Corlie’s Italian, the popular Somerset West-based restaurant, has been voted South Africa’s seventh favourite pizzeria by consumers in this year’s Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge.
And while most of the pizzerias in the top 10 are second or third time returning entrants in the competition, this is Corlie’s Italian’s first time taking part, which makes their placement that much more significant. But it’s clearly a testament to the restaurant’s loyal fan base who absolutely love the pizzas and who were determined to see their favourite pizzeria do well and get the recognition it deserves.
Owned by Attie and Corlie Esterhuyse, Corlie’s started in 2015 when the couple started selling homemade dried pasta at the Slow Market in Stellenbosch. That developed into rolling out fresh pasta and cooking the dishes to order and two years later – in 2017 – adding pizzas to the menu. Once the Esterhuyses had raised enough capital and found the right location, Corlie’s Italian Restaurant opened its doors.
In addition to Corlie’s Italian’s signature pizza and best-seller – a Margherita in which “all the ingredient flavours combine beautifully to make it one of the tastiest Margherita pizzas around,” the restaurant also features White Pizzas on its menu, something which is not always offered in South African.
Esterhuyse explains: “White pizza or pizza bianca is a style of pizza that does not use tomato sauce as a base and generally consists of pizza dough, olive oil, garlic, cheese, salt and other toppings. We offer three options – the Bacon, Brie and Onion Marmalade, the Salsiccia (mozzarella, spinach, caramelised onions and house made Italian fennel and chilli sausage mince) and the Coppa, Gorgonzola and Green Figs.”
We caught up with the Esterhuyses shortly after they had been told the news.
What was your reaction on hearing of your Top 10 placement?
It was wonderful news, and we were very excited. For us, it is a great achievement. It is an indication that we are doing something right, and it underscores the fact that people really like our pizzas.
How proactive were your customers?
Our customers were very happy to vote for us. Not everyone knew about the competition, but with the marketing materials provided by Porcupine Ridge, it was easy to create the necessary awareness. Some of our customers couldn’t wait for the voting to start so that they could cast their votes. It gave us a good start in the competition, but we were not sure that it was sustainable. But thankfully, they showed their loyal support right to the end and kept us in the top 10.
What impact did the promotion have on your business?
It’s hard to say but we definitely think that it helped to create awareness amongst our customers. Being able to display our award in our pizzeria will definitely have a very positive impact going forward.
Are there any acknowledgements you would like to make in your “thank you” speech?
Firstly, we would like to thank Porcupine Ridge for creating this much-needed competition. We also would like to thank their team for always being there when we needed assistance and for the very professional way in which they handled the competition. We also want to thank the most important people in this competition – our loyal customers. Without their dedication and support, this would not have been at all possible. We appreciate each and every vote they cast and are so grateful to have their support. I’d also like to thank the Corlie’s team – both those in front of house and those in the kitchen turning out the most amazing pizzas.
Will you be entering again next year?
Definitely. This competition keeps one on one’s toes. We are going to try harder and try to get an even better result next year.
The winner of this year’s Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge was Gino’s, Robertsham, Johannesburg. It unseated last year’s champion Ferdinando’s Pizza (Observatory, Cape Town) which took fourth spot this time round. Others in the top 10 included Enzo Pizzeria Trattoria (Scottburgh, KZN), Lucio’s (Randburg), Julia’s Eatalian (Potchefstroom), Piccola Rossa (Benoni), Mooiuitsig Kombuis (Groot Brakrivier), Gino’s (Stellenbosch) and Osteria Rossa (Bedfordview).
Corlie’s Italian is located at Unit G04, Paardevlei Rising 3, 8 Gardner Williams Ave, Paardevlei, Somerset West. Telephone 071 167 7081.
