Lancashire pizza chef is named one of the best in the country - this is how you can taste her food

Nicola Jackson Jones, pizza chef and founder at Two Cents Pizza in Ormskirk, earned the accolade for her Greek-inspired Yam-Yasss! pizza, which includes ingredients such as halloumi, lamb kofta and charred onion petals.

The annual Pizza Chef of the Year competition invites pizza professionals from across the country to enter and is the highlight of the annual Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Industry Awards.

Chefs are challenged to create a pizza using a selected sponsored ingredient as the key element and other food components of their choice.

Then, later that day, Theo Randall and comedian Adam Bloom revealed category winners and the overall champion during a gala evening at the Royal Lancaster, London.

Nicola said: “I wanted to create something that tasted incredible and featured complimentary ingredients. Halloumi and lamb kofta are just that. I also added chilli to give the look and taste a little lightness and brightness.

“I can’t believe I won again this year. It is always such a pleasure to take this accolade. I am very proud to once again be told my pizzas are the best. It makes the nerves very much worth it.”

Background

It was Nicola’s dream to quit her desk job, but just eight months after Two Cents opened, the pandemic hit. Nicola adapted, collaborating with a local taxi driver to deliver pizzas during lockdown.

In 2022 she made the decision to close down her restaurant and focus on pizza training and consultancy.

How do I get a taste?

Nicola now runs pop-ups across the North West as well as pizza-making courses. For more information on where to grab a slice visit her Facebook page.

Pushing the boundaries

Jim Winship, director of the Pizza, Pasta & Italian Food Association, said: “With ingredients such as halloumi, lamb kofta and charred onion petals, our chefs are continually pushing the boundaries of creativity within everyone’s favourite slice. We’ve tasted some truly tremendous pizzas!

“Nicola’s creation really stood out in the Futura Foods YAMAS! Halloumi category. It truly shows the diversity of pizza and how you can make it into anything you want it to be. The judges were wowed by Nicola’s Yam-Yasss! Pizza, and we all said we could’ve eaten it again and again.”