Chef hopes restaurant will be one of dozens in the region.

“I want this to be one of 50,”” says young chef Chris Sharman, who has just opened pizza restaurant Dough&Co on Sudbury’s North Street.

The ambitious foodie entrepreneur has invested blood, sweat, tears and lots of dough (‘excuse the pun) into the venture, splashing out £30,000 on the beautiful wood-fired oven that will be the heart and soul of the Sudbury eatery, and sparing no expense on the finest ingredients.

Joined by friend Thomas Zuj, who has years of experience in the hospitality industry and will manage the business, Chris wants to become the go-to place for pizza not only in Sudbury, but across East Anglia, and then perhaps the UK.

“I’ve been a fine dining chef for about 14 years but I had enough of fine dining and wanted to do something everyone eats. And I wanted it to be the best. The best oven. The best ingredients. The best staff. I started a year ago with an event catering business and got such a good reception that I made a plan for 50 restaurants within five years. This is the first one, but I’m already looking at other sites - likely Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Chelmsford, possibly Colchester.”” Dough&Co’s USP is, says Chris, the fact every pizza is prepared by a chef who has a real passion for what they’re putting on the plate, not a line cook.

The dough is his own recipe, made using the best Italian flour he could source, with nothing added but fresh yeast, olive oil and water, which bubbles up within the dough as it enters the oven for an authentic finish.

“The sauce is very simple. We use San Marzano tomatoes blitzed up. That’s it! We don’t have to do anything else to them. There’s no sugar, no salt, no oregano. It’s just amazing as it is. Real food is about bringing the best out of amazing ingredients.” Only 100% fresh fior di latte mozzarella crowns the pizzas (with vegan fior di latte and gluten-free bases available too), before they’re smothered in toppings, including real pepperoni.

From the menu expect to find The Classic One (tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil), The Fancy One (with dry-aged Parma ham, shredded asparagus and rocket), and signature pizzas such as The Funghi One (oyster, chestnut, Pink Paris and enoki mushrooms with truffle oil).

“My favourite is the one with n’duja sausage. It’s the best you can get from Italy and as it melts out over the pizza the oil comes out. I don’t like really hot food but this is strange. It’s got spice but you can really taste the flavour of it. I’ve been told by Italians it’s better than Italian pizza.” A variety of first harvest extra virgin olive oil dips and sauces can be bought alongside the pizzas for dipping, and there are flatbreads and salads too, such as The Superfood, packing a nutritional punch with spinach, wood-fired oven toasted pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, cherry tomatoes, red onions and balsamic dressing.

And pudding comes in the form of the best ice cream and sorbets from Suffolk Meadow.

Tom adds: “We are trying to do something a bit different. To care about the customer. It’s really important guests come in and feel really welcome and at home.”