A FAMILY-owned artisan pizza restaurant that uses local ingredients has been crowned the best pizzeria in Wales.
Stone Rock Pizza in Upper Church Street, Chepstow, is run by Scott and Danielle Edwards, while the kitchen is headed by Italian-born chef Pasquale Mangiacotti.
And the eaterie has scooped one of the top prizes at the Restaurant Awards (Wales) 2019 in Cardiff.
The second annual Restaurant Awards 2019 Welsh Edition took place on Monday, November 25, at The Exchange Hotel in Cardiff.
Former professional rugby player Scott said: “We are absolutely delighted, it’s a huge honour.
“These awards are wonderful to receive but it’s the huge am-ount of support that we get from our customers that make it all worthwhile.
“We have a fantastic team led by Pasquale and we strive to keep improving and making Chepstow and the local area proud of having the Best Pizza in Wales in their back yard.”
“We didn’t want to go down the 100 per cent traditional Italian pizza route.
“Instead whilst sticking to the artisanal Italian dough making rules, we also wanted to include as much local produce as possible for our toppings.
“Our charcuterie is produced locally from Wye Valley and Forest of Dean game and boar, much of our veg and salad is actually grown in our own kitchen gardens, and our mozzarella is from Somerset.
“We often get people telling us that our pizza is the best they’ve tasted outside of Italy, and many Italian families in the area come to us for their pizza, which really gives us a buzz.”
Representatives of the best restaurants in Wales gathered to celebrate the champions of the industry.
Facing stiff competition from some of the most established and well-known pizzerias in the Principality, Stone Rock Pizza scooped the honour just two and a half years since opening.
The family-owned restaurant was inspired by the travels and love of international cuisine of Scott, who lived overseas for 15 years mostly in Italy and Spain, before returning to Chepstow with US wife Danielle and their young family.
Scott, who was on Gloucester RFC’s books before heading abroad and later opening an events business in Madrid, wanted to bring something authentically European back with them, and so went about developing Stone Rock Pizza.
With the help of Puglia-born pizza chef Pasquale Mangiacotti, they developed their menu using a blend of locally sourced and finest quality Italian ingredients.
The formula has been a resounding success with Stone Rock winning Gold Awards in the UK Pizzeria category at the 2017 and 2018 Pizza and Pasta Association Awards in London, having multiple articles featured about them in the national press and then being crowned Best Pizzeria in Wales.
See www.stonerock pizza.co.uk for more details.