Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Saturday, 14 March 2015 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Dimuthu Gamage
Giovanni’s, a little pizza place down Thimbirigasyaya doing big things, is best known for its service with a smile. And the man behind that warm and welcoming smile is Dimuthu Gamage, who serves up some extraordinary pizzas that never disappoint.
Taking its offering to the next level from next week, Giovanni’s is launching a widely-anticipated delivery service, which will enable it to serve more customers and meet the continually-rising demand.
The delivery service will be available from 12 noon to 11 p.m. daily and is based in Borella.
When we walk in on a weekday evening, Giovanni’s is just readying to open up, with Dimuthu and his friendly team enthusiastically getting the oven up and running, lining up boxes of ingredients neatly and getting everything ready for the day’s run.
Stepping away from the hot oven for a few minutes to chat, Dimuthu says he’s launching the delivery service from Borella since he does not have enough space at the current location to meet the demand. “I’ve now built a new oven in Borella and trained a chef here to handle that operation while I run Giovanni’s,” he adds.
Restaurant by end 2015
Giovanni’s rising popularity since its inception has resulted in what used to be more-or-less a one-man show growing into a bigger operation, with a staff of eight at present. “For the first three months I did almost everything alone,” says Dimuthu, who is also unable to hire more people due to the small space.
However, with a bigger dream keeping him going, this won’t be a problem for too long. “I have a dream of starting a proper Italian restaurant and I am searching for a location. Hopefully I will start the restaurant by end of this year,” he reveals, with his signature smile.
“I love running Giovanni’s. I was pretty sure it would be successful,” he adds.
Giovanni’s, which has been operational for around six months, is open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. every day of the week and serves up some 15 to 20 varieties of pizza. “When I find good ingredients, I keep changing my menu,” says Dimuthu, who’s been making pizza for around eight years.
A roaring success
As the orders start flowing in, it’s time for Dimuthu to make the magic happen and once he steps up to the work station, it’s all systems go.
Watching him make the pizzas – with all of them featuring the generous toppings Giovanni’s is famous for – and seeing the care he puts into every single one, it’s no surprise really that his little pizza place is such a roaring success.
Delicious offerings
Leaving Dimuthu to his work, we move to the cosy little air conditioned room upstairs, and are promptly served a Spicy Chicken pizza and a Pollo Cacciatore pizza – both of which are multi-layered and absolutely delicious. The first is spicier, guaranteed to satisfy those who crave that chillie kick.
The Spicy Chicken pizza features chicken, bell peppers, mushroom, chillie flakes, and lots of cheese. The pizza is first baked with mozzarella and then topped with an impressive serving of scamorza affumicata, followed by basil leaves and rocket leaves.
The Pollo Cacciatore pizza is made in a different way and has been rapidly rising in popularity recently. First, the chicken is marinated with white wine and cooked with a tomato sauce, basil, bell peppers, black olives and parmesan. Then, the pizza base is baked with ricotta, garlic and oregano separately. Finally, the chicken topping is added, along with basil leaves, rocket leaves and chillie flakes, and it’s ready to go.
“All the pizza varieties served up here are unique,” says Dimuthu, taking a break from baking to join us, adding, “I want to give something really different to my customers.”
As a result, he’s constantly experimenting, adding and subtracting ingredients (some 80% of which are locally sourced), making sure a unique and delicious offering is served up every time.
Pizza perfection
When our third and final pizza reaches the table, we know that Dimuthu has saved the best for last – a half-n-half Cheese and Bacon and Chorizo pizza that raises the bar so high, no other pizza can reach it.
The Cheese and Bacon pizza is made with mozzarella, lots of juicy bacon and scamorza, then topped with chillie flakes, and Dimuthu prefers to serve it as it is, without adding basil leaves or any other topping. This is one we’ve had many times before and it has never, ever disappointed.
The Chorizo pizza features chorizo made by Franco Gervasoni in Nuwara Eliya plus mushroom and garlic and is topped with chillie flakes – a very yummy slice of pizza perfection.
When our dining experience here comes to an end, it’s no surprise really that we’re bursting with pizza and food-fuelled happiness.
Pix by Malinthe Samarakoon
