Pizza Pilgrims Co-founder Thom Elliot has never gone about things in the conventional way.
In 2011, he and brother James chucked in their jobs, nipped over to Southern Italy and spent six weeks on a ‘Pizza Pilgrimage’. During this time, they learned how to make pizza from the best in the business – where better to hone your dough-making skills than in Naples? – before driving home in a three-wheeled Piaggio Ape van. They parked it in central London and started selling pizzas from it in Berwick Street Market.
Today, Pizza Pilgrims has 30 pizzerias across London and the UK, a Pizza Academy and great plans for the future.
Thom has made an entire business out of thinking and doing things differently. That goes from proving dough for a mammoth 48 hours, to filling restaurants with flamingo pedalos and, in Brighton’s case, a five-aside football pitch.
Thom also scoffed at the notion that Neapolitan pizzerias don’t do pepperoni. His version added hot honey too, because why not? Today, the Double Pepperoni and Hot Honey pizza is one of Pizza Pilgrims’ bestsellers.
As our opening keynote at Brighton Summit, Thom will talk about how not doing the obvious has been a key driver of the business. He’ll share stories of the moment when doing the normal would have been easier – but a lot duller, and ultimately less profitable.
