It’s been more than four years since Lewis Lilburn first got his hands on his Land Rover Defender — which features its own pizza oven.
After acquiring it with a friend from the Boat Inn in Aboyne, plans were put on hold due to lockdown.
However, Lewis has since traded in his profession of furniture making to build his own career in the catering world.
For the past year he has run the business primarily from the Highland Food and Drink Trail in Inverness.
The 37-year-old claims Auld Smokey Pizza is one of only two pizza-making Land Rovers in Scotland — and he also owns the other.
The pizza stove adds a tonne of weight to the vehicle. Lewis says it isn’t an issue “as long as you don’t mind adding an extra half-hour onto your journey”.
The ovens can get up to a restaurant standard of heat, with a temperature of around 380-450° Celsius.
Pizza-making Land Rover sold itself, says owner
Lewis said everything “fell into place very quickly” when he first spotted the quirky vehicle for sale in his hometown.
Despite Covid putting the catering industry into a difficult situation, he feels “lucky” to have picked up Auld Smokey when he did.
Lewis said: “The vehicle I now trade from came up for sale in Aboyne, where I’m originally from.
“I went into the adventure with a friend who ended up returning to the oil industry when lockdown hit.
“Starting up a catering business at that time was never going to be easy and it changed plans a little.
“I ended up renting the vehicle to The Storehouse in Evanton for about a year. After that decided to launch Auld Smokey again myself.”
Lewis bought a second Land Rover and had it fitted out so he could continue to rent to The Storehouse.
Lewis said the beginning of last year presented a chance for him to “really launch” himself into the business.
Lewis added: “I managed to get involved with the Highland Food and Drink Trail in Inverness.
“We’ve seen a lot of business there. People will come up and have a million questions, which I’m more than happy to answer.
“Because of the unique look, I haven’t actually had to do too much in terms of lead generation. Curiosity gets the better of people.
“People drive past and see a chimney puffing away off the top of a Land Rover and are instantly interested.”
Auld Smokey Pizza offers a range of “people pleasers” including margherita and pepperoni.
Lewis has also introduced a number of new toppings, including peach.
‘The quality has to be as special as the Land Rover’
Lewis has been focused on perfecting his own dough recipe in order to make sure the pizzas are of the highest quality possible.
And it is paying off for him, as he now supplies Dornoch Castle Hotel with doughballs.
Lewis said: “I directed myself last year into perfecting the quality and it’s opened up other avenues to get my product out there.
“The dough has worked into a business on its own. You have to make sure you have the right product.”
Lewis, runs the business alongside his fiance, Sally Stevens, from its base on Belladrum Estate.
He said being a part of the food and drink trail has brought so many stories along.
“Every time I go out I get people coming up and asking to look inside it, it’s great fun because people are interested and it will never become old.
“People also trade Land Rover stories with me from either ones they have themselves or maybe from when they were growing up.”
Driving Auld Smokey Pizza into the future
After having the second Land Rover fitted in Colchester by a company named Amobox, Lewis would be keen to add to his fleet.
He said: “We’re always open to new ideas and what could be next. For now, being based between here and Aberdeenshire works really well.
“One thing which we’ve done this year is invest in a small horsebox which gives us the best of both worlds in terms of a prep space and being a bit more streamlined.
“There’s definitely scope for expansion and it would be lovely to have four or five based in different areas.
“But we have to maintain our quality and make sure we have the right people and the perfect place to trade.”
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