The restaurant that brought us the Chinese Duck Pizza has won an award.

Gourmet Pizza in Gloucester Green, Oxford, has been named Pizza Restaurant of the Year.

The contest was run by the Pizza Pasta and Italian Food Association and the winners receive plaques.

Umbertos, the specialist Italian food shop in Greyhound Walk, Thame, was given a special commendation in the pasta retailer of the year section.

Gourmet Pizza was selected from hundreds of eateries across the country and won the chain restaurant section award.

The company opened its Oxford branch nine years ago.

Peter Chan, general manager of the restaurant, said: "It is absolutely fantastic that we have been recognised in this way. Our food is good because it is so fresh. We prepare everything fresh on the day, using fresh ingredients, whereas a lot of our competitors use frozen. "Our pizzas are completely different from the norm. We don't really do the ham and pineapple kind of pizza, we try to be a little more adventurous. We have fresh duck, prawn and Dolcelatte and Cajun chicken.

"Our philosophy is to try to give our customers what they want. We say that if you treat the customer how you would like to be treated, you can't go wrong."

Jim Cane, from the Abingdon-based Pizza Pasta and Italian Food Association, said the judges were meticulous when they were choosing which businesses should win an award.

Experts visited the restaurants incognito and checked out everything from the quality of the service to the decor.

He said: "We send judges round first and the restaurants know they are coming. "We send secret judges who are food experts. They have to be perfect at everything, every tiny detail."

As well as the food having to be excellent, the judges look at everything from the attitude of the staff to the cleanliness and the appearance of the outside of the restaurant.

How long the customers have to wait for their food, whether it arrives all together and whether the staff tell the customers about the specials is all monitored by the judges.

The menu is scrutinised and the association looks at whether every palate is catered for, from vegetarians and vegans to meat-eaters.

Umberto's shop opened in Thame three years ago and now sells up to 1,000 different types of pasta, sauces made freshly on the premises each day, special reserve Italian wines and a range of cakes and biscuits.

Owner Umberto Della Valle, from Caserta, near Naples, sources many of his products directly from Italy.

He said: "Last year we won the award for being the best pasta shop in the country, and this time we have a special commendation, which is the same thing, really.

It is because of the range of products we do. There are only a few shops in the country that have as much as us."