time to stay then do not worry, Nonna's provides a delivery and collection service, just go and order online at: https://nonnas.iwantfed.com/ or call them up.
All the best to this new Derry Independent, you're doing a great job so far! A new blog soon. Independent Derry. X