C O L ’ C A C C H I O
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without the air fair Col’Cacchio Pizzeria Franchise Owner Michael Terespolsky speaks about the flavours that he is bringing to the table in South Africa, and beyond. Erica Wark reports: 2
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Col’Cacchio FEATURE
They have been serving this up to the South African market place for the last 18 years, and they are masters of what they do. Now a franchise, they are poised to expand, and I for one am very keen to see a Col’Cacchio pizzeria spring up near me! Evidence of the pizzeria’s impressive standards can be seen by the endorsement of top SA and international chefs such as Margot Janse, Mike Bassett, Chantal Dartnell,
High quality, high class food, teamed with a relaxed atmosphere
M
ichael Terespolsky says that the greatest compliment he’s ever been paid by a customer is that they said eating at his Pizzeria was like a taste of the real Italy, without the air fare! Col’Cacchio pizzeria make serious gourmet pizza, pasta and salads. They pride themselves on sourcing top quality ingredients, and offering nutritious, fresh food at reasonable prices.
Franke Dangereux and Reuben Riffel to name a few as part of their Celebrity Chef Series. Where some chefs might be wary of invites to endorse pizzas, with the reputation as ‘junk food’ the difference with this invite is that to play in the kitchen creating pizzas at Col’Cacchio pizzeria is an invite to a playground worthy of any top flight chef. With a new specially styled pizza being featured each month throughout the winter, R5 of every pizza sold goes directly to Red Cross Children’s Hospital. This year the theme was that each chef was to craft a pizza which encapsulated the culture of a country of their choice who were competing in the World Cup and at present they are featuring an Argentinian themed pizza. So, whether it is having the likes of Franke Dangereaux come to play in the Col’Cacchio pizzeria kitchen, or Terespolsky and his team going to play in the kitchen making gourmet pizzas at Nobu, they are clearly cutting a path for themselves as leaders in the market. …and did I say healthy too? Yes, something that I feel speaks volumes about Col’Cacchio pizzeria is that the Heart & Stroke Foundation of South Africa has approved them as a www.southafricamag.com
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Col’Cacchio FEATURE
healthy eating establishment? They were the first pizzeria and in fact third of all South African restaurants to receive this acknowledgement fifteen years ago.
So, what can you expect in store? High quality, high class food, teamed with a relaxed atmosphere. You can bring your children, and, while you enjoy the top quality food, they can enjoy being part of the whole pizzeria experience too. Staff will provide them with dough to make their own pizza base, cut shapes, have it cooked for them. While they wait they can draw up more pizza designs on brown paper ‘bases’. Sounding a little different to the last time you took the kids out for pizza? Yes, it is. Finally, no need to compromise on top quality dining experience when out with the whole family!
Think that you’re not a pizza eater? Think again. Terespolsky ensures me that they have something to suit every palette and every type of eater. Now, ever the cynic, I wasn’t so sure... Being gluten intolerant I had spent the entire interview lusting over memories of eating pizza and pasta as a child, but residing myself to the fact that I now have to miss pizzerias off my dining list…. However, I can safely take my cynic hat off, and put my dining bib on! Terespolsky takes great pride in being very responsive to the market, and innovative with his menu; if you are dining at Col’Cacchio pizzeria’s you can already enjoy a number of options for anyone with food allergies or restricted diets, such as yeast free, sugar free, dairy free, wheat and gluten free pizza bases as well as wheat and gluten free pasta. There are no preservatives nor added MSG in any of their dishes, with everything being made fresh to order. With the prolific rise in the western world of allergy testing and more diners becoming selective over ingredients this is one establishment which is already up to speed. Still not sure if pizza is your thing? Then try one of 20 different 4
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salads on their menu, or why not design your own salad from a mouth watering list of ingredients… and anyone out there who doesn’t believe a salad is a meal in itself, I challenge you to take a look at the Col’Cacchio pizzeria salads!
Keen customer focus Terespolsky keeps Col’Cacchio pizzeria ahead of the game by carefully listening and responding to the marketplace. A perfect example of this is that there is due to be a new Col’Cacchio pizzeria store opening in the last quarter of 2010 which is a new direction for the brand; it will be the first Halaal pizzeria, and the menu is being deigned at present. The Halaal Col’Cacchio pizzeria store will be one of 13 new Col’Cacchio pizzerias franchises
set to open by the end of 2012 within South Africa. This will take store numbers up to 30 in total; however, personally I think this is a rather modest target for this impressive brand. With considerable interest coming in from the UK and Europe, Australia, USA, Canada and the Middle East, who knows where your nearest Col’Cacchio pizzeria could be in the near future?
Fancy a slice of their success? Expansion of the franchise is obviously a hot topic at Col’Cacchio pizzeria. On the topic Terespolsky sees the most likely emergent market as the UK: “We would like to find a great UK operator, someone in the game already, who knows the market, knows the suppliers, someone we can really join forces with to expand the Col’Cacchio pizzeria brand throughout the UK.” He welcomes interest from any such party, in any region. In order to be a Col’Cacchio pizzeria franchise owner you should possess the following: An entrepreneurial spirit and a strong desire to own your own business A fantastic work ethic, the ability to deal with pressure and run a business An ability to handle high labour numbers (ie) A staff of 30 permanent, and a further 20 casual front of house Knowledge of the industry, GPs, food costs, administration involved Be happy to sit psychometric testing to ensure that your profile is the right mix for a franchise owner ….perhaps a ticket to go to meet Terespolsky and his operations team!
Life inside the Col’Cacchio pizzeria family There is a great company culture at Col’Cacchio pizzeria, one of hard work but also good fun. They love what they do and the operations team are keen to share that feeling with you, not only as a customer; but so too if you start a franchise of Col’Cacchio pizzeria.
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www.hychem.co.za With only a small number of stores allocated to each operations manager you can expect extensive support to get your store up and running. The Col’Cacchio pizzeria operations team will provide you with: 2 months of training in store with your staff 1st month of operations in store with you Weekly visits thereafter Monthly store reports 3 monthly audits Terespolsky knows that quality and consistency of product and service will ensure the Col’Cacchio pizzeria brand name is held high, and so naturally the operations team will be your close allies throughout the set up process, and indeed throughout your contract. Like it says on the Col’Cacchio pizzeria logo, their method is “Proven & Tested” so, if you have these ingredients above then I would certainly advise you get in touch with this exciting franchise. To get a taste for Col’Cacchio pizzeria’s please visit www.colcacchio.co.za END www.southafricamag.com
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