'Dark kitchen' Stoked Pizza brings Detroit-style pizza to Portsmouth and sets sights on expanding

Stoked Pizza is run as a ‘dark kitchen’ in Hilsea by 44-year-old Greg Tonks who started an earlier incarnation of the business from a van in Hayling and Emsworth. Greg claims to be the first in Portsmouth to sell the American pizza variant - characterised by its rectangular shape and thick, chewy base – and formerly gained a national reputation for his skills with cooking wood-fired pizza.

Greg said: ‘We’re trying to start up a takeaway business of a better quality than you can usually get on the high street. We make our dough fresh on a three-day cycle, we make our own sauces and we put a huge amount of effort into our ingredients.

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‘I figured out quite a few years ago that I think the next big thing is going to be dark kitchens. I acquired this unit about a year and a half ago and went through all the planning to get it changed.

‘We’ve spent time getting the logos, getting the websites - it’s been quite a long task. Then it was developing the pizzas, it’s taken over a year for the dough. I’ve had some of the best chefs in the country helping me. It’s been a journey.

‘My hope for the business is to try and expand it as a brand. I want it to be nationwide, I want it to be growing and I want it to be the first in Portsmouth opening a few satellite host kitchens.

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Alongside traditional favourites like margherita and pepperoni, Stoked also has some more unorthodox offerings on its menu such as its ‘Cheesy Marmite Garlic Foccacia’.

Greg added: ‘I think I've offended every Italian in Britain with my creation of the world's first marmite garlic Detroit style pizza. They're actually selling really well and it's almost got cult status. We want to have the traditional pizza that everyone loves - that kids will like, just keeping the simple margarita but doing it well - and then we want to try and bit more creative.’

The so-called ‘dark kitchen’ business model revolves around the use of food delivery services such as UberEats and JustEat without a physical restaurant for members of the public.

Portsmouth City councillor Steve Pitt visited the site to discuss Greg’s plans for the future of his business – including the upcoming launch of a crowdfunder – and taste a margherita pizza.

Steve Pitt added: ‘I’ve got Italian blood in me, so I know good pizza when I taste it – and that was good pizza.

‘It’s fantastic that through Crowdfunder UK as our partner, the council is able to support small businesses in the area to develop and grow. It’s brilliant that Stoked are going to be be on board. I would encourage everyone to support their Crowdfunder campaign when it comes out so that Portsmouth City Council can use match funding to grow the crowd’s money into a bigger pot that will help the business to expand.’