Georgian Ajaruli khachapuri Calzone-style folded pizza with a raw egg baked into the centre, served on a plate as a hot restaurant meal.

Adjarian khachapuri, also known as Ajaruli or Adjaruli khachapuri, is one of Georgia’s best-known regional dishes, a boat-shaped bread baked until browned and filled with hot melted cheese before an egg is added to the centre and traditionally mixed into the cheese with butter while still soft. Originating from Adjara on Georgia’s Black Sea coast and strongly associated with Batumi, the distinctive shape is often explained as representing a boat, with the egg yolk symbolising the sun over the sea. Khachapuri is a national symbol of Georgian food culture and appears in numerous regional forms, but the open boat-shaped Adjarian version has become especially recognisable to international visitors and Georgian restaurants abroad. This restaurant serving, photographed in August 2026, also has topical food-safety relevance because the visible soft egg and runny yolk coincide with a UK Salmonella Enteritidis investigation potentially linked to eggs imported from abroad and used in cafés, restaurants and takeaway businesses. UK health authorities reported 259 confirmed cases and one death in the principal cluster by 25 August 2026, while stressing that there was no evidence implicating UK-produced eggs. Food Standards Agency guidance advises caterers to obtain traceable eggs from reputable suppliers, preferably UK hen eggs from Salmonella-vaccinated flocks. British Lion and Laid in Britain assured eggs are considered very low risk, including when lightly cooked for most consumers. Where assurance cannot be verified, vulnerable customers are advised to choose thoroughly cooked eggs or dishes made with pasteurised egg products. The image therefore combines Georgian regional cuisine, culinary tourism and traditional Caucasus food with a contemporary 2026 story about imported eggs, catering supply chains, egg provenance, restaurant hygiene, food poisoning prevention, Salmonella risk and the safety of raw or lightly cooked eggs.