County Derry takeaway picks up 'Pizza of the Year' award

A County Derry takeaway has beat off stiff competition from others throughout Ireland to lift a top award.

Fire & Stone, based in Limavady, picked up the Pizza of the Year Award 2022 at the Irish Takeaway Awards held in Athlone on February 21.

The popular takeaway, which was nominated in five categories, also took home two Highly Commended Awards for Innovation and Sweet Treats.

The awards are run by YesChef Ireland, a culinary publication which promotes takeaways, restaurants and all things food.

Each shop is nominated and then subject to a mystery shopper experience, with the mystery shopper having expertise in the food industry.

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They judge food across a variety of factors, and if successful, are then placed into categories for the awards.

Fire & Stone opened in August 2015 with a view to delivering top quality pizzas and sides to their customers.

The Catherine Street takeaway prides itself in using fresh toppings and ingredients for their pizzas which are stone baked in an open-flamed wildfire oven.

Their unique menu includes pizzas such as the cheese steak, salt and chilli chicken and the goat's cheese and red onion, as well as classics such as Margheritas, Pepperonis and Hawaiians. They also specialise in a wide range of sides and desserts.

Fire & Stone owner Ryan Mullin paid tribute to the staff who work there.

“It truly is a credit to our hard working staff who deliver quality service and work extremely hard through every shift. It is brilliant to see so many takeaways receive recognition for the hard work which they put in,” he said.

The Chippy in Limavady, also owned by Ryan, was nominated in three highly competitive categories – Fish & Chip Shop of the Year, Burger of the Year and Takeaway Team of The Year. They received the Yes Chef Food To Go Recognition.

Ryan added: “It's a fantastic achievement for Fire & Stone to receive Pizza of the Year, and for both businesses to be Highly Commended.

“We pride ourselves with working in the local community, supporting local groups ranging from schools, girls brigades, tennis clubs, sporting associations as well as local businesses.

“The local community is key to the success in Fire & Stone.”

Fire & Stone Duty Manager Chris Stewart said the takeaway prides itself on its 'quality food'.

“It’s a fantastic achievement to receive the Pizza of the Year Award 2022 and to follow up our success from 2019 with Italian Takeaway of The Year.

“We pride ourselves in the quality food which we deliver to our customers, who support us week in, week out, as well our staff who have worked incredibly hard over these challenging few years,” he said.

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