I moved out to Griffith a little over a year ago and the first thing that really got me excited was the food.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
I had to Google where Griffith was and during my search I discovered it was a large Italian community; and with Italy comes pizza.
I remember the first place I went out to eat (it was Il Corso).
Up until that moment, I thought I knew what a good meatlovers pizza tasted like.
I was wrong.
The salami had just the right amount of kick and the dough was something to salivate over.
Why you may ask, am I talking to you about my diet.
Well it just so happens that the best meat pizza does not hail from Griffith.
It comes right from the heart of Leeton.
On Sunday, Bruno Catanzariti of Benvenuti Cafe Restaurant took out a title that I only thought existed in my dreams.
He took out the award for best meat and poultry pizza in Australia. No small feat if you ask me.
When I talked to Bruno, he divulged little of his ingredients (something I will eternally regret).
Instead he spoke about the passion behind creating the ultimate (in my opinion) Italian cuisine.
He talked about how his mum – Caterina – gave him advice on his dough.
He told me how anybody can slap together a pizza (proof of which is my devon, ham and cheese creation I make on Friday nights).
What stood out to me was not that someone from small town in the Riverina could take out such a prestigious title.
Nor that he says his secret sauce was what got him over the line (I would have been disappointed if it wasn’t).
No, it was the fact that Bruno has only been making pizzas for four years.
Imagine picking up something and a short four years later, you’re the best in the nation at it.
Now that's something to dream about.
Understandably so, Benvenuti’s is closed until Tuesday as the group takes a well deserved holiday.
Now, I have not had the good fortune to eat at Benvenuti's during my stay.
I can say one thing for certain, the next time I have the chance, they’ll have to carry me out with a forklift with the appetite I’ve built up just thinking about it.
-Riley Krause