Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Place a large baking tray or pizza stone on the middle rack to heat up. You want it properly hot — when you slide the pizza on, you should hear a faint sizzle. That sound tells you the base will crisp up beautifully.

Prepare the chicken. In a mixing bowl, combine the shredded chicken with 2 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce, the smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Stir well until every strand of meat is coated. The chicken should look glossy and smell smoky-sweet — that’s your cue it’s ready.

Assemble the pizza. Place your pizza base on a sheet of baking paper (this makes transferring to the hot tray effortless). Spread the remaining barbecue sauce evenly across the base, leaving a 2 cm border around the edge. You want a thin, even layer — too much sauce makes the base soggy. The colour should be a rich, deep mahogany red.

Add the toppings. Scatter the seasoned chicken over the sauce, then sprinkle the grated mozzarella and cheddar on top. Dot the red onion slices and sweetcorn over the cheese. The cheese should look like a snowy blanket with pops of colour from the onion and corn.

Bake until golden and bubbly. Slide the pizza (still on the baking paper) onto the preheated tray. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until the cheese is completely melted and starting to brown in patches. You’ll know it’s done when the edges of the base are crisp and golden, and the cheese has that slightly blistered, speckled appearance. The smell at this stage — smoky, cheesy, with a hint of caramelised onion — is pure heaven.

Rest and garnish. Remove the pizza from the oven and let it sit on the tray for 2 minutes. This rest time allows the cheese to set slightly, so it doesn’t slide off when you cut it. Sprinkle with fresh coriander or parsley if using, then slice into wedges using a sharp pizza cutter or a large knife. The sound of the cutter crunching through the crisp base is deeply satisfying.