ST. PETERSBURG—A restaurant in St. Petersburg has struck a chord with the hordes of soccer fans in town for the World Cup by serving up pizzas featuring the faces of some of the tournament’s biggest stars.
The edible portraits at HopHead Tap Room are a big hit with soccer fans and the restaurant’s regulars alike.
Each soccer pizza portrait takes nearly two hours of careful stenciling and cutting. The dough is cooked before the stenciling process and then the cheese is melted into position.
“We started doing this in connection with the World Cup, we support football and sport through this method,” said chef Valery Maksimchik, who has also made pizza portraits of Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov and striker Artem Dzyuba.
“My main work is as a pizzaiolo, but this is a hobby, so it brings me pleasure, like any hobby would.”
The chef has promised to make pizza portraits of each Russia player if the hosts go all the way and win the World Cup.
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