You will fall in love with this little restaurant in Cape Town, not just because of their awesome pizza but because of their massive hearts too!
Underground restaurants aren’t new to the world of eating out, but when an Italian guy called Diego and a South African girl called Kiki open up their home to strangers, offering handmade pizzas from a hand-made (by Diego) built-in pizza oven, you can’t help but take some notice.
In 2011, Diego Milesi and Kimon (Kiki) Bisogno started serving pizzas from their rented apartment in De Waterkant, using an honesty-pot system. After three years, they found a secret kitchen at the back of the Blah Blah Bar on Kloof Street, where they continued to satisfy Capetonians’ pizza cravings with their legendary creations.
But they knew they wanted a place of their own. A year later, in June 2015, they stumbled upon a licensed home where they could hold pizza parties. They named this safe haven after their quality controller, their pup Ferdinando – and within no time, word about their delicious pizzas spread all over town.
And in just 2 years since then, Ferdinandos Pizza has won awards and been voted as one of the top 10 pizzerias in Cape Town. But the couple have also extended their love for food into their love for the community!
The restaurant has decided to run a weekly ‘Pasta Kitchen’ using of their own profits, to assist the needy residents of the area.
Kiki and Diego serve up warm and delicious pasta every Wednesday evening to all the needy residents who are often homeless too. No one is turned away, even if more Pasta than planned needs to be cooked.
But for them, it’s more than just putting a warm meal in a needy tummy.
“A known dilemma of charity organisations is that handouts solve short-term problems but perpetuate longer term ones. To truly help the homeless and needy our goal should be to empower these people to help themselves.”
“So while the Obs Pasta Kitchen solves the short-term problem of hungry bellies, we have a higher purpose and long-term plan. The Obs Pasta Kitchen is not just about handouts. This is more than a plate of food but an introduction to a long-lasting relationship.”
The ‘Ferdinando Pasta Kitchen’ is not merely a ‘soup kitchen’ as Kiki and Diego are also trying to engage with the community and elevate those that are in need. They are developing a long term strategy by connecting with these residents on a deeper level, providing them with a sense of purpose, belonging and dignity.
“A spin off project from our Pasta Kitchen is something we call ‘Working Wednesdays’ where we give the homeless and needy an opportunity to work and clean up Obs for ‘wish items’.”
“They mostly cruise the streets of Observatory picking up litter and de-weeding and in turn get a voucher for a wish items for their short term needs. These items includes things such as reading glasses, clothing, toiletries and basic everyday items we take for granted.”
The project is run with Ferdinandos Pizza and Volunteers of the Art of Living and is growing weekly! With your help, they could grow even bigger and help feed even more Capetonians in need. Who knows, maybe with enough help, they could add the free Pasta dish as an everyday menu item for anyone in need.
Ferdinandos Pizza have made it pretty easy to get involved. When visiting the incredible restaurant, you can choose to add an amount to your bill to assist with the project, or if you’re in the area, you can drop off some donated dry pasta and tinned tomatoes.
But Kiki and Diego believe that time is also valuable and they want Capetonians (and tourists) to come and get to know these amazing patrons every Wednesday.
“Even better you can come and engage with residents, take a moment to get to know them and their stories! I can guarantee you if you join on a Wednesday you will feel the awesome sense of community.”
Ferdinandos Pizza is situated at 205 Lower Main Road Observatory Cape Town, and Kiki can be contacted on 084 77 10 485 or emailed on obspastakitchen@gmail.com
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