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FIVE STAR FOOD HITS JESMOND THE PIZZA FOR PIZZA LOVERS

Cal’s Own finally opened its doors in Jesmond earlier in the year, following three successful years on Chillingham Road, Heaton. The pizzeria has built itself both a local and national reputation in that timeas well as universal praise from restaurant reviewers, helping to make it into TripAdvisor’s list of the “Top 20 UK Pizzerias”, and Buzzfeed’s “Top 17 Pizzas to Try Before you Die!” More recently they also secured a spot in Daniel Young’s book “Where to Eat Pizza” which features 1,705 of the best pizzerias round the world.

For their new location, owners Calvin Kitchin, and his brother Kerry, have imported the ‘Ferrari of wood-fired pizza ovens’. Hand built in Naples by Stefano Ferrara, this impressive piece of kit took a month to construct, and two weeks to transport to Newcastle. To quote the rightly proud owners ‘‘We’re constantly pushing the boundaries of how pizza ought to be made. Using techniques both old and new and importing our core ingredients from the Campania region of Italy, you simply will not find more authentic Neapolitan pizza anywhere else - well, maybe Napoli...” Modest errrr no ! But then again The Chronicle’s Secret Diner gave the restaurant a 5 star rating for food, citing it as the best pizza outside Naples (and as good as the best in Naples!).

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We can’t honestly say we are surprised by the many accolades already attributed to Cal’s Own. From their ingredients alone it’s clear to see that they don’t mess around when it comes to quality and authenticity. Their pizza sauce for example, is made using San Marzano DOP tomatoes. These grow at the foothills of Mt. Vesuvius, where highly fertile soil from volcanic ashes produces a beautifully sweet tomato. Then there’s the Buffalo Mozzarella which is imported from Campania, Southern Italy. This cheese is DOP, meaning that it is protected to the highest standards and can only come from two specific areas of Italy - Caserta and Battipaglia. Their Grana Padano (hard cheese) is also DOP and the fiordilatte (fresh cow’s milk mozzarella) is cut by hand. Then there is their famous dough which is made using the finest ‘00’ flour and fermented with their very own sour dough starter which they have kept alive since 2012. The dough is then proved for 72 hours and baked at over 400 degrees. This gives a range of textures and flavours only found in true pizza Napoletana! In this case on Holly Avenue West in Jesmond. Of course we recommend that you drop by for the pizza but there has also been a great deal of attention towards the bar, which stocks a range of local beers, Italian lagers and wine specially selected to pair well with the food. Upon visiting you can not fail to be impressed by the stripped back interior which we’re told has been influenced by industrial Naples and New York. To bring to life their vision, Cal’s Own brought on board Dan Civico for the interior design and commissioned artwork from the very talented Jack Nassau who you may remember designed NE Love’s Christmas 2015 front cover. Great minds think alike, what’s not to like? l

TEL: 0191 281 5522

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CALSOWN

WWW.TWITTER.COM/CALS_OWN

WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/CALS_OWN

1-2 HOLLY AVENUE WEST, JESMOND, NE2 2AR

WWW.CALSOWN.CO.UK

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