Cameron Kelly is a man on a mission, determined to make the best pizzas in town. Setting up his new pizza company Zonda in the kitchens of The Kings Arms in Chipping Norton, the 32 year-old is already making waves, endless people tipping us off about his amazing new pizzas!
A tall order though. Can they really be that good? We hot-footed it down to The Kings Arms to try Zonda’s pizzas for ourselves, unbeknownst to Cameron. And the answer is yes, wonderful juicy, quality toppings, oozing cheese and a crust that defies belief, chewy, charred and just the right mix of dough to topping. As for the garlic and herb dip – it’s a must!!!
The dough takes Cameron four days to make in the spacious pub kitchen using a cold fermentation process. “If you rip off a bit of the crust and it tastes amazing you’re doing something right, regardless of the toppings and I think we’ve achieved that. It’s the most important part of the pizza,” he adds.
‘The only thing that I really care about is the next pizza that comes out of the oven’
It’s an unusual location though, the honest boozer at odds with the countryside gastropubs clustered around it, full of locals catching a pint after work, watching the football. It doesn’t serve food there either, making it the perfect location for Zonda to set up shop.
But that’s exactly what Cameron was looking for when he heard The Kings Arms was looking for someone to come in, take over the kitchens and provide a new food offering. “It just seems like the perfect opportunity. I’d been looking for a permanent premises nearby but nothing was quite right. And then I heard about The Kings Arms, right in the centre of Chipping Norton, and it just made sense,” he says.
‘We want to bring something new and different to Chippy and to give The Kings Arms a bit of extra oomph’
“We want to bring something new and different to Chippy and to give The Kings Arms a bit of extra oomph. Because it is fundamentally an honest boozer, like you find in all towns, and there isn’t much of a pizza offering here, so we hope Zonda will help put it on the map.
“There is a real move towards casual dining and we want to embrace that. We want to shake things up by doing one thing brilliantly and better than anyone else, by making the best pizza, that’s our mission,” he adds.
Serving seven different types of pizza all named after cars (Cameron is also a massive petrol head) as well as a cheesy garlic bread and a stunning garlic and herb dip, there’s something for everyone from the spicy Enzo (American Hot – tomato base, mozzarella, pepperoni, jalepenos, chilli, parmesan, basil) to the Diablo (Nduja & Hot Honey – tomato base, mozzarella, nduja, hot honey, parmesan, basil) or the Daytona (Beef Brisket – tomato base, mozzarella, smoked beef brisket, jalapeños, chilli, caribbean bbq sauce, parmesan, basil).
Throw in a trad Margherita and Marinara, and you’ve got a tempting variety on offer.
Zonda Pizza opened in The Kings Arms on Nov 2 and customers can scan a QR code on the tables or bar, order and then wait for their pizzas to eat in or take away. Or you can order online at https://www.zondapizza.com
“Zonda’s pizzas are really affordable. You can get a pizza and a couple of beers for £20 and we have done really well so far, but we just need to get the word out, and I do believe that once people have tried one of our pizzas, they will return,” Cameron says.
‘I think we serve the best pizza for 20 miles, and if you try one I’m sure you’ll come back for more’
Cameron grew up in Kingham and said that food has always dominated his life, but having been made redundant from his job in London, he started work at The Flat Iron Square where owners Baz and Fred taught him to make proper pizza. He loved it there, learning everything from how to make the dough to sourcing ingredients and chatting to the customers.
When Covid began, Cameron returned home and began experimenting with dough recipes until he got it just right. “I just love the whole process from start to finish,” he explains.
He then bought a gazebo and sold his pizzas at Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club at weekends, before buying a shipping container and setting up a pizza kitchen there. Then the opportunity arose to take Zonda to Chipping Norton and here we are.
‘zonda’s has done really well so far, but we just need to get the word out’
“If I had £5 million I’d open my own premises, but I don’t, so this is the next best opportunity. And I’m building the business brick by brick. So far we’ve gone from gazebo to shipping container to pub and I’ve worked so hard to establish Zonda, so this is a long term project built from the foundations up.”
As for the future, Cameron certainly has aspirations, but then he smiles and says: “The only thing that I really care about is the next pizza that comes out of the oven.
“I think we serve the best pizzas for 20 miles, and if you try one I’m sure you’ll come back for more. So come along and try us out.”
Zonda Pizza is at The Kings Arms, 18 West Street, Chipping Norton. OX7 5AA. To order or find out more information go to https://www.zondapizza.com
