Home of the viral Pizza Dog, Working Man’s Kitchen built a national reputation from a humble food truck. Now it’s starting a new chapter as an independent pizzeria with an important cause at its heart. Co-food editor Lucy Campion sits down with Paddy Sneath, the working man behind the kitchen, to find out more about his pizzeria and journey from pylon painter to pizza maker.
With so many pizza options available nowadays, it sometimes feels like there’s a pizza place on every corner of the city centre but, after visiting and learning about Working Man’s Kitchen, I’m confident that Nottingham’s newest pizzeria is something special.
Like many great independents, Working Man’s Kitchen started its journey as a food trader. Paddy tells me that his dream from the beginning (“other than to be a footballer!”) was to own a pizza van. “I always loved the theatre behind pizza, watching people throwing the dough about,” he says. “It was about more than just making food and serving it.”
After seven years of working as a pylon painter, Paddy took the plunge and bought a caravan-turned-food truck on eBay in September 2021. The following month he worked his first pop-up event at the Red Heart pub in Ruddington. Just two months later, Paddy quit his job to pursue Working Man’s Kitchen full-time.
The business secured its spot in the City Ground fanzone after a fateful enquiry with the Trent Navigation pub and Pizza Dog was born shortly after, which Paddy says “has more or less developed a life of its own.”
When I ask where the idea came from, Paddy laughs: “I get stick for this, but it was my wife’s idea! We had a single pizza oven in the truck and needed something quick we could serve at Forest. I was already serving hot dogs and pizza but it was my wife who came up with the Pizza Dog.” Although the pizza-hot-dog-hybrid made its name at the City Ground, it turns out the Magpies were actually the first to try Working Man’s Kitchen’s signature creation, as Paddy trialled the Pizza Dog at a Notts County event before taking it across the Trent to Forest fans.
As well as onsite pizza making workshops, we’re going to start ‘SEN Sundays’ for families with SEN children to eat out in a judgement-free environment
Since then, the Pizza Dog has attracted national attention, featuring on the popular Footy Scran page on X and winning Amazon Prime’s Football’s Finest Food competition.
What I love most about Working Man’s Kitchen is that, while making the move from food truck to bricks-and-mortar site, this business hasn't abandoned its roots or tried to become something it’s not. Looking around Paddy’s simple, fuss-free pizzeria, it’s clear that his day one supporters would still feel every bit as at home there as they would at the City Ground.
“When me and my wife were planning this site, we knew we didn’t want it to be a restaurant,” says Paddy. “This pizzeria is somewhere anyone can come to just enjoy food. We created the kind of place we would want to go and eat ourselves. We bought almost everything off Facebook marketplace! Then I built the counter, while that table and chairs over there belonged to my grandparents.”
“It’s the same with the menu. I only make pizzas I would be happy to eat. We don’t serve vegan cheese because I don’t like it, instead we do a great marinara - it’s vegan but still works for us.”
Long-standing fans of Working Man’s Kitchen will be pleased to hear that they can still enjoy their Pizza Dog with a pint in hand, as customers are welcome to buy a bev or two from Nottingham brewery Neon Raptor (conveniently situated in the unit directly opposite) to go with their meal.
When I ask Paddy what he thinks of Sneinton Market Avenues, he says “I love being here. The environment and people are great - the guys at Neon Raptor, the guys at Montana [a street art shop] and Emma at Breadmill Bakery next door. I’m actually making tomorrow’s pizza dough using a percentage of the flour from Breadmill. We use as much as we can locally when making our food.”
Paddy’s pizza takes inspiration from both traditional Neapolitan and New York style pizza. The result is a dough that’s blissfully light and slightly charred with a satisfying crunch.
Alongside the Pizza Dog, three staple pizzas are served at Working Man’s Kitchen: margherita, marinara and ‘Paddy’s Pep’, featuring pepperoni, red onions and hot honey. There is also a changing weekly special pizza to keep regulars coming back for more.
The menu features a rotation of starters too, including the tasty spicy meatballs I had whilst there, as well as other classics like mac ‘n’ cheese. A dessert option will soon be appearing on the Working Man’s Kitchen counter in the form of Paddy’s homemade muffins, which he already supplies locally.
Paddy’s eldest daughter goes to Nethergate, a SEN school in Clifton, where Paddy has voluntarily served pizza at the annual prom and led pizza-making workshops. His wife Amy also used to be a SEN teaching assistant and is a driving force behind the business’ work with SEN children and schools.
“It was our work with Nethergate that made us realise that, if we bought our own premises, we could do more than just make pizza. We could create opportunities for SEN children,” says Paddy.
“As well as onsite pizza making workshops, we’re going to start ‘SEN Sundays’ for families with SEN children to eat out in a judgement-free environment. We’re also hoping to provide work opportunities for SEN young adults on those Sundays. From our experience with SEN schools, there aren’t enough opportunities for school leavers.”
Although Working Man’s Kitchen normally operates on a walk-in basis, SEN Sundays will be bookings only so that families have the reassurance of a guaranteed table and time slot. Spectrum Slices has already received a lot of interest from families and schools, and Paddy and Amy are exploring fundraising and funding options to help SEN children who might not be able to afford to get involved.
Commenting on plans for Spectrum Slices, Paddy said: “It’s more than having a brick-and-mortar site, it’s more than Working Man’s Kitchen. Spectrum Slices has become a purpose - we feel we can do something to help, so we want to. It’s about giving back.”
As if Paddy wasn’t busy enough running a pizzeria and Spectrum Slices, he also has a host of exciting side projects in the pipeline, which include working with the University of Nottingham to launch his own hot honey and with Nottingham Trent University to market DIY pizza making kits. Watch this space!
Visit Working Man’s Kitchen at Sneinton Market, 9 Avenue A, NG1 1DT. Stay up to date with Spectrum Slices and Paddy’s other projects via Instagram.
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