Our story began in The White Rabbit pub in central Oxford. It was here that all three founders came to the realisation that one of the best foods on the planet wasn’t quite accessible to all people. Customers with certain dietary requirements couldn’t enjoy the spoils of the pub and the delicious pizza menu it offered. Inspired by the fact that pizza is a sharing food, the co-founders thought that they might be able to offer a pizza that catered for all diets. It was here that the decision to make gluten free & vegan pizza was pursued. Put simply, we want to make authentic, delicious, high-quality pizza accessible to as many people as possible!
Why did you start it?
Matteo (from Bergamo, Italy) has been working with pizza from a young age, he’s our pizza maestro and the key to the White Rabbit formula! Originally, working from a pizza pub in Oxford, we (the three co-founders) found we were getting more and more requests for gluten free options. Matteo set to work in tirelessly developing the original recipe. The positive feedback we received was overwhelming! We then decided to try and make our gluten free pizzas more widely available via the retail market. Traditionally, pizza is an inclusive meal to be shared by all, and we wanted to carry this into our ethos as a brand: ultimately, the idea was to have people of all diets around the same dinner table eating the same uncompromised meal, whether they’re coeliac, vegan or an eater of everything!
Where is the company based?
The White Rabbit Pizza Co. is a company based just outside of the village of Chalgrove, Oxford (UK). We also have a London based office in a Hammersmith co-working space.
Address – The White Rabbit Pizza Co. Unit 19 Monument Park, Warpsgrove Lane, Chalgrove, OX44 7RW
Do you make your own products?
All of our pizzas are made from start to finish at our own factory that was designed from scratch by our pizza maestro Matteo, who oversees the whole of our production. It’s a decision that has undoubtedly made our jobs a lot harder, but one that we haven’t regretted for an instance; having that kind of control over our product is what will ensure it always stands out from the crowd; it also means we can be incredibly agile vs the bigger players in our space, constantly adapting to what our consumers want, as well as the wider market in general.
Why “The White Rabbit Pizza Co.”?
The origins of our company are in central Oxford and a pub named The White Rabbit. The pub was named as so because it is located around the corner from where Lewis Carrol wrote the infamous “Alice in Wonderland”.
Why the ‘rabbit’ pizza co? Is there rabbit in it?
No rabbits were harmed during the making of these pizzas.
Why is gluten free so important?
Our ethos is of inclusivity. Our idea is to have everyone around the same dinner table eating the same meal, whether you’re a coeliac, vegan or an eater of everything! Everyone should be able to enjoy the same delicious White Rabbit pizza. Originally, we served gluten filled pizza in the pub The White Rabbit Oxford, but we often had to turn away customers for their sensitivities to gluten. On occasion we had to serve a pizza to family when a single coeliac family member had to eat something different or not eat at all! We didn’t want to alienate anyone from our delicious menu and so Matteo got to work pioneering to create the first versions of our gluten free dough.
Are The White Rabbit Pizza Co. products organic?
No
Why are The White Rabbit Pizza Co. products not all organic?
We found being organic and gluten free meant we were very limited in the ingredients we could buy and our pizza maestro Teo, felt we weren’t able to source the highest quality ingredients. Some of our ingredients such as the vegan cheese are still organic, just not all which is why we can’t state we are an organic company. Hopefully sometime in the future we can consider a full range of organic ingredients.
Are The White Rabbit Pizza Co. products Vegan?
We do create vegan offerings (The Smokin’ Vegan, The Vegan Gardener and The Flawless Focaccia) but not all of our range of pizza is vegan. We offer all kinds of flavours simply so that there is more choice for our customers!
Why do you put sugar in your base?
Our aim is to create a gluten free pizza as similar to their gluten-filled counterparts as possible. During the process of classic pizza making, when the flour is mixed, it releases a sugary carbohydrate. This is ‘eaten’ by the yeast to create a bi-product of air in the dough and therefore causes the dough to ‘rise’ – much like in classic bread making. Our gluten free flours do not produce the same levels of these naturally sugary compounds and so we have to introduce a small amount of sugar for the yeast to get to work!
Why have you started putting yeast in your pizza base?
Our aim is to create a gluten free pizza as similar to their gluten-filled counterparts as possible. Yeast is needed in the production process to give ‘rise’ to the dough (much like in bread making) to make a full aired pizza, without this process the pizza might be a little bit too flat and a little bit too crispy.
What is the Vegan Cheese (Mozzarisella) made out of?
Mozzarisella, our vegan cheese is actually made from germinated brown rice. The Italian brown rice is germinated with spring water and made into “Biosurice” which makes up over 80% of Mozzarisella and contains over 20 essential amino acids!
What makes the smoky cheese smoky?
The smoky vegan cheese contains a ‘natural flavouring and colouring’ made simply from turmeric.
I can’t find your range and products in my local store! What do I do?
First, head over to our stockists list to see if there might be a stockist near you (don’t forget you can still order our pizza online from Ocado or Abel & Cole!). If you’re still struggling, pop an email over to info@whiterabbitpizza.co.uk and we’ll see if we help you out!
Can we buy these pizzas in Europe?
Our pizzas are currently found in the UK and Northern Ireland. Check out our stockist list for more information on your nearest supplier;
Can I buy directly from your website?
Unfortunately, we do not offer the sale of our pizzas via our own website. The good news is, you can pick up a pizza online from lots of our stockists; Sainsburys, Waitrose, Ocado, Abel and Cole etc.
Do you airbrush and photoshop your images in advertising? If so, Why?
We use a minimal amount of editing before exposing our images to the public. For the purposes of professional print quality imagery, we enhance lighting and features during the photoshoot. The pizzas themselves are not altered or fake, they are the same pizzas that come off the end of our production line daily.
Where do you manufacture and make your products?
We manufacture and make our products in our purpose-built factory just outside of the village of Chalgrove, Oxford (UK). Our hero and pizza maestro Matteo Ferrari managed, designed and built the production line from scratch. He’s been making pizza from a young age and so has built up a wealth of authentic Italian expertise. We use his expertise daily in making sure our production line makes the best pizza products we possibly can!
What quality control do you have in place for your manufacturing facility? How do you stop cross contamination?
We have worked incredibly hard in becoming fully approved and certified by SALSA. We receive regular inspections from their authorities to ensure we maintain our high standards of food manufacture.
Do your products have a shelf life or best before date?
Our product’s best before date can be found on the front, bottom left corner of the pizza boxes. If it has rubbed off or has mis-printed, send us the day you purchased this pizza and the store from which it was purchased and we’ll try our best to find it’s expiry for you.
