With the right gear and nous, cooking a proper pizza shouldn’t be too tricky.

A good dough is kneaded, knocked back, rolled out, topped modestly with tomato sauce, cheese and herbs, then popped into an oven hotter than the sun.

When the base begins to char and cheese becomes stringy, it’s time to eat - simple, right?

Well, evidently not, because freshly cooked iterations of the Naples staple are notoriously elusive over here, especially at reasonable prices, and even more so served outside.

And so enter Kent’s National Crust Pizza Company, where the husk of a 1986 Mercedes van has been bedecked with wood fire ovens, smatterings of freshly sourced ingredients, springy dough balls, and cooks cheerily trundling along the coast, stopping occasionally to stuff food in people’s mouths.

It was under the burst of twenty-degree heat on Saturday evening, when the team’s wheels rolled to a stop metres from the promenade inside a closed physio’s car park, then threw open its serving hatch for business in Range Road, Hythe.

Meanwhile, as we drove along the coast from a neighbouring village, I expected to arrive at a huge queue snaking 20 metres to the beach, with dozens of families peppered along the shingle, dining under the sun, looking out to sea.

But when we pulled up, the area felt desolate, save for a discreet tucked-away green van, from where sounds sizzled and the sweet, gentle, yeasty scent of toasted fresh bread came.

The chef explained we should have pre-ordered, although, thanks to all that is holy, he said if we ordered our 12” Margherita, Napoli, and Hot Pepperoni we could collect an hour later, so we did.

Just a quick digression, dining inside packed restaurants cheek-by-jowl on a Saturday night isn’t for me.

It's less that I have an aversion to large crowds, but more towards the public in general.

And here, on the beach, you can peacefully experience the flavours and textures of real, simple food, without being surrounded by the hooning and crooning of others.

Fact is, I would rather enjoy my meal under the looming presence of the Dungeness nuclear power plant while being perpetually reminded of my mortality.

And so it was on this beach where three pizzas glistened in the spring heat, their steam dancing off into the spicy sirocco breeze.

Biting into the crust, my teeth met a welcome resistance before I crunched through the charred outer layer, revealing a white pillow of soft, warm but slightly chewy bread, flavoured with a hint of yeast, salt and sweetness.

Usually, the pepperoni comes served with warm honey, but I declined due to not being clinically insane - I also believe pizza should never be tampered with.

Not only that, but leaving it out made the meat’s peppery, tangy, and slightly smoky flavour easier to taste.

Meanwhile, the mozzarella was creamy, deep and aromatic, slightly seared in places, but oozing and pooling in others.

When the pizzas were hot, long strings of molten cheese gently flowed away from each slice with each bite, whereby the tomato sauce flavour held its own, all the while accentuated by the bread’s partial char.

Although I didn’t try a bite with ample already on my proverbial plate, I was told the Margherita sauce was slightly too prolific in places, perhaps, owing to the sauce/cheese ratio.

But my dining partner assured me that the Napoli’s capers and anchovies tasted fresh, zingy and subtle, giving the dish a punch without over-salting.

It was a successful result given the addition of pecorino, a salty ewe’s milk cheese.

My only gripe was how the bases became quite tough, almost immediately, after they cooled in the sea breeze.

It’s all down to taste and the concept of the perfect pizza is wildly subjective.

Indeed, the citizens of Naples, credited with inventing the thing in 1889 to honour the king's wife Margherita, secured official EU protected status for their version.

For a pizza to be called Neopolitan, it must be topped with genuine buffalo mozzarella and the tastiest San Marzano tomatoes.

In Kent, we might not have easy access to these luxurious ingredients.

But we can, at least, taste great pizza cooked with the right gear and some nous on the south coast.

Out of five:

Food: Fresh, real pizza cooked with quality ingredients in front of you ****

Drink: You can take what you want although a selection of soft drinks are available ****

Decor: The curvature of the bay visible from Hythe beach is one of Kent’s most alluring views – the old Mercedes van is a welcome sight too *****

Staff: The chef appeared friendly and attentive ****

Price: Pizzas range from £9.50 – £13 ****

The National Crust can be located at:

Range Road, Hythe, on Saturdays from 4.30pm - 8.30pm

Barham Village Hall, on Fridays from 4.30pm - 8.30pm

Lyminge Primary School, on Thursdays from 5pm - 8.30pm

Pre-orders are accepted between 11.30am - 1pm on each day of service. More details available on the company's website.