Does it really take someone trained in the art of customer service to spot an opened pizza dip before placing it in the box and sending it off to the customer? Well if you’re Papa Johns in Peterborough then I’m guessing the answer is “yes”!

Someone once said that food is just a vessel for the sauce and I’m a big believer in that: sauce definitely maketh the meal.  A great sauce adds so much to dry dishes, especially when they’re chilli sauces!

Sadly the Papa Johns pizza chain doesn’t play by these rules and instead only offers a weak selection of dips (I’m guessing the dips are designed for the “beige buffet” of wedges and chicken strips rather than pizza crusts), the best I’ve found being their Buffalo dip.

So when I took delivery of my order from the Peterborough branch of Papa Johns you can imagine (and if you can’t then try harder) my annoyance at finding this holy tub of sauce had been opened and the contents dried and crusty, suggesting it had been opened a while.

Papa John’s really need to pay more attention as their pizza range is by far the best I’ve come across for home delivery.  They use interesting ingredients and make a good job of it.

It’s taken me a while to find a good pizza delivery service in Peterborough…

Domino‘s is the obvious choice but their prices are a bit optimistic for a pretty average pizza.

Pizza Hut let me down on a couple of occasions with missing ingredients when making their Volcano pizza. I even gave them another chance but they screwed that up so they’re off the Christmas card list too.

I really can’t bring myself to order from Papa Luigi, which is a shame as they’re the only independent chain I’m mentioning here.  It’s their “mozzatop” cheese and oil blend that puts me off along with their permanent BOGOF offer. Can’t they appreciate that some customers just want a single pizza and at an average £12-14, their offering fails to excite.  BOGOF indeed.

Snappy Tomato Pizza is a brand I’d not had for a few years, so when a franchise opened up in Peterborough I gave them a try.  On the whole, it’s not a bad pizza and the square ones are great just for the novelty factor but I’ve always preferred Papa Johns; maybe I’ll revist them.

So now I’m adding Papa John’s to the list and will continue my search for a half decent delivered pizza.  I’m open to recommendations so if you’ve got a favourite pizza restaurant in Peterborough (that delivers), please comment below.