“We know we’re pretty good at what we are doing”
Karol Jezierski (left) and Kamil Gwiazda (right) run Dope Crust in Birkenhead(Image: Iain Watts)
A pizza served in Merseyside has been named one of the best in the UK. Dope Crusts on Oxton Road in Birkenhead has been recognised as one of Britain’s best pizzerias, earning a finalist spot in the Arla Pro Britain’s Best Pizza competition for its signature pizza, the ‘Carbonara’.
Now in its third year, Arla Pro Britain’s Best Pizza competition shortlisted three pizzerias, including Dope Crusts in Birkenhead. Kamil Gwiazda, who lives in Bootle, and business partner Karol Jezierski set up Dope Crusts as a pop up around two years ago.
Kamil told the ECHO: “We found this place around one and a half years ago. He’s [Karol] has a massive passion for pizza as well. He’s been doing pizza over 10, 15 years so together we have around 30 years of experience making pizza. We both worked and lived in Italy for a few years.
“I’ve got about 20 years experience in restaurants, I started when I was 19. I’ve travelled around the world and worked around the world as well.
“I have helped open a few places here in Liverpool. I worked at Moose Coffee and worked for Gary Usher at his bistro, so I’ve got head and head chef experience.
Dope Crust in Birkenhead, Wirral(Image: Iain Watts)
“This has helped me to run the business. We focus on good ingredients and good habits in the kitchen to elevate the pizza to a different level.”
The ‘Carbonara’ pizza uses fior di latte mozzarella, Crispy Guanciale and is finished with chives, black pepper, pecorino cheese and egg yolk. The restaurant also serves classic pizzas such as marghertia, pepperoni and funghi, and their own unique takes including dope ragu lasagne pizza. They also serve monthly specials.
The restaurant also serves craft beers from local breweries and a selection of wines and cocktails. They also runs pop ups including a pizza van in Princes Dock.
The 37-year-old said: “We know we’re pretty good at what we are doing. That might sound a bit cocky, but we know we make something special in the area. Every time I eat my own pizza, I can’t believe how good it is. I know, it sounds very cocky. We are so happy with our recipe for the dough.
Kamil Gwiazda at the Birkenhead restaurant(Image: Iain Watts)
“We can see it from the reviews and feedback. The pizza lovers in Birkenhead we have got support from, it’s unreal.”
He added: “The most important thing for us is always going to be dough. The whole process of making the dough is quite long but this is what makes it different from other pizzerias – the flavour and the lightness.
“Ingredients, everyone can open a place and get ingredients. It’s the process and the time. We want to change the thinking about pizza, that it’s not fast food. It might take two minutes to cook but it takes days to create the pizza.
“Most people think pizza is like fast food like Domino’s, we want to change people’s mind set around the pizza.
“We’ve created a small place with a massive heart and soul.”