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Suffolk Restaurant Becomes Part of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage OAKFIRED


A Suffolk-based eatery has be- come only the third restaurant in the UK to have achieved a prestigious international qual- ity standard and officially be- come part of what UNESCO has deemed “intangible cultural herit- age”.


Oakfired at The Royal Oak in Beccles, owned by Paul Williams and Paul Jackson, has just been awarded hard-to-attain accredita- tion from the Associazione Vera Pizza Napoletana (AVPN), based in the southern Italian city of Na- ples, which allows it to legally claim to be able to offer its diners ‘real Neapolitan pizza.’ Its pizza maker, Paul Jack-


son, is not just now a ‘pizzaiolo’ (pizza chef), recognised as being able to prepare and cook pizza in the authentic manner required by the stringent AVPN, but has also become part of the patrimony of Neapolitan pizza and a com- munity of pizzaioli who pass on the tradition of Neapolitan pizza- making from generation to gen- eration. This other claim to fame fol-


lows UNESCO adding the art of Neapolitan pizza making to the Representative List of the Intan- gible Cultural Heritage of Hu- manity, in December 2017. Oakfired at The Royal Oak


now joins the two other UK res- taurants with the AVPN accredi- tation – Casa Mia in Herne Bay, Kent and Cal’s Own in Newcas- tle-upon-Tyne. It becomes the only restaurant in its region of East Anglia that can allow food lovers to experience the type of pizza they would be treated to in the Italian city that gave birth to the dish. It is also the only Neapolitan


pizza venue between London and Newcastle, for those foodies who love to travel to destination res- taurants at which they can expe- rience the tingle that comes with food authenticity. Delivering an authentic food


experience was the goal of the two Pauls, when they established Oakfired at The Royal Oak in summer 2017, taking on one of Beccle’s traditional pubs and transforming it into a pizza and pasta restaurant with a differ- ence. Paul Jackson headed out to Naples to train at a restaurant called Copasso, under the watch- ful eye of the AVPN. He learned the methodology required of a Neapolitan pizza maker and Oakfired quickly invested in a Valoriani oven that the AVPN recommended as being capable of cooking their high-standard pizzas.


Following a visit to Oakfired,


by an assessor, the eatery has now been presented with its cer- tification and the proof that it can create pizza perfection and de- liver on all ten elements in what is called ‘The Decalogue’. This comprises ten stages that the true Neapolitan pizza maker must complete every time they cook a pizza, with this ranging from the way they cut their mozza- rella and where they source their ingredients, to how they stretch their dough, the temperature of the oven in which the pizza is cooked and the amount of time the pizza spends in the oven. The good news at becoming


only the third eatery in the UK to master this art comes in Na-


tional Pizza Month and will be celebrated by the fan-base of diners that Oakfired has built up over the past 13 months. Its oldest customer is 94 years old and its youngest visitor to date has been six days old. It has thrilled all diners in-between and even generated rave reviews from those who claim not to like pizza! This comment is down to the fact that Neapolitan pizza is not the rather stodgy, thick- based affair served up in many eateries, but a pizza that should be slightly soggy in the middle and capable of being rolled up into what is termed a ‘libretto’. It is a completely different food experience for many pizza eaters and this comes with some issues, as those unaware that this is the way that pizza should be cooked need to be converted to its style, texture and taste. Oakfired at The Royal Oak is naturally immensely proud of its achievement, particularly given that no pizzerias and restaurants in London or many other big cit- ies have achieved the accredita- tion. Its success has not just been based on its food, however, with Paul Williams bringing a world of front-of-house expe- rience acquired in London to the eatery, where managing the needs of A-list celebrities was part of the prestigious day job.


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01502 725837 BEC 6/BUN 6 OCTOBER 2018 Paul Williams says: “Achiev-


ing this feat has been down to the total dedication of Paul Jack- son, which is reflective of his approach to everything he does, and the strength of our partner- ship, which dovetails in every- thing we do and allows one of us to pick up the reins if the other is gaining new skills or working on business planning. Together,


we always strive for perfection and we there is a lot of drive and tenacity behind our achieve- ment.” Paul Jackson adds: “The UK


is way behind other countries in the world when it comes to be- ing able to cook pizza as they do in Naples. We hope to become ambassadors for Neapolitan piz- za, helping the AVPN to achieve


their aim of establishing a big- ger network of AVPN-accredited restaurants in the UK. Until you have tried true Neapolitan pizza, you have not lived, so we also hope to attract diners from across the country, who wish to eat like proud Neapolitans and perceive the difference that this style of pizza brings to the plate.” Having already scooped an industry-leading award in 2017, when it won the Pizza and Pasta Association’s Gold Award for Best UK Independent Pizzeria in its region, the Oakfired team


wish to go one further with a na- tional award this year. They hope their dedication to a UNESCO- recognised art will enable them to do that and that East Anglia’s restaurant scene will have even more to shout about. More information is available at www.oakfired.co.uk and Oak- fired can be found at 35 Ravens- mere, Beccles, by those wanting to take advantage of what hap- pens in Naples now being on of- fer in Suffolk.


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Carried Out Congratulations to all at Oakfired


Congratulations on your award


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44 Puddingmoor, Beccles, Suffolk NR34 9PL tel/fax 01502 710536 Mobile 07788 563683 aquagasanglialtd@btinternet.com www.aquagasanglialtd.co.uk


Congratulations on opening your restaurant and achieving this award, Oakfired Pizza is a great addition to Beccles and your menu is sure to please hungry diners. All of us at Gentry Services (EA) Ltd wish you both every success.


T: 01502 714 152 M: 07950 910510 www.gentryservices.co.uk


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