Mid-July can only mean one thing, the Chow Down resident kitchens are changing, one last time before Winter. We decided to send over some questions to the incredible Slice Boro, as Detroit Style Pizza makes a debut at Chow 😍
Describe Slice Boro in three words.
Different, indulgent, cheesy!
What’s special about Detroit style pizza? Tell us about your menu.
Detroit style pizza is a completely different type of pizza to what you are used to. Before taking it a bite it looks heavy and dense, but the base is a light, pillowy focaccia style bread with lots of cheese and you can top it with whatever you like. We’ve gone for some tried & tested classics on our menu for Chow Down including meaty pizzas, spicy pizzas, vegetarian & vegan!
How did you get into pizza making? What’s your background?
I’d bought a pizza oven pre Covid and from the first use I just fell in love with it. Seeing how flour, water, yeast & salt turns into a pizza just amazed me and I became obsessed. Lockdown meant I had absolutely nothing better to do than perfect it. I’m in a few nerdy pizza Facebook groups and I noticed a few people buying these Detroit Pizza pans from America so I decided to get one myself and give it a go. It was like nothing I ever tasted before and the way the cheese caramelises on the outside of the tin like a cheese toastie had me hooked. I spent months perfecting it before dishing them out to friends & family who then convinced me to start selling them. A friend had a bar & was looking for someone to do food in the kitchen so I convinced him to give me a shot at selling these Detroit Pizzas. We were an instant hit on social media and had to open every day in the first week to feed the 500 people who patiently waited for a ‘slice’. My background and day job is actually in Chemical Engineering, but dough chemistry is very much a thing so it all links!
What brings you to Leeds and who do you love here?
Leeds is an amazing city with such a good food culture and I really wanted to do something here whilst DSP is still relatively unknown. Some of our favourite food in Leeds include Little Bao Boy, Doh’hut, Bundobust & Sarto Pasta!
Tell us about your favourite pizza flavour combo.
It has to be our Detroit Pep, by far the best seller. Pepperoni with our home made scotch bonnet chilli honey. There’s always people that say ‘can I have it without the hot honey’ – the answer is a resounding no. You have to try it with the honey & if you don’t like it you can have a refund. It’s been a year and no refunds have been issued so that speaks for itself!
How do you feel about pineapple on pizza or debatable toppings??
I’m with the Italians on this one, pineapple DOES NOT belong on pizza. Donner kebab on the other hand, all over it! The good thing about Detroit Pizza by the slice is you can load on whatever you want and 9 times out of 10 it works.
What does the future hold for Slice Boro?
After an absolute whirlwind of a first year and admittedly probably growing a bit too quickly for our own good, we’ve toned it down a bit an gone completely mobile (we had 2 temporary shops in the north east; staff problems, rising cost & a baby all played a part in us realising it wasn’t going to work!)
So catch us popping up at your favourite brewery, festival or market!