McKimms Tennis coach Josh Kelly realises passion with Lil Ellen’s Pizzeria
Josh Kelly can serve up a ball with speed and accuracy. It turns out the Sandringham tennis coach can do the same with pizza, with his new food truck already delighting tastebuds. And he says his most popular pizza is a take on a fast-food favourite.
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As a tennis coach Josh Kelly can slice a ball with ease. It turns out he can slice — and cook — a pizza just as well.
Mr Kelly has just opened Lil Ellen’s Pizzeria, a food truck he hopes will delight tastebuds across Melbourne’s south and beyond.
The Cheltenham tennis whiz, who coaches at Sandringham’s McKimm Tennis, said he had also harboured a long love of making pizza, a passion ignited further with the purchase of a woodfired oven about two years ago.
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“My brother and I would always have pizza session once a month and there was a turning point; me loving to cook,” Mr Kelly said.
“I wanted to start cooking everything; we started to experiment making our own pizza and before you knew it I bought my own pizza oven.”
Mr Kelly said pizza-making soon became an “obsession” as he spent at least one day a week learning to “master the craft”.
The idea to turn his passion into a business was floated, and Lil Ellen’s was launched in August.
Mr Kelly said his venture’s early days had been promising, with Lil Ellen’s take on a fast food favourite — the Little Mac — and “all the crazy dessert pizzas” a “great hit” among customers.
“We have had heaps of inquiries; everything we have done we have been given great feedback,” he said.
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“It has been pretty crazy balancing (Lil Ellen’s with tennis coaching) but I am really lucky as tennis coaching can be quite flexible.
“It’s been great; I’m not here to be a gazillionaire or anything, I just want to make great pizza.”
Lil Ellen’s Pizzeria will be at Boatrocker Brewery in Braeside from 4pm to 8pm on Friday, November 29.
Details: Lil Ellen’s Pizzeria: facebook.com/lilellens or 0400 817 197
McKimms Tennis: mckimmtennis.com.au