Opinions on traditional pizza delivery menu

[Cecillie]

Ds is starting up a pizza making and delivery service from home . I'm encouraging him as he is bored and miserable having lost his job due to Covid .
He has all the business start up , health and safety stuff under control and we are now planning the menu
6 regular and 2 specials each week
I've suggested tray bake type deserts like brownies and choc chip cookies, all homemade,
Also thought option to add bags of popcorn for a movie night deal might work.
Is there anything you might like to see in a menu or add ons for convenience?
Any input appreciated

The real gap in the market, at least round here, is properly gluten free (as opposed to non gluten ingredients). I miss takeaway pizza so much. Almost everywhere is doing vegan now. I know there may be limited demand for this but on the other hand if I found somewhere offering it I would order for my whole family and use them for gatherings once we can.

My DH has a pizza business and is good friends with one of the businesses mentioned above in Leeds.

Agree to keep it very simple. I wouldn't mess about with doing sides, it's extra stress on top of trying to do pizzas in one oven. He should really look at getting a second oven if he's serious about it, as he might struggle with just one. You can buy an indoor oven called an Effeuno which are absolutely incredible and will eliminate any issues with regulating the temperature which you'll likely get using an outdoor oven in the winter. Would also highly recommend a Next Phase bag for delivering pizzas. They are pricey but extremely good and will keep food hot for a very long time. We use them when we do outdoor pop-ups and they only lose a couple of degrees heat, even in very low temperatures.

There is a good Facebook group called Becoming a pizza pro which is full of invaluable information. Send me a DM if you need any more advice and I can send you my DH details, he would be happy to give advice.

Also agree with others about doing gluten free. He shouldn't really offer it unless he has a completely separate prep area, equipment (including a separate oven to cook in) as it's not worth the risk of contamination.

@dogsaremypeople

Someone said earlier that you'd need a separate oven for gluten free, that is not the case you'd just have to make sure the tray is either just for gf or very well cleaned, glove change after handling gluten. I'm coeliac and I certainly don't have two ovens at home! Just separate toaster, butter etc

An oven like the one he’s got I believe you don’t use a tray. It’s like the one which comes to my pub car park every weekend and the pizzas bake on the oven base.

They’re not cleaned between pizzas as it’s so hot. No way would I eat a gluten free pizza after a gluten pizza has been in there. Guess some people don’t react as violently as others but it would be a 2 day shit fest here.

Yes, at home we only have one oven and manage fine with clean baking trays.

Thanks guys
Taking that all on board think gluten free too much risk at minute
@SnowyTheCat am on that group , joined it to get info for our delivery / collection app
Appreciate your advice
Will look at that indoor oven , sounds good
Think a few weeks with the one , see how it goes before investing too much
Def will check out the bag, thanks , nice to have recommendations

Aah ok yes that def wouldn't work then

Calzone (same ingredients as pizza; just folded over).

As a previous poster mentioned - vegan, dairy free and gluten free are genius.

And here are a few unusual suggestions that may not be suitable, but what the heck:

Fancy ice cream: buy plain vanilla but dress it up with bits like chopped chocolate bars, marshmallow pieces, maraschino cherries etc. Perhaps the consumer could select from bits to add.

Pre-made cookie dough (yes, I know we're in the UK but the name doesn't work as well) that comes pre-packaged in a tube shaped wrapped in wax paper. Can be frozen - all the consumer needs to do is to slice, bake and serve. Dough is customised from a standard plain dough: lemon and poppy seed; chocolate chip; cherry; butterscotch chunk; M & M, etc.

Unusual / upmarket soft drinks, mixers and alcohol-free drinks.

@Cecillie

Thanks guys Taking that all on board think gluten free too much risk at minute *@SnowyTheCat* am on that group , joined it to get info for our delivery / collection app Appreciate your advice Will look at that indoor oven , sounds good Think a few weeks with the one , see how it goes before investing too much Def will check out the bag, thanks , nice to have recommendations

Has your app been launched yet? We are looking for something to take pre-orders at specific time slots which will adjust amounts/times available depending on how many pizzas are being ordered. We can't find a way to do it!

The bigger the menu the more stock you have to carry and the more potential for waste. Keep it simple and streamlined........... avoid trying to be all things for all people.
Start simple and keep the focus on the pizza.

@SnowyTheCat
Yes it has , we have about 15 vans so far , they all love it
We had someone come to us yesterday , by word of mouth, already on just eats, Crawley eats and noq, not happy with any of them so swooping to us after a demo.
Will message you if ok as don't want to advertise in case not allowed

Easy dessert is pizza dough soldiers or dough balls, dusted with icing sugar and served with a pot of maple syrup/chocolate sauce (warmed chocolate & hazelnut spread?)/honey/fruit coulis...

No advice but enjoying reading this thread and am excited for you!

Keep us updated on how things go 🍕

Good luck to your son !

For those who love the Domino's dip. - try Tescos finest Alioli dip in a jar.

Beautiful!

It's just struck me that you need to be careful with some of the more niche suggestions on here because a lot of them are based on things individuals would like but can't get. Which is likely to mean they aren't provided by existing businesses because there isn't much of a market for them.

[quote Cecillie]@SnowyTheCat
Yes it has , we have about 15 vans so far , they all love it
We had someone come to us yesterday , by word of mouth, already on just eats, Crawley eats and noq, not happy with any of them so swooping to us after a demo.
Will message you if ok as don't want to advertise in case not allowed [/quote]
Excellent thank you!

@converseandjeans

Agree with coleslaw, dip, tray bakes, tubs of ice cream & also the cans of pop. I don't think many people would order salad. However I don't think you want too much more going on. Keep it simple I would say. Good for him trying it out & if it's rural should be popular.

I agree with all of this. Keep it simple and you can always add more. We have a local rural pizza delivery guy. The pizzas are delicious and just has a choice of about 10 toppings. No weird stuff, or bbq sauce bases, prawn or egg or anything like that. Just cheese, pepperoni, chicken, bacon, peppers, sweetcorn, onion. He is always booked up.

I also agree that not many people would order salad, also it would be hard to deliver next to a hot pizza and would cause a lot of wastage if not used.

I like the calzone option, and I'd like to see a thin crust option too.