Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
McGregor man is SA’s big cheese of pizza-making
Vegetarian offering the best, global contest judges say
THE SLEEPY village of McGregor in the Breede River Valley has produced South Africa’s best pizza.
Colin du Plessis, an owner of the Lord’s Guest Lodge and its Lady Grey Restaurant, was awarded the best pizza in SA title, also winning himself a trip to the international finals of the Global Pizza Challenge in Melbourne in March.
When the announcement was made at the Hostex convention at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday, Du Plessis jumped for joy.
Shortly after the announcement, he told Weekend Argus: “I can’t believe it! Look at the top chefs here – I can’t believe I even made the top six.”
His prize- winning pizza, named Mary Queen of Scots, is a vegetarian wonder.
It boasts roasted beetroot, butternut and garlic, smoked mozzarella, black mushrooms, rocket and a balsamic vinegar glaze. It is garnished with pine and pumpkin nuts.
Du Plessis used a regular pizza bread recipe and his own pomodoro sauce.
His total preparation and cooking time came in at a neat 45 minutes.
“Organic eating is big now, and in McGregor we have a lot of vegetarians, although I am not a vegetarian myself,” he said.
The pizza’s name is in line with the Scottish theme of the lodge, which has cottages with names like Grant, McGregor, Mackenzie and Cameron.
It is a fixture on the Lady Grey menu, and named for Mary I of Scotland.
Du Plessis, who has been at Lord’s for seven years, said the “queen” was a popular order.
Contestants entered in five categories: poultry or meat; seafood; vegetarian; speciality or dessert, and Tabasco.
It was open to regional chefs, pizza-makers and anyone else with a pizza recipe.
The finalists were selected to participate in a cook-off at Hostex, which ended yesterday.
Pizza judge Jeff Schueremans said of Du Plessis’s pizza: “It was an innovation. He made a vegetarian pizza – that is a challenge. The presentation was great.
“It was a quite high pizza, but he controlled his fire. It wasn’t soggy, it stayed firm and crisp.”
He had tasted about 28 piz- zas during the judging – sometimes experiencing the taste of burnt dough.
Meanwhile, the competition also saw a special prize awarded to Priscilla Mbana, who has worked for Butler’s Pizza for 25 years.
She walked away with R10 000 for winning the Tabasco category for her tomato bredie pizza, using Tabasco, tomatoes, lamb stew, roasted red onion, almond flakes and two cheeses: mozzarella and cream cheese.
She made her own salsa to go over the top, made of red onion, tomato, coriander and spring onion.
She made the pizza recipe especially for the competition. It is not on the Butler’s menu.
wendyl.martin@inl.co.za