A BEAR-Y DIFFERENT TAKE ON PIZZA

And you thought pineapple on a pizza was a hot subject… prepare for the toppings debate to take a furry turn with the arrival of Bear’s Pizza. This first-of-its-kind pizza van from AO.com is serving up pizza by the slice with a distinctly ursine twist: because each option is inspired by the favourite foods of famous bears.

From classic fairy tales to nature documentaries, we’ve been charmed, thrilled and entertained by various bears’ bare necessities for generations, whether that’s a jar of ‘Hunny’, a bowl of ‘just right’ porridge or indeed a vibrant salmon swiped fresh from a fast-flowing river. And now, those foods have made their way on to one of Britain’s (humans’) favourite delicacies – the humble, delicious, ever popular... pizza.

Launched to celebrate and spread the joy of AO’s iconic green Bear, each recipe has been developed by talented professional chefs to ensure they are just as delicious to us as they are to our furry friends, with each slice handmade to order and cooked in a pizza oven on site. The ovens firing Bear’s Pizza are all stocked on AO.com, so customers can recreate the recipes (or more traditional choices) in the comfort of their own home.

Menu options include The Marmalade Sandwich Slice; The Hunny Pot Slice; The Bear’s Necessities Slice and even The OG’s Riverside Snack (OG being the original grizzly of course).

The full menu visitors can expect to find at Bear’s Pizza is as follows:

THE MARMALADE SANDWICH SLICE

Traditional handmade pizza dough base smothered in tangy-sweet marmalade and topped with a slice of fluffy white bread

THE THREE BEARS PORRIDGE SLICE

Creamed oats cooked in milk, dolloped on a base of blueberry compote and topped with a drizzle of honey

THE HUNNY POT SLICE

A condensed milk base baked to sweet caramelisation topped with lashings of honey

THE BEAR’S NECESSITIES SLICE

Sweet, smooth papaya base topped with bananas and toasted coconut flakes, finished with a sprinkling of edible ants 

THE YO! GI-MME A SLICE

Featuring the best pickings from any picnic: a beetroot hummus base, scotch egg slices, vegetable crisps, olives and cherry tomatoes

THE OG’S RIVERSIDE SNACK SLICE

An homage to the Original Grizzly: classic margarita pizza base, topped with a simply prepared salmon fillet and leafy garnish

Bear’s Pizza van will be opening up shop in London for two days before heading up North to Manchester, serving pizza by the slice for FREE… all customers need to do is show us their own favourite bear (be that teddy, a picture, a storybook, or otherwise). No bear? No problem… because Bear will be there with his helpers to give free teddies to anyone in need. The exact locations and timings are below:

·   Malaysia Square, at London’s Battersea Power Station SW11 8BJ on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th August

·   Manchester’s Spinningfields Square M3 3EH on Sunday 31st August

Fans (of both pizza and bears) will be able get their paws on a slice from 11:00am each day until samples last.

They will also be able to enter a competition to win their very own pizza oven so they can create their own ‘just right’ pizzas at home. Entry isn’t just restricted to those visiting the van, however; anyone can enter and join in the creative pizza fun, by visiting https://ao.com/bear/bears-perfect-pizza.