…to find out who makes pizza South Africans love the most
The Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge is back! The inaugural competition, held last year, was a resounding success with more than 100 restaurants nationwide battling it out to be crowned the country’s most-loved pizzeria.
After weeks of intense public voting, Gino’s Restaurant in Robertsham, Johannesburg, was declared the 2021 winner, with remaining Top 10 finalists being Ferdinandos (Observatory, Cape Town), Lucio’s Pizzeria (Randburg), Bardelli’s (Kenilworth), Gino’s (Stellenbosch), Asta Italian Restaurant (Stellenbosch), Izerria Pizza Parlour (Pretoria), Caraffa Restaurant (Pretoria), Osteria Rossa (Bedfordview) and Caspitas (George).
Says Gino’s Restaurant owner Gino Mazza: “Being placed at number one was a tremendous validation of what we do, which is provide delicious Italian food made with passion and provides good value-for-money. What made the win even better is that the competition is voted for by the public and it demonstrated that we are doing the right thing for our customers and to them I say saluti, bon appetito, grazie.”
Mazza and many others around the country are now gearing up for the 2022 challenge which looks set to be more competitive than ever. It will run from July 1 to September 30, 2022, with the Top 10 and the ultimate winner being announced in mid-October.
Anyone dining at participating restaurants, or fans thereof, can vote by scanning the QR Code on supplied marketing materials or by visiting the website www.votepizza.wine.
Each week, the name of one lucky voter will be drawn and will win one case of wine from Porcupine Ridge as well as an EarthFire Pizza Stone & Cutter. A grand prize winner drawn at the end of the challenge will receive five cases of Porcupine Ridge wine, an EarthFire Pizza Oven and pizza for a year from their favourite pizzeria – all to the combined value of R10,000.
The restaurant that receives the most votes throughout the campaign period is crowned the Pizzeria Challenge winner and will receive wine for a year, a trophy and winner’s plaque and advertising material to the value of R25 000. The nine runners-up win six cases of Porcupine Ridge wine as well as a Top 10 acknowledgement plaque and promotional materials for their establishment.