Unique pizza baked with volcanic lava heat

The pizza called ‘Pizza Picaya’ has the same ingredients as any other ordinary pizza, but its interesting thing is hidden behind the name Picaya.

David Garcia makes pizza to bake on lava from the Pacaya volcano in San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala on May 11, 2021. Photo: AFP/VNA Guatemala’s Picaya volcano began erupting again in February with a lava flow more than 1km long. Active volcanoes scare a lot of people, but for local resident David Garcia, this is where he came up with a unique idea – baking pizza using the heat from lava flows. That is the reason for the birth of a pizza called “Pizza Picaya”. Following in the footsteps of Mr. Garcia, a 34-year-old auditor, to witness the pizza baking at the foot of Picaya volcano and visit this volcano is an extremely interesting experience. The ingredients for making Picaya pizza are the same as other ordinary pizzas, the main difference is that the special oven is created from lava and the mold can withstand temperatures up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. After spreading the dough into a special mold and adding the necessary ingredients such as meat, sausages, cheeses, vegetables, etc., Mr. Garcia placed the molds in the stone cavities with the right temperature for baking. . With high heat in special “ovens”, Picaya pizza is ready to serve guests in less than 15 minutes. Visitors enjoying this cake all feel the strange taste of pizza baked on Picaya volcanic lava. Of course, in order to bake the cake, Mr. Garcia must wear protective gear. David Garcia bakes pizza on lava from the Pacaya volcano in San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala on May 11, 2021. Photo: AFP/VNA Mr. Garcia promoted this experiential tourism model in 2014 after he discovered several locations at the base of Picaya volcano that had the ideal temperature for baking pizza. Initially, there were not many customers, but gradually his Pizza shop attracted the curiosity of many people and now everyone who comes to Guatemla knows about Picaya pizza. Even as the Picaya volcano “wake up” and spewed lava over the past several weeks, Mr. Garcia baked cakes directly on the red lava. David Garcia bakes pizza on lava from the Pacaya volcano in San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala on May 11, 2021. Photo: AFP/VNA Pacaya, located 2,552 meters above sea level, is one of three active volcanoes out of a total of 32 volcanoes in Guatemala. In addition to this volcano, two other active volcanoes in the country are Fuego in the central region and Santiaguito in the west. Pacaya volcano has erupted since late February, affecting the lives of about 38,000 people in 20 surrounding areas.