Pizza cake for Pizza da Piero at National Enterprise Awards
By Maurice Garvey
RATHCOOLE business Pizza da Piero were crowned Dublin regional winners at this year’s National Enterprise Awards.
Husband and wife team, Cliona Swan and Piero De Vallier, launched their award-winning business, The Artisan Pizza Company, or better known to their customers these days as Pizza da Piero, back in 2007, the same year they were married.
Husband and wife team Cliona Swan and Piero De Vallier at the virtual event
Their business produces fresh, handmade pizza bases. Each pizza base takes two days to make using traditional Italian methods.
Piero had been a bread baker in Treviso, Italy, since the age of 15 and treats pizza making in the same way as that of a breadmaker.
“The base is 50 per cent and the rest you do yourself,” he said.
The couple first met in London 15 years ago and have three children. Cliona says Piero had been making the pizza bases at their flat in London, but when they began sharing them with friends and family, the idea of a business began to grow.
From humble beginnings with a few local shops, today their pizza bases are stocked in multiple major outlets, including SuperValu, Dunnes, Tescos and Avoca.
“We are thrilled with how much our customers love our pizzas. We’re working hard to meet demand, and with the support of South Dublin LEO hopefully we can increase the amount of pizzas we make and keep Ireland eating delicious traditional Italian pizza for many years to come,” said Cliona.
The Rathcoole business was the winner of the Local Enterprise Office South Dublin’s Enterprise Awards in 2020, and recently helped to launch this year’s local regional competition.
The couple said they were “thrilled” to win the national award during a ceremony which took place during a virtual event from Dublin’s Mansion House.
They wanted to thank their “amazing producers, office team and customers who helped build the business up since 2007.”
By subscribing to The Echo you are supporting your local newspaper Click Here: Echo Online.
