How it Started
We never set out to build a pizza boat. In fact, we never even planned on selling pizza at all. Clare and I just hit that point where work had quietly taken over, and we realised we were living to work instead of building the kind of life we actually wanted.
So we made a big change. In January 2024, we sold the house, packed up our things, and moved onto Lucy, our 70-foot narrowboat. Life slowed down, the canal became our street, and for the first time in a long while, we had space to think about what we really wanted to do next.
Not long after, we spotted a little boat up for sale. Nothing fancy—just a small, characterful thing that got our imaginations going. We started joking about turning it into a food boat, then into a pizza boat… then into something even bigger. At the time, it was all just daydreaming.
Then, during a short break from work, that very same boat came back up for sale. Same one, same listing, same tug on the imagination. We’re not especially superstitious, but it felt like one of those moments you’re not supposed to ignore. So instead of letting it drift past again, we went for it. And that’s how the whole Lola idea started to take shape.
Do(ugh)ing it
Both of us are vegan and gluten free, so from day one it felt important to serve food we could actually eat ourselves—no compromises, no “special option” tax, and definitely no feeling like an afterthought on the menu.
Not long into the process we landed on our gluten free dough recipe and got a bit obsessed with perfecting it. It’s simple, honest dough, made with a short list of ingredients and a lot of trial, error, and taste tests. We’d still love it to puff up a little more in the oven, but we’re not interested in loading it with additives or mystery ingredients just to force it. We’d rather keep it clean, keep it real, and make something we’re genuinely proud to serve.
We aren't all about our gluten free dough though - our regular dough is exceptionally fluffy and fresh.