Pacaya volcano in Guatemala has been erupting since February this year and local communities and authorities are kept on high alert. However for David Garcia, who is a 34 year old accountant, the molten lava oozing down the mountain has become his kitchen. He rustles up a pizza named ”Pacaya Pizza” on the volcano rock much to the amusement of locals and tourists.
It has become so popular that many people queue up to have a taste of this pizza cooked on volcanic heat. Garcia has a makeshift kitchen where he spreads the pizza dough on a metal platter that can resist temperatures upto 1,000 degrees fahrenheit. He tops it with tomato sauce and pieces of meat and cheese and places it on the lava. He wears protective clothing from head to toe while cooking. It takes just 10 minutes for the pizza to get done.
Garcia’s kitchen was started in 2013 and has become an attraction for tourists. Though initially he could not sell much, it became popular on social media over the years. “Having a pizza cooked in the embers of a volcano is mind-blowing and unique in the whole world” said a tourist named Felipe Aldana who found out about this place from Facebook.
Though this place seems interesting, it is highly risky too as at times, plumes of volcanic ash get blasted into the sky.
