Today Italian-inspired Col’Cacchio pizzerias celebrates the 24th anniversary of opening its first branch on the Foreshore in Cape Town, and announced yesterday that it is celebrating with a new Summer Menu and a new Celebrity Chef Series of pizzas.
Col’Cacchio National Marketing Manager Sheri Goldberg announced that the three new Celebrity Chef Series pizzas are part of the Col’Cacchio menu, and no longer a stand-alone three-month campaign as has been the case in the past. The Celebrity Chef Series charity campaign was launched seven years ago, and R5 of each Celebrity Chef Series pizza sold goes to the Children’s Hospital Trust. To date the pizzeria chain has raised more than R1,8 million, the monies being used to furnish the new Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital with equipment.
Sheri announced the three celebrity chefs who have put their name to the Celebrity Chef Series:
#. Neill Anthony Vaughn, who has named his pizza after his TV show ‘The Private Chef’. He is the head judge of ‘Top Chef 
South Africa’. His pizza has a crème fraîche base, with spinach, Korean spiced chicken, ponzu mayonnaise, and crispy leeks (R105). Chef Neill told me that he has just returned from a cheffing stint in the north of England, during grouse hunting season.
#. Claire Allen, who has named her pizza ‘The Phat Cat’, inspired by Garfield. Her younger sister had a condition which landed her in ICU while living in Australia, and is an ambassador for a children’s charity in that country. Both Chef Claire and her sister love lasagne, so Chef Claire decided to create a 
pizza with bolognaisse, a bechamel sauce, and topped with mozzarella (R105). Chef Claire was a Finalist of MasterChef SA Season 3, and she and fellow Finalist Siphokazi Mdlankomo do joint appearances at the Good Food & Wine Shows around the country. Chef Claire has a TV show planned for next year.
#. Zola Nene is a presenter and the resident chef on the Expresso breakfast show. She recently launched her first cookbook ‘Simply Delicious’. Zola loves Mexican food, 
and therefore used barbecued pulled chicken, smoked mozzarella, Tabasco Chipotle sauce, and a salsa of tomato, corn, and avocado, using all the ingredients which she loves to eat in a pizza (R105).
Sheri announced additional new dishes on the Summer Menu, including the La Mella salad, with spinach, lettuce, shaved apple, hazelnuts, Tabasco Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce, cranberry, shaved fennel, and truffle dressing (R70); and the Asiatico Salad, with lettuce, broccoli, spiralized carrots, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, Parmesan cheese, cucumber, Tabasco Green Jalapeño Pepper 
Sauce, and ponzu dressing (R75). A new Tabasco-infused creamy pasta has been added to the menu too, as has a new 
Bambini pasta dish for children, with chicken cheesy sausages, spaghetti, and a cheesy bechamel sauce. A new Vegan Margherita pizza contains a tomato base, herbs, and dairy-free cheese.
We sampled the two new desserts, a deconstructed lemon meringue (left), and profiteroles with a macchiato filling and covered in icing. Aperol Spritz is a new summer cocktail added to the drinks menu, made with Aperol, sparkling
wine, and soda.
It was a surprise to see comedienne Angel Blythe Campey at the launch yesterday afternoon. We had met at an event last year, and bumped into each other at a coffee shop in Brooklyn in New York City in July this year! She is doing a TV show next year, she told me.
