Sweeney's Pizzeria in Ipswich reveals restaurant hopes

Sweeney's Pizzeria first launched in October last year, and has since travelled around the county, serving woodfired pizza on four days a week, with two spent in the kitchen making the dough.

Owner Craig Sweeney has been a chef since being excluded from school in 2005 at the age of 15.

Owner Craig Sweeney with his partner. Credit: Craig Sweeney (Image: Craig Sweeney)

Since then, he has worked with James Martin and Phil Vickery and started his mobile pizza business in the Midlands, where he used to live in Nuneaton.

Mr Sweeney and his family moved to Suffolk last year, and set up a new mobile pizzeria in the county.

He uses local produce from around Suffolk for his pizzas where he can, as well as importing ingredients from Italy.

Sweeney's Pizzeria travels around Suffolk attending local events. Credit: Craig Sweeney (Image: Craig Sweeney)

Mr Sweeney said: "It has always been a passion of mine to use local produce.

"Suffolk has an abundance of local produce, so we go to a soft cheese farm around here for our milk and we make our own mozzarella."

Mr Sweeney spends two days a week making ingredients from scratch, one day making dough and the other making mozzarella in preparation for the next four days of selling food on the go.

Craig uses all local ingredients when he can, otherwise they are sourced from Italy. Credit: Craig Sweeney (Image: Craig Sweeney)

He trades at Bury St Edmunds market, locations around Ipswich, including Portman Road on matchdays in the fan zone, and Suffolk Water Park.

In the future, Mr Sweeney is hoping to open his own wood-fired pizzeria.

He said: "I would love to open one on the coast.

"It would be great to have that and be able to serve good quality locally brewed beers because the Italians love pairing their beer with pizza, and not wine which is a common misconception."

Some of the pizzas they produce. Credit: Craig Sweeney (Image: Craig Sweeney)