Gourmet pizza creations now on the menu in Maclean
A PIZZA shop in Maclean is a major change of scenery from feeding 90,000 US soldiers in Afghanistan, but chef Ben Cowan is right at home kneading dough.
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A PIZZA shop in Maclean might be a change in pace from catering for 90,000 US soldiers at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, but for chef Ben Cowan he is right at home with his fists in the dough.
For three years, Mr Cowan was a contractor who managed 150 staff as part of an American catering operation, serving around 25,000 meals a day for military personal across Afghanistan.
Arriving back in Australia in 2011, Mr Cowan decided to get back to what he does best: making pizzas.
Maclean is the beneficiary of his pizza making skills with his new store Maclean Pizza opening last week to waves of hungry pizza lovers.
"We sold more than 100 pizzas in our first night, we actually ran out of bases," he said.
"We've been really busy, which is great. We've had a lot of phone orders and people coming into the restaurant. I'm pretty excited to share my pizzas with Maclean and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone."
A qualified chef, Mr Cowan started his career in hotels and resorts like the Sheridan and Hilton chains, before moving into his own pizza business in Kilcoy in late 2004.
Four years later, Mr Cowan got the opportunity to become to be a part of the American catering crew for the US military in Afghanistan.
"The scale of the catering operation over there was massive," he said.
"It was a military city and we were basically feeding them all. I guess the reason why I went over there was the opportunity only comes up once in a lifetime and I wanted to see it and be a part of it. I'll never do anything like that again in this country because nothing compares to it."
When Mr Cowan returned to Australia, he needed to start a business again, and a pizza store in Maclean was the perfect fit.
"I am very good at making pizzas, it's one of my strengths, so I'm back in my element working on pizzas," he said.
"I was attracted to Maclean because it's an attractive area, plus I've got family in Maclean and they were talking it up so this is where I've ended up."
Mr Cowan said the range of gourmet pizzas and hand-made bases set his pizzas apart from the rest.
"I use quality ingredients and everything is fresh," he said.
"For the seafood pizzas, I use fresh Yamba prawns. You won't get two day old bases here, everything is made by hand on site each morning."
Originally published as Gourmet pizza creations now on the menu in Maclean
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