Your votes have been counted and we officially have our five finalists who are going to cook live for the judges on 13th July in the hopes of being crowned the UK's Best Home Pizza Chef 2025 and taking home the £1,000 prize.
Carlos Carballal Franco
Carlos describes pizza making as his 'happy place', a passion that he owes to the women in his life. ‘It all started when my sister gave me a bit of a sourdough starter. That, and having an Italian girlfriend!’
Having perfected his sourdough technique, he now enjoys getting creative with his toppings and loves that pizza gives him 'space to create something new every time' as well as 'how it brings people together.'
Going up against some of the best home pizza chefs in the UK won’t be easy but Carlos says he is ‘really looking forward to the challenge.’
Andy Ford
Andy brought a load of creativity to the voting round with his 'nduja and cream cheese bagel pizza so we can't wait to see what he comes up with for his Doughstopper!
Andy says ‘I love how such a simple thing like pizza can be explored in so many different ways with so many flavours and styles.’
Andy’s love of food has turned into a bit of an obsession in recent years, having won Britain’s Best Home Cook in 2023 and amassed nearly 10,000 followers on his Instagram page @fordysfeasts. His family aren’t complaining though, he tells us ‘my daughter refuses to eat pizza unless it’s been made by me!’
Lou Flanagan
Lou’s passion for pizza started on an Italian campsite at 8 years old but it wasn’t until her move to Yorkshire two years ago that she started making her own dough and it turned into a full-blown obsession. She describes pizza making as ‘science, art, passion…and a bit of magic?’
Her family have encouraged her pizza making journey so far but she admits she may have overdone it with her practice for the competition – ‘kids love pizza for breakfast, right?’
Lou is ‘equally excited and terrified’ to be in the final, especially since she’s never used a wood-fired oven before but says ‘I’m hoping what I have learned so far will get me through.’
Ellen Saw
Ellen’s passion for pizza started during lockdown but blossomed when she got her own wood-fired oven last year, and her family and friends aren’t complaining! Ellen says, ‘I love how pizza is a shared experience – creating, cooking and sharing what I love with others is so much fun!’
A big Neapolitan fan, Ellen has spent plenty of time experimenting with different toppings but now she prefers the less is more approach - 'I focus on keeping it simple but with great quality ingredients.'
Ellen's top tip? She always makes a Marghertia when she first fires up the oven because 'you've got to get to know the dough!'
Lee Bashford
Lee's pizza obsession started 18 months ago after seeing an Ooni on sale in the garden centre, a journey which has been 'emotional at times, but a fun learning curve!'
He says 'My wife suffered some pretty terrible dough when I started, but everyone's been very supportive and willing to be guinea pigs.'
He's really excited to spend the weekend meeting other pizza geeks to talk about the technical challenges behind good pizza and is excited to push himself, although he tells us 'it's well out of my comfort zone!'
Show your support 🍕
You can follow the highlights of the UK's Best Home Pizza Chef from 12th - 13th July on the Love Logs Instagram @planetfriendlyfirewood, and watch the full video on YouTube from Sunday 17th August
