This pizza starts with The French House. If you don’t know it, 49 Dean Street in Soho is one of the most storied pubs in London, a place where de Gaulle is said to have rallied the French Resistance, where Dylan Thomas lost the manuscript of Under Milk Wood, and where the tiny dining room upstairs has quietly launched some of the city’s most celebrated chefs, including Fergus Henderson before he opened St John. That room is now home to Neil Borthwick, a Scottish chef whose daily handwritten menus are some of the finest French bistro cooking in London, honest, seasonal, unfussy and deeply satisfying.
As Soho neighbours on opposite ends of Dean Street, Neil and our pizza master Antonio sat down together to answer the question: what would pizza at The French House pizza look like? The answer was rooted in tarte flambée, the ancient Alsatian flatbread that farmers baked in wood-fired ovens to test the heat before the bread went in. The dish literally translates as ‘pie baked in flames’, the perfect match for Neapolitan ovens. Our version builds a beurre blanc of reduced white wine, caramelised shallots and cream, finished with butter and tarragon. Smoked pork lardons, roasted shallots and camembert on top. Then finished to order with hand-chopped heritage tomato tartare for a hit of summer freshness that cuts through the richness beautifully.
It also means something beyond the plate. £1 from every pizza sold goes directly to Soho Parish School, a much-loved community school at the heart of the neighbourhood, in partnership with Soho Food Feast who are hosting their annual event on 6th and 7th June. Every pizza is a small contribution to something that matters.
As well as being available at Fatto a Mano pizzerias in Soho, London & Brighton, we are taking the pizza to The French House itself on Sunday 31st May, serving it at 49 Dean Street. Keep that Sunday free. More details to follow.
Come and try it