Can a pizzeria in Belfast, Northern Ireland, lay claim to the best slice of pizza on the planet? Pizza aficionados can decide that for themselves, but it certainly seems like a strong contender.
Talk to Peter Thompson, founder of Belfast's gourmet pizzeria Flout!, about his favorite subject and he'll take you on a culinary tour around the pizza styles of the United States, through New York, New Haven, Detroit and Chicago, each with its own peculiar twist to the traditional Italian dish.
Thompson, a Belfast native, started Flout! in 2021 during the pandemic—a challenging time for the hospitality industry. Throw in on top that Belfast is not known for its culinary excellence and it seems an unlikely story. But the longtime professional in the food advertising industry decided to take the plunge and pursue a long-held ambition.
"Generally pizza back then in Northern Ireland and Ireland really was kind of that chain Domino style or it was Neapolitan style," Thompson told Newsweek.
"I was very drawn towards East Coast and North American pizza styles and how they were so iconic and how they had tradition, and heritage, and innovation and I just loved everything about them."
...
Before launching Flout!, Thompson spent nine months making focaccia in small batches at home and building a customer base that counted another small business, Mike's Fancy Cheese, among his early customers.
Five years and 200,000 slices later, Flout! has a new and expanded pizza slice shop that opened in downtown Belfast earlier this year. Meanwhile, Thompson has been traveling the globe, from New York to London, bringing foodies his gourmet offering in exclusive pop-up locations.
In December 2024, Flout! opened a pop-up version in Lucia Pizza of SoHo, New York, before traveling to the upmarket Kimpton Fitzroy London in the Bloomsbury area of the UK's capital. This summer he served customers at the popular Electric Picnic Music and Arts Festival in Stradbally, Ireland.
Yes, Pineapple Does Belong on Pizza!
Thompson believes the success of his pizza lies in the high quality local ingredients such as locally sourced artisan cheese, meat products, British and Irish flour, and a sourdough starter. He now buys cheese from Mike's Fancy Cheese, his earlier focaccia customer, while sourcing fine cuts and sausage from renowned local meat supplier Hannan Meats.
Thompson wants to get away from the perception of the hospitality industry as offering poor pay, poor conditions, and long hours. He says he pays his nine staff beyond the living wage and admits the staff to revenue cost ratio is beyond what some industry managers would consider acceptable.
"Everybody's had pay rises, and everybody gets a Christmas bonus, and I'm taking all the staff to New York next month as a little reward for stuff that's done, but also to experience pizzerias over there," said Thompson. This approach has helped with staff retention, he added: Flout! still has its first full-time employee.
Staff are not the only cost that a small business in the hospitality industry has, and Flout! has not been immune to the rising costs of food and energy. The cost of basic pizza ingredients has skyrocketed since Flout! was launched. Tomatoes have risen 60 percent, cheese 45 percent, while olive oil is up nearly 170 percent, Thompson said.
As far as the future goes, Thompson is not aiming to expand rapidly. He wants to grow the business sustainably without excessive debt and, most of all, make sure he continues to love what he does.
"The idea of franchising it or branching out and having 10 stores and venture capitalist backing and leaving the essence of what the business is about and the community basis that we would have and that kind of thing, it's just not appealing to me at all," Thompson said.
When it comes to the Hawaiian pizza debate raging on social media about whether pineapple should be allowed anywhere near a slice of pizza, Thompson has a surprising answer: the name Flout! comes from the idea of flouting the rules—in his view anything goes.
"We just make whatever we want," said Thompson. "If somebody says you shouldn't make it that way, that just makes me want to make it more, to be honest. So the pineapple on pizza debate is ridiculous."
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Mike Hirst.