Col'Cacchio Pizzeria Celebrity Chef is back

The culinary twist for August is that all Col'Cacchio pizzeria fans are invited to test their pizza-making skills and take part in the Celebrity Chef Series. Entrants can post their winning combinations on the website and once the top five finalists have been selected, the three celebrity chefs will choose which gourmet masterpiece wins the Pizza Challenge and becomes a feature on the menu for the month of August.

In 2011, the challenge raised R227 000 for the Wildlands Conservation Trust from the donations and sale of 9071 Celebrity Chef Pizzas over the campaign.

This year it will be donating R5 from every Celebrity Chef Pizza sold to the Children's Hospital Trust, fundraiser for the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital and Paediatric Healthcare in the Western Cape. All funds raised will be used to upgrade the hospital's medical wards, which treat some of the hospital's youngest patients with chronic illnesses.

The company's director, Kinga Baranowska, commented, "We are delighted to be supporting the Children's Hospital Trust again. We hope to even better the amount raised last year to benefit the staff and very young patients in the wards that are being upgraded. We are also extremely excited about the exciting culinary creations our talented chef line-up has put together, and about how many new pizza connoisseurs this year's campaign is sure to unearth."

Chef's culinary background

Midlands born and raised Jackie Cameron has filled the position of head chef at Hartford House, the five-star boutique hotel in Mooi River, since 2002. SA Tourism voted her as one of the Top 10 Young South African Chefs and, under her guidance, the Hartford House restaurant has won numerous dining awards. Her pizza creation for May is the Carpe Funghi - mozzarella, caramelised onion, oven roasted mushrooms, roasted garlic and Italian Parmesan, topped with thinly sliced beef carpaccio, truffle mayonnaise and fresh dill. A vegetarian version is also available.

June sees Coco Reinarhz' Bujumbura Pizza in the spotlight. Mozzarella, oven roasted brinjals, fragrant North African flavoured chicken tagine, green olives and preserved lemons is topped with fresh coriander and drizzled with coriander-infused yoghurt. Burundian Chef Reinarhz is the chef patron of Sel et Poivre in Sandton, Gauteng. His innovative Afro-fusion culinary style combines classic French Cuisine with the most opulent of African flavours. He recently co-authored the internationally acclaimed book, The Banqueting House, African Cuisine an Epic Journey.

Chris Erasmus is the head chef of Pierneef à la Motte Restaurant in Franschhoek. His great passion for home-cooked, farm-style food, combined with his global culinary experiences, have led him to working in renowned restaurants such as The Tasting Room and Le Quartier Français and to play a major role in the recently released book, Cape Winelands Cuisine. At Pierneef Erasmus' Karoo-gourmet style also reflects the influence of its Cape Winelands' destination. In July, pizzeria diners can enjoy Erasmus' Liplekker Ribbetjie - a Béchamel base infused with roasted garlic and rosemary and topped with mozzarella, smoked and braised lamb soutribbetjie, caramelised onion, pears poached in Port, fresh rocket and a sprinkling of rosemary salt.

Peroni, Place in the Sun Wine (Distell), Coca Cola, Parmalat, Rialto Foods and The Food Store sponsor the 2012 Celebrity Chef Series.

To enter the pizza challenge, go to www.colcacchio.co.za.