Dave's Pizzas
Monday 12 March 2012
Dave's Wood-Fired Pizza Co will be a familiar sight to many who frequent the lunchtime food markets of Dublin.
These are not the great big lumpy doughy pizzas that have been slammed of late as being one of the biggest sins of all when it comes to calorie consumption, but healthy thin-based sourdough pizzas with delicious fresh sauces, fresh mozzarella, and toppings. It is all about healthy good food nowadays and that's what Dave provides.
Dave Lennon, from Dalkey, is a entrepreneurial type of guy with an easy friendly disposition who, having started out with an old converted burger van, now has two spanking new trailers on the road. He covers the markets of Dublin, but has also recently gone into the new Speak Easy Cafe Bar on South Great George's Street, providing pizzas in the evenings, and also lunchtime Fridays.
The Speak Easy Cafe Bar is in the premises of the former Shebeen Chic, which has been taken over by Ray Byrne of the Wineport Lodge in Athlone, and Ray Kingston, on behalf of the landlord. On top of that, following requests from customers, Dave has just launched his range of pizza bases and sauces which are available both at the markets and in Speak Easy.
Dave's family were originally the potato merchants, Lennon & Harvey, in the city fruit markets in Dublin, supplying many of the supermarkets, restaurants and chip shops for many years.
"I was a bold child, so I was sent to the warehouse when I was 10 years old, packing spuds with the grannies. I sat on a chair and they babysat me. My dad, Michael, also had a go-karting track in Santry with a cafe and a burger trailer, so I flipped burgers during school holidays. I also worked in Cafe Java."
Dave grew up around food and enterprise. He already had a good knowledge and instinct for both, but a few years ago he went to Ballymaloe Cookery School to do a 12-week course. He then went to London and worked in the Michelin- starred chef Anthony Demetre's Wild Honey in Mayfair as chef de partie. "It was a great experience to see how a Michelin-starred kitchen is run -- 18 hours a day -- but fantastic. I then worked in the Boundary, at the Albion Boutique Hotel, owned by Terence Conran. I worked as assistant manager of the Rooftop Bar & Grill. I wanted to get front- of-house experience, to cover all aspects of hospitality and catering."
He came up with the idea of the mobile wood--fired pizzas whilst in London.
"I'd been in France with my dad some years previously where I saw this little van pull up in a church car park.
"It had a little wood-fired pizza oven, and there were cars coming from everywhere, from miles around. I thought it was great. I love camper vans -- I do a bit of surfing and I love all that mobile freedom.
"I went to a good pizzeria in London and I thought I should combine this with the mobile thing because I couldn't afford to open a restaurant. So, I stripped out the old burger van and refitted it and I have been going and going at it for the past three years."
Dave's brother, Karl, has now joined him in the business, and with two new trailers, the old silver van 'Betsy' is hanging up her clogs.
All Dave's pizzas are handmade using the age-old method that dates back to Roman times. The pizzas are made with a three-year-old natural yeast, which has to be fed and watered daily, to provide a great tasting sourdough base, which is easier to digest than other pizza bases.
"The bases are super light, even children can eat a whole pizza. We do six pizza varieties and a weekly seasonal special. Our sauces are homemade, we use fresh mozzarella, and we bake our own ham."
They have delicious combinations such as anchovies, capers, olives and chillies. They also have a loyalty card system -- buy six, get one free.
I have watched my boys over the years order in pizzas which I have always thought were such a rip-off for a lump of dough and a few toppings -- a licence to print money. Dave agrees.
"When I came back from the UK three years ago I was horrified at the way people were being ripped off with prices. Irish people don't really kick up a fuss, they go along with it. The price of water was crazy, and there is absolutely no need to be charging €15/€16 for a pizza, it is ridiculous. I charge €5 for a Margherita, and €7 is the maximum for a pizza with toppings. I have a nice tidy little margin. I am happy, the customer is happy, they come back, and that's the way it should be.
"They have given me a little section at Speak Easy which opens on to Dame Lane, and I do the food in the pub as well. So, people can have a pizza and a beer, or a pizza and a glass of wine in the pub at night. It's all very casual and relaxing; we have the pizza boxes as well, no cutlery or anything like that, but people can still get a great pizza in a pub for €5/€7.
"We are also opening on Fridays for lunch and people can have a pizza and a beer or wine for just €9.99."
So many customers have been asking about Dave's wood-fired pizza bases and sauces that he is launching them also. "There will be four bases in a packet and the sauces are proper sauces made from DOP San Marzano plum tomatoes and the prices will be very reasonable.
"We do all sorts of parties, kids' parties, weddings, we even got an enquiry for a funeral!"
Dave is a guy who has loads of ideas and is not afraid of hard work to bring those ideas to fruition.
Go online to www.daveswood- firedpizzas.ie for more info
Originally published in the Sunday Independent.