A slice of joy: Clockwork's Tasty Day at Poco Pizza in Lyme Regis

Italy is known for a wide range of things, encompassing its rich history, culture, cuisine, fashion, art, architecture, and natural beauty. But there was one thing on our mind. PIZZA!

That’s right, a Geometer’s gastro perfection. There are many thoughts on where the word pizza originates from, some think pizza could be an alternative of the Greek word “pitta” which means pie, which is reminiscent of Dean Martin’s song “That’s Amore”.  Others think the word pizza could be an old Italian word meaning “a point”, which could also be considered as “pizzicare” in modern Italian which is to pinch or pluck.

Whatever the origin is, we’ve all come to know this delicious Italian classic and we know the best place to make it in Lyme Regis.

First, we started on the terrace with a board of delicious Italian snacks and treats to give us just a brief taster of the sorts of ingredients and flavours unique to Italy. We then split into three groups so we could rotate through a series of Italian food and drink making activities.

Those who started on Pizza making we lead by Master pizza-maker Matt, who had prepared a batch of dough early in the morning just for us. Thanks Matt, you’re a legend!

At Poco they make Roman Pizza’s. This is one of two popular pizza types, the other being Neapolitan Pizza. Roman Pizza is thinner and has a crispy crust, whereas Neapolitan has a thicker and chewier crust. This means Roman Pizza’s cook very quick and the emphasis is on the toppings. 

We each got our dough and rolled this out to make as close to a circle as we could, some admittedly better than others, and then added our toppings from a delicious selection of Italian ingredients. Once ready, Matt took us through the technique to fire our Pizza’s in the oven and within 2 minutes… Buon appetito, pizza is served.

The third activity was all about dessert. The Italians love their dessert, from panna cotta to panforte, or gelato to cannoli, the choices are endless. As we’re a team of enthusiastic coffee lovers, it goes without saying that Tiramisu would make the ultimate finale for our taste of Italy. 

Lyn showed us how to make her mouthwatering Tiramisu, which started off with mixing half a cafetiere of coffee with a little sugar and the secret sauce, Marsala, a delicious sweet fortified wine from Sicily. We then separated egg whites and yolks, then whisked the egg whites. We then whisked in a separate bowl the egg yolk with 4 tablespoons of sugar and then folded in 500g of mascarpone cheese. Once smooth we then added in the egg whites to create a light and creamy mixture. 

We took breaded sponge fingers and broke these into good sizes to layer our glasses. Each sponge finger was dipped into the coffee mix and then layered with the cream mixture using a piping bag and then chilled in the fridge for 3-4 hours before being dusted with cocoa powder. Absolutely delicious!