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Newspaper’s Pizza Express review becomes web hit

A review of a Pizza Express restaurant published in a weekly newspaper last week became an unlikely internet sensation.

Journalism student Holly Aston, 17, wrote the review for the Peterborough Telegraph after visiting the town’s Pizza Express branch in Cathedral Square with her mum.

It praised the food’s “real sense of freshness” while noting that there “wasn’t an awful lot of cheese” on the pizza and that the garlic in the garlic bread was “slightly lacking.”

After initially attracting some mocking comments on Twitter, the piece went viral with 66,000 page views in a few hours and Holly has now been offered a day’s work experience on a national newspaper.

Said Holly, pictured: “I never thought it would go that far. It’s just amazing,”

As well as being the Telegraph’s most viewed story of the week, the review gained 3,000 likes on Facebook and was retweeted more than 1,100 times with the hashtag #pizzaexpressreview

Times journalist Caitlin Moran tweeted: “For those who haven’t seen it – possibly the greatest restaurant review ever.”

Others praised its enthusiasm and “refreshing” lack of irony and cited it as an example of how all restaurant reviws should be written.

Holly, who is in her second year studying print media at Peterborough Regional College, admitted she had been hurt by some of the initial comments.

But she added: “When the Twitter reaction came through it was all positive stuff and the good overpowered the bad.”

Telegraph editor Mark Edwards said: “We liked the review – it was her honestly held opinion – and were frankly surprised when it got some negative comments.

“We were equally surprised and delighted when that was followed by a huge wave of support for the review and Holly.

“It’s a real happy ending as she has been offered a gift card by Pizza Express, a work experience opportunity on the Daily Mirror.

“National papers have been in touch and for a journalism lesson it’s a day you can only dream of as well as a great lesson”.

A spokeswoman for publisher Johnston Press added: ‘We’re thrilled that a well-written, straight-talking, no-nonsense review from a young journalism student has put Holly – and the Peterborough Telegraph – on the world stage!

“And Pizza Express take note – more garlic please!”

11 comments

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  • September 22, 2014 at 8:50 am
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    Good luck to Holly and I hope her career in journalism goes far and she finds it challenging and rewarding in equal servings.

    But – have I woken in some weird parallel universe where a run of the mill review of a run of the mill high street pizza restaurant can become an internet and twitter ‘sensation’?

    Like a dope I went on the Telegraph site to see what all the fuss was about and of course just added to their click score. Is this really what this industry has been reduced to…

    A diet of warmed over, bland, assembly line dishes served up to depressingly non-discriminating consumers and where the story about a non-story IS the story!

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  • September 22, 2014 at 10:00 am
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    There might have been a refreshing lack of irony about Holly’s review, but the online praise for it was entirely ironic. And I’m not sure anyone is doing her a favour by encouraging an aspiration to get in to journalism.

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  • September 22, 2014 at 12:57 pm
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    Holly’s review is great for someone who has never done this before. She’s thought about what to comment on and has shared a positive experience – what anyone wants when they dine out, be it from a chain or an independent, an overpriced eatery or a greasy spoon.

    However, I wish the features editor had given some polish to it first. Or at least provided some guidance. Would never have let it go out as stands, be it a trainee or Victor Lewis-Smith.

    Heaven help me had Giles Coren submitted it. That would have been … interesting.

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  • September 22, 2014 at 1:17 pm
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    Has Holly got an agent for when Local World come calling soon with the offer of an editor’s role on one of their titles?

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  • September 22, 2014 at 6:15 pm
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    Confused, not for the first time, has got it spot on. Time for another beer.

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  • September 22, 2014 at 9:49 pm
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    I once went viral with a report on a Boots branch being closed for a few hours because it had no pharmacist. I wrote it to show there was nothing that was too crappy for the website. There still isn’t!
    Of course virals often make no money at all and are therefore pointless, apart from ego boosting. That’s the crazy world of the web.

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