Q&A | Tucking into the new Col'Cacchio menu

The beloved Italian restaurant has become a favourite among South Africans — we find out how new CEO Etienne Pieterse is shaking things up

26 November 2024 - 11:01 By THANGO NTWASA (COMPILED)
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The old pizza faithful, Col'Cacchio, is shaking things up.
The old pizza faithful, Col'Cacchio, is shaking things up.
Image: Sanet Oberholzer

Just 38 years old, Etienne Pieterse brings a unique blend of skills and vision to his role as Col'Cacchio's new CEO. 

Looking to redefine the conventional image of a CEO, Pieterse is known for his charismatic style with a focus on purpose-driven business solutions that resonate with employees, customers and partners. On the cusp of a new chapter for the franchise, we chat to Pieterse about what's new at Col'Cacchio.

What expertise will you bring as CEO?

A decade of business development know-how and the ability to help a business scale from small/medium to a large sustainable business built on values and trust.

Can loyal fans of the restaurant chain or those not so familiar with the dishes expect any changes in the menu or dining experiences?

Yes, there are lots of changes. However, we have kept some of the great dishes that have been favourites over the past 32 years. We drove our value of leadership through innovation hard in the new menu and have a new small plate section, new cold pasta salads and great new pizzas never seen before.

We have also zeroed in on our little ones and gave them their own separate menu where they can let their creative juices flow and build their own meals. The new menu is a must-see.

We are also spicing things up for summer with lots of live performances at selected restaurants and live comedy.

Run us through some of the festive offerings our readers can look forward to

We love bringing people together over great food, so our new menu caters to that — with shareable plates, Cicchetti and an aperitivo board with Italian-inspired flavours. Our new pizzas bring more exciting meat offerings, including the meatball fiesta and the sweet and spicy with chorizo, hot honey and fior di latte mozzarella.

New vibrant pastas bring to life traditional Italian flavours with a modern twist and our fresh new desserts balance our dolci flavour favourites, vanilla and chocolate, with some new fresh and fruity flavours in our lemon posset and lime panna cotta.


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