In its previous life, Ditto was a simple independent pub and restaurant named the Red Lion. That was until up and coming restauranteur, Sam, radically transformed it into the Thames Ditton haute hotspot with a high-quality pizza offering that it is today.

When Sam took on the Red Lion as his first restaurant in 2018, he knew this site had the potential to be something spectacular. His ambition was to convert this ordinary pub into a high-class pizza operation with an eclectic offering of Neapolitan-inspired pizzas. After familiarising himself with the area and securing loyal local custom, Sam shut the doors and began the developments.

First, he secured the heartbeat of any successful pizza operation- the oven. Sam’s trusted restaurant dealers, Grey Simmonds, took time to listen to and understand Sam’s vision so they could work with him to find his best possible solution. Sam explained he wanted a dramatic showpiece which would draw in his desired clientele but that was the correct size for his available kitchen space.

Grey Simmonds decided the best people to collaborate with on this project were the pizza professionals in the industry- LLK! James Carlin at Grey Simmonds shared his reasons behind working with LLK on this project ‘We have worked with LLK on a number of projects so felt extremely confident about working with them again for Ditto.’ Our operations manager Nat worked together with James from Grey Simmonds to narrow down our range of quality equipment and select Sam’s perfect pizza oven match based on his needs and vision. Our living flame Verrocchio pizza oven was chosen as its authentic Italian aesthetic met his desire for an impressive piece of theatre while its size was ideal for his footprint.

Now Sam had his perfect oven, his pizza-operation-in-progress was beginning to look the part. However, there was one minor problem- he had no prior experience of pizza making! Grey Simmonds knew we had the solutions Sam required to bring his pizza concept to life and quickly put us in contact. We suggested Sam visit LLK HQ to receive quality education on the correct use of his Verrocchio oven and the art of pizza making directly from our expert Development Chef, Fabio, ensuring he got the maximum return on his investment.

Sam and his colleague, Dimitri, travelled all the way from Thames Ditton to our onsite demo kitchen on the outskirts of Manchester to meet Fabio for our consultancy service. Fabio was born in Italy and has travelled the world perfecting his pizza making skills. He knows everything there possibly is to know about our range of pizza and catering equipment and loves nothing more than to share his expertise, skills and knowledge with our customers. Fabio administered an intensive three-day long course, teaching Sam and Dimitri the exact correct procedure for starting, using and cleaning the Verrocchio as well the intricate art of dough and pizza making. Though Sam and Dimitri began Fabio’s pizza program as amateurs, they graduated confident in their ability to run Ditto to its full potential and produce the top-quality pizza menu they had promised to their customers.

Sam had just one word to say about his experience working with LLK: “Fantastico!” (we see he’s truly immersed himself in all things Italian!)

Ditto’s story demonstrates that when operations invest in quality education from expert sources right from the start, they can embark on their journey confident in their ability to turn their ambitions into reality. LLK promise to educate their customers and dealers alike from the start of their journey, helping them to realise the potential in their vision and support them along the way to achieving their goals. Sam says ‘This is the exciting bit now, we’ve changed the dynamics, taken a new route, and now we are ready to take Thames Ditton by storm!’

You can speak to our team about arranging a demo at LLK, 0161 633 5797 or kitchens@linda-lewis.co.uk