Teacher gifts students old food truck to start thriving pizza business

Two recent school leavers from North Somerset have started up a successful mobile pizzeria after a teacher gave them a dilapidated old food truck. Chris and Wolfe finished their A Levels in 2023, but have since spent their gap year repairing a food truck their food tech teacher Mr Meredith gifted them before starting up Left Handed Pizza in October.

Chris and Wolfe, who graduated from Sidcot School in Winscombe, have sold more than 500 wood-fired pizzas since opening last month. Chris credits Mr Meredith's Leiths cooking course with preparing him for the food biz: "Starting this business has been an incredible journey, and we've both learned so much about business management and planning. Sidcot played a huge role in preparing us to face these challenges with enthusiasm and a positive mindset.

"One of the highlights of my time at Sixth Form was the Leiths cooking course. It taught me to be organised and detail-oriented and gave me hands-on skills that were a refreshing change from traditional academics.

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"Although I enjoyed all my classes, Leiths really stood out because it was such a unique experience."

Left Handed Pizza- which operates throughout the South West at various festivals and private events - uses locally sourced ingredients. All their pizzas are wood-fired.

Chris and Wolfe are hoping to pay some of their success forward by using some of their profits to buy another food truck for future Sidcot School graduates to follow in their footsteps, or to contribute towards a similar venture. Chris continued: "I'm incredibly grateful to all my teachers and tutors for instilling a strong work ethic in me, which I've applied directly to building our business."

The young businessman spoke fondly of his favourite teacher in particular: "Out of everyone, Huw Meredith had the biggest impact—his encouragement to pursue this business and follow a career in the food industry gave us the confidence we needed. Sidcot provided not only the knowledge but also the opportunity and motivation to take this leap.

"We're incredibly proud of the hard work we've put into launching our business and are excited about what lies ahead."

Left Handed Pizza is available to hire for festivals, events and private bookings. You can get in touch by emailing contact@lhpizza.co.uk or calling +44 7401 071009.

The Sidcot School is a independent day and boarding school just outside the Somerset village of Winscombe, near Axbridge and Cheddar. The school originally opened in 1699 as a Quaker school, and in the following centuries has taught a number of renowned alumni including the actress Zoë Wanamaker, the filmmaker Nick Broomfield, and the journalist Justin Webb.