FACT Opinion: Pitfire Pizza’s Chicken Shawarma Pizza is everything we didn’t know we needed

The UAE’s homegrown brand’s new creation has drawn inspiration from FACT.

Life brings together some unlikely pairings. Strawberries and balsamic. Blue cheese and honey. Grimes and Elon. Yet excitement bubbles over at the news that Pitfire Pizza, FACT Dining Award-winner and Dubai’s favourite homegrown pizza brand, got back into their fermentation lab to bring us another limited edition pizza just in time for Ramadan.

Pitfire’s new Chicken Shawarma Pizza brings together the best of Dubai’s most loved dishes. We recently shared Dubai’s (actual) most loved dishes. Fyi, it’s still not spicy tuna. 

Michele Johnson, the co-founder of Pitfire Pizza, not only contributed to our article but heeded the call. She correctly guessed that shawarma was probably one of Dubai’s most loved dishes. She was right: shawarma sat comfortably in the top three. 

Fast forward a few months and you too can buy this one-of-a-kind, limited-edition, 10-inch chicken shawarma pizza, which I’ve already eaten, and – spoiler alert – the results are glorious. 

Michele told FACT that these pizzas do not happen overnight. There are rounds of tests with different bases and drizzles versus gravy, all to create that depth of flavour that we love so much.

She explains: “I just love creating new pizzas. I love the creative process and the collaborations that we have done.”

Pitfire Pizza’s Chicken Shawarma Pizza pairs Pitfire Pizza’s signature, sourdough base made from a slow 72-hour fermentation technique that rises to a deliciously puffed and blistered crust, leaving a whisper of smoky char. Pitfire’s base is really what sets it apart from its peers. 

This pizza is not trying to be a shawarma. Instead, it pays homage to our city’s beloved shawarma by incorporating its standout features. There’s a rich, spiced shawarma gravy ladled over its crispy base, which is then hand-layered with chicken and tender roasted potatoes.

Finally, the pizza is lifted by morsels of bright pickles, a toum garlic sauce and a good pelting of parsley. If you’re like me, shawarmas are all about that toum. As usual, all the ingredients are made in-house.

This limited-edition Chicken Shawarma Pizza quickly muscled its way into my favourite Pitfire pizzas – a list that reflects Pitfire Pizza’s history of launching one-off limited-edition pizzas, from the Kinky Keema pizza with Moreish by K to the collaboration with Pickl. 

The limited-edition Chicken Shawarma Pizza is only AED 58, and available for dine-in and delivery. Pitfire Pizza is located in JLT Cluster-D, and is open daily from 11am to 11pm.

Grab a slice or four.

GO: Visit www.pitfiredubai.ae for more information.