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You’ve probably tried pizzas made in a stone oven, wood oven, charcoal oven, electric oven or even a microwave oven, but have you ever tried a pizza cooked in a volcano? This unusual method is used by pizza maker Mario David García on the Pacaya volcano, 50 km south of Guatemala City. This volcano has been active for a few years now, and the young Guatemalan, formerly an accountant, decided to start an original volcanic pizza business.
First, Mario David prepares the dough and ingredients in a stand he has set up for this purpose. Then, using the volcanic vents and lava, he places the pizza on a metal tray resistant to high temperatures and cooks his creations at more than 1000 ºC. He, of course, is also dressed accordingly so as not to suffer the volcanic inclemencies.
Pizza Pacaya has become a tourist attraction of the volcano, and every day he receives dozens of visitors who want to try these peculiar pizzas. On his Instagram account, every day he publishes numerous images of all the people who try his pizzas at high altitudes.
To get to this volcano you must make a reservation in advance, as you can only enter with a guide. In this way, Mario David García can also get an idea of the number of diners he can have each day. Pizzas cost between 28 and 46 €, approximately. In addition, you have to get a ticket to access the volcano excursion plus the guide (which would cost about 50 €).
And, although many wonder if the fact of being cooked in a volcano can cause some kind of damage to health, as reported by CNN with a volcanological researcher from the UNAM, it should not have harmful compounds to health. However, the WHO warns that ash falling on food or water can generate a risk of contamination. Something that the owner of Pizza Pacaya takes into account, because when the National Institute of Seismology, Volcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology of Guatemala notifies ash rain or sulfur foci, the ascent to the volcano is restricted and, therefore, no pizza is served.