Bellisima… best pizzeria in Africa is in Hout Bay
MASSIMO’S at Oakhurst Farm Park in Hout Bay as been named best pizzeria in Africa by “50 Top Pizza”. Likened to the Oscars of Pizzas, the “50 Top Pizza” awards took place in Naples, Italy, at the end of July.
This is the first time in the history of the awards that a restaurant in Africa has been honoured.
Run by owners Tracy and Massimo Orione, the pizzeria opened in 2009 with a small team comprising of the owners and four staff members.
The business has since grown to employ about 20 staff.
According to Orione, he and Tracy came to South Africa in 2003 for a holiday, and fell in love with the country, its people, and the landscape.
Before that, they had spent seven years living in the French countryside running a “gite’” (a B&B or “agriturismo”, which is, essentially, a farm that also receives guests).
They did the cleaning, gardening, ironing, pool cleaning, etc themselves, as well as offering French, Italian, or far Eastern dining on request for up to 26 people.
They installed a pizza oven and then expanded their menu.
“Everybody loved our lighter, thinner style of pizza, so it was a natural progression to bring that idea to Cape Town,” the couple said.
“Massimo’s Pizza Club” opened in Cape Town in 2009 with staff – who are recruited from the local community – preparing all the ingredients in the couple’s kitchen at home and bringing them to the shop.
The restaurant is now open seven days a week and boasts a loyal clientele.