A pizza chef with years of experience is going to be making "the best pizza" on the Island at popular Isle of Wight restaurant The Garden.
Antonio Mosquera is the new head pizza chef at the Cowes restaurant, taking on the job as the next move in his prestigious career making Neapolitan pizza.
Antonio has had a distinguished career in the kitchen, including tenures at the helm of Franco Manca in the South of England, as well as working in Hawaii, Australia and Bali.
Antonio said: "It's going to be 100 per cent the best pizza on the Island.
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"It makes sense - I worked for Franco Manca, we had 77 shops, 500 chefs, and I teach everyone.
"I worked for Marco Fuso, for me the best pizza chef in the UK - it's the same process."
Antonio has made pizza professionally for the last 25 years, working under a wide range of chefs and in different environments.
His two passions, pizza and surfing, have been intertwined throughout his career.
He said: "I'm very new and excited, I've lived by the beach my whole life and surfed.
"The atmosphere is going to be amazing, and I'm excited to meet so many new faces."
Since his appointment at The Garden, he has visited Compton Bay once, but sadly encountered no surf - hopefully next time!
Antonio is meticulous in the process, getting up early in the morning to hydrate his dough and often not leaving the kitchen until late night.
"I'm the first one in the kitchen every day and the last one. 16 hours is easy - I love my job, always."
Antonio's favourite pizza is the Marinara, because it spotlights the dough - he makes the dough so it is constantly fresh, hydrating and fermenting and using it on the same day.
He uses the Marco Fuso recipe for pizza dough, which means the pizza is airy and light, with crust that are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.
The Garden's new pizza menu launched on Monday, June 2. Pizzas are available for delivery seven days a week in the Cowes, Gurnard and Northwood area.
