At Rural Pizza Company, we believe that the best ideas come from the simplest moments — and ours began under the stars, around a campfire in the quiet hills of Snowdonia. What started as a casual conversation between two people who loved great food, adventure, and the outdoors has now turned into a thriving pizza company, dedicated to bringing fresh, wood-fired pizza to the community.
Our Story
It was during a cold, wet weekend camping trip in 2015 that Sophie and Chris found inspiration for what would soon become their dream business. Sitting by the fire, enjoying the tranquility of nature, a wood-fired pizza truck quietly rolled into the campsite. This was a sight for sore eyes and the crisp crust, smoky flavour, and fresh ingredients sparked a fire within them—a desire to bring that same authentic, rustic pizza experience to their own corner of the world.
Having always dreamed of starting a business together Sophie and Chris knew they wanted to do something that they loved, something that would bring people together. And so, the idea for Rural Pizza Company was born.
Our Mission
At Rural Pizza Company, we’re committed to crafting wood-fired pizzas that are as simple as they are delicious. We use only the freshest local ingredients and make all our dough and sauces. Every pizza is handmade, then cooked to perfection in our custom-built wood-fired oven, which infuses every bite with a rich, smoky flavour.
Why Wood-Fired?
The magic of wood-fired pizza lies in its simplicity. Cooking with wood creates a unique charred crust, and the heat of the fire infuses every bite with a depth of flavour that can’t be replicated in a conventional oven. Our pizza is made with love, passion, and a little bit of that rustic charm that comes from cooking over an open flame. It’s an experience that goes beyond food—it’s about connecting with people, nature, and the traditions that make pizza truly special.
Our first oven (2015)
Experience matters:
Now, we’ve learnt ALOT over the past ten years which has only aided in our understanding as to what is needed to run a successful event. We’ve dealt with harsh winters, hot summers, crazy winds, gazebos ending up in oak trees, festivals with a huge amount of people, festivals with no people(!), rain, rain and more rain, difficult customers, fabulous customers and the list goes on! We’ve learnt what works and what doesn’t…what makes a fantastic pizza and experience for customers. Only experience can do that and boy, we’ve got plenty of that!
Welcome the Dragon Oven…
We quickly realised that our lovely little trailer wasn’t cut out for larger events and we invested in the impressive Dragon Oven a couple of years later. This oven has been incredible – easily cooking 9 pizzas at a time (if you can handle it!) and pumping out tens of thousands of pizzas at events. We cook over 1000 pizzas alone at our usual spot at the New Forest Folk Festival, closely followed by the New Forest Fairy Festival. These events require serious amounts of skill, organisation, planning and, of course, copious amounts of dough.
Ten years in and thousands of pizzas later, we are still as excited and passionate about our product as we were at the start. We absolutely love the thrill our oven gives customers and the intrigue and questions it raises. It is such a pleasure to see our pizza being enjoyed by so many and cant wait for the new exciting chapter we are planning for 2026. Watch this space!
All the best,
Sophie & Chris
