Wollongong now officially has its own Criniti’s pizza.
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It comes after a poll in the Illawarra Mercury recently saw hundreds of people suggest what toppings they would like to see.
Head chef John McFadden and his team then analysed all the responses and the final result was a seafood inspired pizza.
The Gong Pizza appears on the Criniti’s Wollongong menu immediately after another pizza named Godfather.
It is made with napoli sauze, mozzarella, chorizo, mussels, garlic prawns and a mozzarella crust has been a popular choice during the first week of trade.
If the Gong Pizza continues to sell well it may feature on the menu of other eight Criniti’s restaurants around Australia.
The Criniti Group is also considering donating a percentage of every sale of the pizza to a local charity on an ongoing basis.
Read more: 8 Wollongong eateries you need to know about
The response to the new eatery in Keira Street has been so good that the Italian restaurant wants to give back even sooner.
This Wednesday night at the official VIP opening Criniti’s will make a donation to the Wollongong Children’s Ward.
Group marketing director Petra Orrenius said the #pizzaforpurpose campaign will involve Criniti’s making a donation for every slice of pizza eaten at the VIP event it is hosting.
“We are extremely excited at the launch of the new restaurant in Wollongong. We’ve had such great feedback already from the local community.”
Many of the dishes on the menu at the Wollongong restaurant are from traditional Criniti family recipes passed down through generations.
In 1963 when Cosimo Criniti arrived in Sydney from Calabria, Southern Italy, he brought with him a book full of soul-filled recipes that have gone on to inspire all Criniti’s Australian restaurants