Fathers Day with Pizza Express

Fathers day for me is often a very mixed day. The last few years I have had the boys for the day and it has pretty much been like any other day where it is full of love, fun and enjoyment but where I still end up playing adult and dad and don't really stop.

I suppose being one half of a co-parent relationship and doing it independently allows this to become the standard experience especially when the boys, and their mum, also spoil their step father for the day. However, due to this being the case I do at times get a bit down when I see other dads being spoilt so try to make a special and extra effort to do something special.

Luckily this year our treat was presented to us from Pizza Express who are treating dads this Fathers day.

We were invited to go visit their new premises on Gloucester Road, London to have a pizza party and celebrate Fathers day by making and eating our very own pizza; what a perfect activity to bring father and son together.

After a lot of thought it was considered maybe not the best idea to take James to London, in the middle of rush hour, by myself whilst I was in the wheelchair. So with a excited glint in our eyes William and I caught the train up.

When we arrived we were both treated to drinks. William and I both chose a bottle of Sprite each but for other dads there was the option of a nice cold beer!

Who wouldn't want a nice could beer for Fathers day?

Next up both William and I had to wash our hands and then put our super chef outfit on ready to make some pizzas at the pizza party. William already had some knowledge where he has made Pizza before as part of his My Little Chef series so this was perfect for the pair of us.

On the tables everyone had one ball of dough placed on some flour.

We were then showed how to make and shape our pizza bases.

Started off by pushing the dough flat and then pushing out with our fingers.

Then the flattened dough was flipped between our hands to create stretchy and larger circles.

This whole process was repeated until we had a nice large shape.

You can watch William going through the process here.

Once spread out it was placed in a circular shaped tray which had a flour paste brushed onto the bottom.

With the edges pushed out into shape it allowed the base to settle nicely and be ready to be topped with different ingredients.

With a ladle of sauce placed into the centre of the base we were told to swirl it round until it was as fully covered as possible.

Finally, using the bas of the ladle the sauce had an extra push around.

William, knowing it was a Fathers day event, had one idea when decorating the top; he was determined to make a "Daddy face" decoration.

You can watch William making his here.

So, using pepperoni, ham and cheese, William made 2 eyes, ears, mouth and a cheese beard. Can you see the face?

The pizzas were then placed into the ovens to be cooked. We did wonder how they would know who everyone was and we found out, via the lovely Emily from Mad house, Cats and Babies, that the number on our hats were associated with numbered pegs to identify them. Clever, right?

So there we had our lovely cooked and handmade pizzas ready to eat.

We both had time to cut the pizza and have one slice but sadly we had to rush off a little early. Due to the fact that we travelled by train we did need disabled assistance on and off and out local station stops providing that at 9.30pm.

But, that gave us both perfectly good reasons to sit and finish them on the way home!

We absolutely loved the pizza party as well as the new restaurant! As expected it was cool, stylish and extremely clean but also had beautiful rich tan leather upholstered and banquette seating throughout, and high quality oak parquet flooring.

Alongside this there were bespoke artwork, patterns and textures as well as images of fossils, rocks, minerals and botanicals. There are also 3D pieces throughout; including copper coins forming abstract patterns mounted onto oak blocks.

William was in his little chef element and loved making the different pizzas and knowing how to shape the dough base. So much so that he was planning different pizza ideas on the way home for us to try!

The idea of having a pizza party for us dad was a great idea and definitely made me feel like I had a special evening enjoying the activities together.

With Fathers day just around the corner and Pizza Express currently running the ‘Give Dad The Gift Of Pizza’ campaign, in which any starter and a main can be purchased from £11.95 on Father’s Day weekend this would seem to be a great gift for any dad!

Whatever you're up to I hope you all have a fabulous day!

(This is a collaboration with Pizza Express. My opinions and images are my own and I am under no obligations to give a positive review! Please see my full disclosure at the bottom of my blog)