British man changing the face of pizza in LithuaniaJurgis ir Drakonas goes from market stall to multi-venue pizza chain, in the space of a few months, on the back of serving authentic Neapolitan pizza, to a country that had grown used to pizza of a different style.
By: Jurgis ir Drakonas But it seemed that somebody forgot to go to Italy. The pizza that became heralded was apparently ‘Scandinavian pizza’ a scant comparison to the authentic Italian product and millions of Lithuanians have grown up knowing only a dry, tasteless pizza made from inexpensive ingredients and supplemented with ketchup at every opportunity. Pizza became the takeaway food of thrift, with an enormous family sized pizza costing just a few euros. Pizza chains grew to some of the biggest companies in the country. Except one thing. It wasn’t really pizza – not as most people would know it and certainly any Italian would vocally voice his disdain. It is said that in Lithuania an Italian would rather go hungry than eat the pizza! Besides, they were probably too busy chasing the stunning local girls to worry. But in 2014 all that began to change. Brit, Tom Nicholson arrived in Lithuania and started stirring things up. He brought authentic Neapolitan pizza, cooked in wood fired ovens, using the correct Italian ingredients and traditional techniques. Many Lithuanians who had travelled to Italy, suddenly recognised that the taste they had enjoyed whilst on vacation, could suddenly be found in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Nicholson, 39 and originally from Ipswich, Suffolk set up Jurgis ir Drakonas (literally translated as George and the Dragon). What started as a market stall, evolved into a thriving mobile pizza and catering business during the summer of 2014. By winter it had escalated into 2 restaurants, seating hundreds with seemingly unstoppable popularity. In fact it was, perhaps unremarkably, the 243rd pizzeria in Lithuania. People would queue for lunch and for dinner and suddenly queuing became de rigour with getting a good pizza. Jurgis ir Drakonas is rapidly expanding into a chain and popularity is snowballing. Nicholson said, ‘I was confident pizza needed shaking up in Lithuania. I studied traditional methods and applied them as honestly as possible. Pizza in Lithuania had seemed to have drifted so far from the original dish, I simply re-aligned it. In 2015 we have plans for at least 3 more pizzerias. Customers can’t seem to get enough of what we do.’ He continued, ‘We’ve noticed that even in the short time since we started, other pizzerias have woken up and are trying to improve their product. I just hope that even in some small way, I can help improve pizza here in Lithuania.’ The show piece of Jurgis ir Drakonas is the Marana Forni oven in its showcase restaurant. The oven has been adapted as a disco ball and is lit up by a stunning laser show. The 2250kg oven with its revolving floor can cook up 16 pizzas every 2 minutes, to try and satisfy the new found Lithuanian taste for real pizza. Photos: https://www.prlog.org/ https://www.prlog.org/ https://www.prlog.org/ End
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