Short Road Pizza storms National Pizza Awards 2025

A pizza business that was born out of lockdown has stormed this year’s National Pizza Awards, scooping two titles at the annual celebration.  

Short Road Pizza, which operates out of Exale Brewing pubs The Three Colts Tavern in Bethnal Green and William The Fourth in Leyton, delivered the National Pizza of the Year to a panel of industry judges at the live final on Tuesday 4 November.  

The business only started trading out of the pubs last year, having been initially created in lockdown 2020 on Short Road, Leytonstone. Husband and wife founders Ugo Galelli and Kate Prior moved into the neighbourhood and started baking pizza to connect with their community. 

Short Road’s winning pie, The Short Road Marinara, is made up of Short Road Tomato Sauce, confit garlic purée, spicy chimichurri, fresh stracciatella, Cantabrian anchovies and oregano. The champion pizza was cooked up by chef Riccardo Demuru. 

“It has been a journey,” says Galelli. “I feel really proud and honoured to be here, so proud of the team and Riccardo. I can’t quite believe it. We worked very hard to open in bricks and mortar, and it has only been a year since we’ve been active. It feels amazing.”  

Demuru also went home with the Alternative Slice Award for his Caramelle Piccanti creation, featuring Cooks&Co Sweety Drop Peppers, Cooks&Co Dried Porcini Mushrooms, Oh, Grate! vegan parmesan, slow cooked tomato sauce, vegan stracciatella, Calabrian chilli hot honey, vegan basil pesto and nuts. 

Other awards presented on the night went to ACE Pizza’s Howard Quayle, who scooped the Bloggers’ Choice Award, judged by Kate Ovens and Big Eats Global. While Mamma Dough’s Antonio Raspone was named Pizza Chef of the Year, after he won the Technical Round with The Big Apple Blue pizza. 

Made with ingredients from the event’s sponsors, The Big Blue Apple featured RISE Re:Gen Regenerative Strong White Flour, Red Tomato Passata, Cooks&Co Sliced Black Olives, TABASCO Habanero, TABASCO Chipotle, TABASCO Green, Supreme Champion Artisan Blue Stilton Crumb, Classic Sliced Pepperoni, apple, honey, parmesan and pine nuts. 

Approaching 10 years 

Sixteen of the UK’s finest pizzaiolos took part in a live cooking showdown at the National Pizza Awards final, as the event celebrated its ninth anniversary. 

This year’s exceptional line-up featured an eclectic mix of rising stars and well-known groups from across the restaurant, pub, bar and street food sectors. The full list of finalists can be found below.   

As well as a signature round to determine the National Pizza of the Year, competitors took part in a technical challenge, tasked with crafting the ultimate pizza from a selection of sponsor ingredients in a bid to be named Pizza Chef of the Year. The event also saw the return of the Alternative Slice Award, granted to the competitor who created the most outstanding plant-based dish from a range of free-from products.   

The 2025 National Pizza Awards was headline sponsored by Birrificio Angelo Poretti, and sponsored by Clawson Farms, Conglom, Cooks & Co, Cuppone, Eurostar Commodities, Fleet Street Communications, Grandi Molini Italiani, I Am Nut OK, LLK, Properoni, Salvo, Sweet Baby Ray’s and TABASCO®. 

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