When Broadsheet speaks to Tony Mitolo, co-owner of One Sneaky Cheetah and McLaren Vale’s beloved Pizzateca, the team is on the heels of hosting its own stall at Tasting Australia’s Town Square – an opportunity that invites plenty of experimentation.
“We tried cheeseburger pizzas, hot dog pizzas – everything. There were a few atrocious ones,” Mitolo says with a laugh. “But the rule is, there’s nothing you can’t try … But we settled on a great one.” The result is a switch from the crew’s classic tomato sugo to a seafood sauce, infused with a combination of prawns and South Australian blue swimmer crab. “It’s made to go with white wine and garlic, like you would for a crab pasta sauce,” Mitolo says. “The sauce itself is quite subtle, but it’s there. And then it’s topped really simply with mozzarella, Spencer Gulf prawns, and lemon and fresh parsley.” The seafood pizza was a huge hit at Town Square and, due to popular demand, it’ll be popping up as a special at One Sneaky Cheetah.
In addition to their original Ridleyton outpost, Mitolo and the team have recently opened a second venue on South Road in Melrose Park. You can’t miss it. The venue’s striking cheetah-spot branding demands attention. “The site is like a walking billboard. [And] our woodfired oven’s right there, a metre off the street,” says Mitolo.
In addition to the Tasting Australia creation, Mitolo and the team will offer rotating specials, plus tap beer (made for them by Big Shed Brewing) and their very own wine (both available for the first time at this new location). “With the wine, we’re doing our own white rosé,” Mitolo says. “It’s a montepulciano from Langhorne Creek, and it pairs perfectly with pizza.”
Mitolo is most proud of the opportunity One Sneaky Cheetah offers aspiring pizza-makers to learn the craft. He’s been instrumental in developing a training program for staff members, and the Melrose Park venue will be another location that nurtures fresh talent.
“With such a handmade product, it’s not automated at all. We’re hand-stretching, hand-tossing, hand-cooking. There’s a lot of room for error,” says Mitolo. “You get people who’ve never touched a pizza before, and in six weeks, they’re awesome. Like they’re fully stretching, tossing pizza in the air. It’s just so good to see.”
In addition to the new location, One Sneaky Cheetah will also open from midday on Saturday making sneaky lunchtime pizzas a possibility for the first time.
One Sneaky Cheetah
971 South Road, Melrose Park
Hours:
Sun to Wed 5pm–8pm
Thurs & Fri 5pm–9pm
Sat12pm–9pm
