Andrei Gheorghe, a young man from Bucharest, has launched an innovative business in the street-food sector. Camionetta, a mobile pizzeria, has become a regular presence at festivals across the country.
Last spring, he adapted a Land Rover Defender bought from the Netherlands. He transformed it into a food truck by installing a professional wood-fired oven. The investment reached 45,000 euros, and Camionetta hit the road. In the meantime, the fleet has grown. Recently, a 7-ton truck underwent a significant transformation.
“We installed a two-ton Neapolitan oven. We bought it new, and the entire rear structure was made by a bodybuilder in Romania. From start to finish, without any shortcuts, we wanted it to be something special. We even received compliments from an American working for Google when we were at the seaside for May 1st. He was from California, the motherland of food trucks, and he told us that back home, you won’t see a food truck as cool as ours. Now we have two trucks that go to festivals and one stationed in a fixed location in Bucharest,” Andrei shares.
This weekend, Camionetta is present at two festivals, Street-Food Cluj and Neversea. Andrei puts his hand in the oven for the pizza he makes. Most of the ingredients are protected-designation-of-origin products.
For example, the tomato sauce is made with the famous San Marzano tomatoes that grow in the volcanic soil at the foot of Vesuvius. The flour comes from a mill in Naples, while for the mozzarella, he found a local option in Romania.
“An Italian opened a factory in Romania, in Prahova, and makes sensational mozzarella, even better than many from Italy.”
Camionetta offers customers six types of pizza. Their prices range from 18 to 23 lei.
“There are few places here where you can taste authentic Neapolitan pizza. It’s a lot of work, street food means a more nomadic life, today you’re in one city, tomorrow – in another.”
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What compromise would I not make? I will never give up on quality, that’s for sure. For nothing in the world, I set this benchmark from the very beginning. There are still pressures from some organizers: “Hey, lower the price, use cheaper ingredients, make it more affordable…” I have no intention of doing that, I believe it’s a fair price for this product. It matters a lot to discover it, and once you do, you’ll know how to appreciate its quality.
