The Artisan Bakery and Pizzeria 2.63

Jovan Sivakov was born to bake. A passion for good food is firmly entrenched in his Macedonian genes. Jovan comes from a long line of Macedonian chefs and bakers.

From the age of 10, his parents Lamberte and Caci owned a huge bakery in the south of Macedonia in Eastern Europe, 10kms from the Greek border. “We produced more than 2000 breads each day, supplying the whole of the south of Macedonia,” says Jovan, proudly.

Here he trained on site learning traditional European bread making and baking techniques from his parents and grandparents.

“As a child I learned from my father how to make my own sourdough starter from scratch, mixing it with the dough and feeding it with flour and water daily,” he says. This process takes two to three weeks. “If you keep feeding it it’ll last forever. This makes the best bread and these are traditional European secrets.” It’s the quality of the starter that produces the amazing flavour, says Jovan.

These baking secrets, and others Jovan has learned from his grandmother, all give The Artisan Bakery and Pizzeria that authentic edge over its competitors.

“My Grandma and mother taught me all I know about cooking,” says Jovan. His grandmother’s recipes have been passed down through the generations. “Her huge potato loaf is renowned back home and unique to us here in New Zealand at The Artisan Bakery and Pizzeria, where it’s our house bread.”

The Sivakovs bring an authentic European flair and generations of traditional bakery and restaurant experience to Queenstown’s culinary offerings.

Growing up near the border with Greece has produced a strong Greek influence in Jovan’s cooking. In 2002, when he was 17, the family moved to Auckland where a relative owned a restaurant business. Already an experienced baker, Jovan trained as a chef, before opening his own Italian restaurant De‘Niro, in Auckland, later also opening a French restaurant Torchon Creperie next door. These have since sold, but Jovan and his family still own the Portofino Restaurant franchise in Taupo.

Jovan brings a wealth of experience working with many skilled chefs and bakers from throughout Europe and New Zealand.

“I really like to experiment with my cooking and not just do what’s written in the books. I prefer to change the recipe and present something with its own unique flavour and twist.”