The Copper Oven in Arbroath has a new owner, Jamie Butler, whose passion for pizza and his Italian lineage coaxed him to Naples.
There, he learned the ropes from the pros, and then returned to start a job making pizza in the Angus restaurant.
“I quit my job – and spent all the money I had – going to Naples, to learn how to make pizza,” says 29-year-old Jamie.
“I came back home and there was a pizza place that had just opened, so it was ideal.”
‘It was my dream’ to open Arbroath pizzeria
After school, Jamie studied photography at university, before realising it wasn’t for him.
He worked in a call centre for a few years but admits he “didn’t really love it”.
He says: “I used that time to figure out what it was I wanted to do.
“And making pizza was always in the back of my mind for years.
“But I just didn’t think it was achievable to do really.”
So why was Jamie so set on making pizza?
“I’ve always loved cooking,” he says.
“My mum’s side of the family is Italian, so I have always loved Italian food and Italian cooking.
“I used to always make pizza when I was 15, 16, for my friends.
“This is why I went to Italy, it was my dream to open a pizzeria!
“I wanted to open it in Arbroath because that’s where I’m from.”
Language barrier no match for love of pizza
During his few weeks of study in Naples, a language barrier did not get in the way of Jamie’s desire to learn from the best.
“Nobody spoke English and I speak no Italian,” he laughs, “so it was a lot of learning by doing.
“But basically I learned how a pizza place is run, the technical dough aspects and what to look for in a flour.”
Five years on, Jamie is the new owner of The Copper Oven, and is “so happy”.
Jamie joined the team a few months into its opening, and has worked there for the last five years.
Dough’s the word at The Copper Oven
Jamie’s favourite thing about working at the Arbroath pizza restaurant is getting to experiment and perfect his dough.
“What we are trying to do here is make a unique pizza,” he says.
“The dough that we use is a pre-fermented dough. This gives the dough a quite unique texture.
“The dough is the most important thing for me, it’s the thing I obsess over.”
Jamie has plans to change things up at The Copper Oven now that he’s owner.
He hopes to add a retail section to the restaurant.
This could include some Scottish baking and charcuterie, as well as some Italian products.
‘It doesn’t feel like work’ for Jamie
There is no monotony in a margherita for pizza lover Jamie.
“People always ask, ‘do you get bored making pizza, because it’s the same thing every day?’
“But it’s not!
“Everything changes, you’ve got the heat, you’ve got the humidity which affects dough, and the climate.
“We use different flours and experiment with different ingredients and that always has an effect.
“So, it’s always different and I don’t get bored.”
“It’s kind of a cliché,” Jamie adds, “but if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life,” Jamie says.
“When I was working at the call centre, it felt like work.
“Doing only a six or eight hour shift, it felt a lot longer.
“Whereas now I’m in the kitchen for 13 hours a day.
“And it doesn’t feel like work. I love it.”
Conversation