From starting a pizza business in a horse box to opening his fourth and fifth Dough & Co restaurants – how a young entrepreneur from Bury St Edmunds has become a huge success.
Chris Sharman, who is the man behind popular pizzeria Dough & Co, opened his first restaurant in Sudbury in the summer of 2018, progressing with sites in Colchester and Bishop Stortford.
Now he is expanding his successful business, opening a restaurant in Halstead in October and another in the former Patisserie Valerie in Bury St Edmunds.
Mr Sharman, an ex-chef and young entrepreneur, started the business in a horse box more than two years ago after 14 years working in fine dining.
He dropped out of school before completing work experience and training to become a chef, working at Michelin star restaurants alongside the likes of Marco Pierre White, and catering for big events at venues including Newmarket Racecourse.
Despite his love of fine dining, the 28-year-old chose to go it alone and started his very own pizza business.
He said: “Not everyone is into fine dining, so I wanted to be relatable and do pizza really well.
“I am trying to make the business better and better all the time and the focus really is on the food. The first restaurant in Sudbury I even plastered the walls myself, but it was just about the pizzas.”
The dough for the wood-fired pizzas is his own recipe, made with nothing but Italian flour, fresh yeast, olive oil and water, and all the toppings have been sourced from the finest suppliers.
Mr Sharman said: “I’ve always believed in Dough & Co, the food is made by passionate chefs and I am so grateful for our loyal customers.”
His brand’s ethos is to do simple things, but to a high standard – which he has transferred to his other brand, Burger Amour, which has restaurants in Bishop Stortford and Colchester and is also opening one in Bury St Edmunds.
Mr Sharman wants to open 50 restaurants, and said although his success has been “surreal”, he won’t be finished until he hits his target.
He said the former Patisserie Valerie shop in Abbeygate Street is “perfect” for Dough & Co as a proper chimney flute is required and it’s a “vibrant town”.
He has his eye on Ipswich and Chelmsford next.
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