Derry businessman making pizza by the slice in the heart of city centre

Walled City Slice opened seven months ago on Bishop Street when Declan and his partner Sue moved back to Derry after living in Donegal for a number of years. A self-taught baker, Declan ran a modern bakery in Carrigart where they made bread, sandwiches and pastries. Declan then decided to combine his love for pizza, knowledge of sourdough bread and business experience to open his own pizza place at home. He said: “I’ve been making bread for around 25 years and the leaven that I use to make all my sourdough now is about 15 years old. It’s older than my daughter! I’ve had no formal baking education, I’m completely self-taught, which has been a long road and a few mistakes, but I love doing it and am constantly trying to improve.”

As well as pizza, Declan also sells bread, cinnamon swirls, chocolate twists and other sweet treats, all made from sourdough bread dough. Although they do sell full pizzas, the convenience of a single slice of pizza is what draws people in.

“A slice of pizza is so handy for people who can eat it on the move when they’re out shopping or on a break from work and it’s great to get kids fed quickly. At the end of the day, people just want to be fed but it’s of a good quality too.

"I’ve always used flour from France, which is pesticide-free with no additives and is just really good quality. It’s what French bakers would use and I always knew I wanted to use the highest quality ingredients to give Derry people something they would like, because I like them. Coming home again, I wanted to something really nice that I know I can do well.

"The feedback has been pretty amazing, it's been great. When you start something new, you always wonder if it’s going to work but the people in the city have been so warm and welcoming. It's not easy running your own business but it never has been. You have to be on it all the time and there’s so many moving parts - it's like a big machine and you have to try and make it all fit together. It's definitely not easy but it’s so special that we’re doing this here in this part of the city, it’s got a special feel to it. There's an energy here and in ten years' time it's going to be flying.”

Declan is delighted to be doing what he does and hopes that in the future, he might be able to share some of the things he’s learned through the years with the younger generation.

"I will probably toy with the idea in the future of having bread demonstrations to pass some of the things I’ve learned along and create a community of like-minded souls. I would love it if we became somewhere that rolled of people’s tongues when recommending somewhere to eat or people coming to visit Derry heard about us.”

Walled City Slice is open Tuesday – Saturday, 10.30am-4pm on Bishop Street. For more information, follow them on social media.