Hospitality Awards 2021

www.lux-review.com Page 41 LUX 2021 Hospitality Awards of service to every guest who chooses to dine with us.” With the team being the most important element of the business, when it comes to hiring, Deepak is always on the lookout for individuals who represent the restaurant’s core values of quality and honesty, with the aim to always exceed expectations. “We set up Proove as a place for everyone to come and be looked after while eating great food, in a great environment, and this fundamental concept has not changed.” Being forced to close in the middle of March last year, In the wake of opening a new site, pizza restaurant Proove Pizza is fast becoming well- known for providing more than just great food and drink. Co- Founder, Deepak Jaiswal, tells us more about the company, its ethos, and how it successfully weathered the Covid storm to come out on top! Proove Pizza Best Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Restaurant - UK Aug21182 Proove Pizza cooks up quality Neapolitan pizzas and small plates for dining in and delivery. With a menu packed with authentic Italian flavours and loads of options for vegan and gluten-free meals, all dishes are handcrafted by skilled chefs using top quality ingredients. There are now three restaurants in the Proove empire: one in Sheffield, one in West Didsbury, and the most recent located at Parliament Square in the heart of Hertford. Founded by Deepak Jaiswal and Rob Engledow, the restaurant is committed to quality in everything it does and has invested heavily in the freshest ingredients and ensuring excellent customer service. The chefs have even spent precious time perfecting recipes to provide a varied and exciting menu for those with specific dietary requirements, including vegan and gluten-intolerant diners. “We always aim to please,” Deepak explains. “We hope that everyone who dines with us will have a jolly old time in our restaurants and leave feeling content, relaxed, and full of good food!” Open to all, Proove isn’t geared to simply one demographic and caters for and accommodates everything from nights out with the girls, to lunches with the work crew, and casual Wednesday catch-ups with old friends, to Sunday afternoons with the kids. But it’s not just about great food; the real key to Proove’s success in all in its incredible teamwork. “Our team is what makes us who we are, and we feel it’s important for each team member to know the value they bring to Proove,” Deepak elaborates. “We take care of our staff, and as a result, they’re happy in their work, passionate about what they do, and committed to delivering an exceptional level Deepak realised he had to keep the team focused if the business was going to survive. As soon as the government announcement was made, he set about drafting a plan of action to ensure that all staff members were well prepared to ride out the storm, with his number one priority being to protect the wellbeing and security of his colleagues. “Whilst it was strange initially to be cooking food in an empty restaurant, we kept the music playing and soon adapted,” he says, describing the atmosphere during Covid. “Passionate about maintaining the same level of service and quality of food you’d normally receive when dining with us, we remained committed to ensuring that the customer experience stayed up to standard, and we really enjoyed being able to stay open through our takeaway and delivery channels, knowing that our customers were still enjoying our food from the comfort of their own homes.” Deepak believes he and Rob are incredibly lucky to have such a strong team of dedicated staff, who each adapted and kept everything moving throughout lockdown, and they decided to give something back to the local community who had supported the restaurant throughout the pandemic. “As a way of saying thanks and showing our support and admiration for the hard work of our frontline and key workers, we launched our #TrayADay campaign in April 2019, which saw over £25,000 worth of pizza donated to NHS staff, teachers, cleaners, firefighters, postal workers, police officers, shop owners, checkout assistants, shelf stackers, delivery drivers and other key workers across Manchester and Sheffield. And earlier this year, we managed to bring the campaign back with Tray a Day 2.0, which saw hundreds of Proove@Home pizza kits donated to key workers between 1st and 14th March!” Now that Proove is back up and running again it has started welcoming back its patrons with open arms and doing what it does best in giving them a great dining experience, which is why the restaurant was recently awarded the prestigious accolade of Best Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Restaurant in the UK in the Hospitality Awards 2021 – a well-deserved title! Now, having recently expanded in Hertford, Proove is committed to continuing to grow in towns and cities where it truly feels welcomed! “Unlike many of our competitors, we’re not racing to open multiple sites as quickly as possible,” Deepak states. “We’re more interested in staying true to our values. That’s the most important aspect of our growth - finding towns and cities that we feel would welcome what we do and how we do it.” Contact: Deepak Jaiswal and Rob Engledow Company: Proove Pizza Web Address: www.proove.co.uk