Behind Gaillot et Gray are Gilles Gaillot and Emma Gray. With a background in the building industry in Ireland (Gilles had his own building company and Emma was an interior design), their construction careers were both adversely affected by the recession. They moved to France, Gaillot’s homeland, to figure out their next steps and were inspired by the abundance of wood-fired pizza trucks serving emmental-topped slices to passers-by. In 2011, they bought a vintage Citroën H Van in France and drove it all the way back to Greystones. Since then, the Gaillot et Gray pizza truck has settled in to the seaside Wicklow town.
The week before St. Patrick’s Day, just last month, the couple opened the doors of their new permanent home on Clanbrassil Street, a pizza joint set-up for take-aways and eating in. The truck is still gong strong in Greystones, with Gray’s nephew holding down the fort. Though they are now in a permanent space, the principles behind their pizza haven’t changed. Gaillot et Gray have stayed true to the initial influence of French food trucks by serving their pizza with emmental cheese. They use French flour and currently import a lot of their salamis and meat toppings from France, though they’re currently in talks with some Irish producers to see if they can get a few more Irish ingredients on their menu.
Gaillot built everything in the shop, from the countertops to the wood-fired pizza oven. Gray did the interior, which is coloured in muted greys (but, of course) softened with key pieces like a vintage wooden dresser. There are two large communal tables in the space, one seating ten and one seating about six. On the tables are buckets of mini pizza slicers and bottles of chilli-infused Broighter Gold rapeseed oil, made in Northern Ireland by The Kane Family. Their coffee is from Baobab Coffee Roasters in Kildare and their herbal teas are from Intelligent Tea blended by Freda Wolfe. A selection of French wines will also be available.
We eat in, and the pizzas are ready for us in 15 minutes. The twelve inch pizzas arrive with appetisingly charred edges and reassuringly unsymmetrical shapes. A couple of giant blisters of air-pockets have risen throughout the dough, creating a perfectly imperfect appearance. The emmental cheese is a new pizza experience for me, and I quite like how its powerfully tangy flavour steals the show a bit more than the milder Italian mozzarella. This strength works particularly well with the topping combo of spinach, mushroom and pinenuts. The heat in the chorizo with fresh chilli pizza (€14) is subdued, giving me good reason to drizzle that delicious Broighter Gold rapeseed oil. With two sparkling waters, the bill comes to a total of €31.
When I visited, Gaillot et Gray were naturally still finding their feet in terms of their operating systems, as they had been open for three days. Their till had just arrived that day so it was a team effort to figure out how to print out a receipt, all done with great humour. But, even on day three, the pizza is ready to go and the service is perfectly pitched. Everyone here is warm and friendly, and it’s clear that they really care about what they’re doing. It’s immediately apparent to me that Gaillot et Gray will be a great asset to the neighbourhood.
In the near future, the team have plans to put their wood-fired oven to even wider use by baking their own sourdough bread, madeleines and croissants to sell in the shop. Ce que de bonnes nouvelles pour le quartier!
Gaillot et Gray Wood-Fired Pizza
59 Lower Clanbrassil Street, Dublin 8
www.facebook.com/GaillotGrayP / @gg_pizza
t: 01-4547781
At time of print, opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 4pm to 10pm
Words: Aoife McElwain
Photos: Megan Killeen
