Earlier this summer, having been made redundant due to Covid, Jo Malone, along with her husband James trialled a pop-up food delivery service, The Village Kitchen. Following its success, they decided to further develop the concept and to fulfil what they considered to be a gap in the local market for artisan pizza and freshly made pasta dishes by launching the Village Pizza Kitchen at what was previously the Ruby Watts shop on the High Street.

Whilst pizza and pasta of course traditionally originates from Italy, with so much fantastic produce being grown and made here in the UK, Jo and James were passionate about showcasing British ingredients where possible - which is reflected in all of their dishes. The pizzas are handmade using a blend of stoneground wholegrain and 00 flours produced by ancient Cotswolds mills, whilst many of the toppings are from Sussex - including charcuterie from Steyning, cheeses from Balcombe, Brighton and Lewes and chillies from Ashurst.

Whilst most of the ingredients are British, Chef Simonetta Held brings her Italian influence to the dishes. Born near Rome and having been brought up cooking with her Nonnas from Venice and the Amalfi Coast, Simonetta loves nothing more than being in the kitchen cooking up a storm! Simonetta is joined by local chef, James Whittle, who having cut his teeth as an apprentice at The Fig Tree, is an expert when it comes to hand stretching pizzas - having made thousands of pizzas during his time with The Pizza Oven Company.

Since launching at the end of December, the team have been exceedingly busy - serving over 4000 pizzas, as well as pasta dishes, sides and desserts!

The Village Pizza Kitchen is open for takeaway:
12pm to 8:30pm Tuesdays to Thursdays
12pm to 9pm Fridays and Saturdays

Local delivery is currently available weekday lunchtimes, but is due to be extended to evenings over the coming weeks.

Order now on Village Pizza Kitchen Online