A YOUNG couple who farm at New Barnes in Bromyard are bringing a slice of la dolce vita to the county with a pop-up pizza restaurant in a converted horse box.

Under their Toad’s Mill brand, Toby and Lydia Whatley grow spelt on their Herefordshire farm, which they stone grind into flour for bakeries, farm shops and restaurants across the UK.

Now they’re taking their flour business one step further - by converting a new Ifor Williams horse trailer into a pizza pop-up which they plan to take to weddings, parties and food festivals across the country.

Using dough made from their own flour and seasonal toppings sourced from local producers, each pizza will be hand-baked in a Blistering wood-fired oven, championed by celebrities including Cold Feet actress Fay Ripley.

The couple, who studied at Harper Adams University and the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, and who live in Callow End, near Worcester, reckon they can serve up 50 pizzas every hour from their black and copper-liveried trailer, decorated with a smart wooden bar and pretty bunting.

They will be at events including Hereford Food Festival and Colwall Festival, both in June.

And next month, they plan to take the new venture - Toad’s Mill Kitchen - on the road for village pizza nights at sites across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

“We know we’ve got an amazing product with our Light White and Wholemeal spelt flour,” says Toby, 28, an agricultural engineer by trade.

“It makes fantastic bread, pancakes, brownies and pizza bases, and we’ve just entered it for our first Great Taste Award.

“But we wanted to add value to our flour, by giving our customers the finished product - and there’s nothing more delicious than a wood-fired spelt pizza, particularly when it’s made with incredible ingredients all made or farmed here.”

Spelt is an ancient grain introduced by the Romans, and its make-up means even those keen to avoid gluten can tolerate it.

“We’ve always wanted people to buy a product with provenance,” adds Lydia, 27.

“And now we can do that with Toad’s Mill Kitchen pizzas.

“We’re passionate about British farming and what better way to explain everything that’s brilliant about it than by bringing a fantastic finished product straight to the consumer?”

Visit www.toadsmill.co.uk to find out more.