Sorbellos Italian Restaurant has been voted as having the best pizzas in Mackay

WATCH THE VIDEO: The head chef of the winning restaurant shares what makes the perfect pizza

When Matt Preston put the call out for Mackay’s best pizza joint the region answered and the votes flooded in.

The hardworking team at Sorbellos Italian Restaurant create up to 800 pizzas each week, so it’s no wonder the venue was named as having the best slice in Mackay.

Italian-born head chef Riccardo Veneziani attributed it to quality produce, making everything from scratch and an even ratio of ingredients.

Sorbellos head chef Riccardo Veneziani said the key to making the perfect pizza was paying attention to the dough, fresh ingredients and a balanced spread of toppings across the base. Sorbellos was voted as having the best pizzas in Mackay.

Sorbellos has been a stalwart on the Mackay dining scene for the past 25 years, and from the quality ingredients and attention to detail that goes into each dish it’s easy to see why it remains one of the region’s most popular restaurants.

Mr Veneziani, who has worked at the Victoria St hotspot for about three years, said the team was grateful to know they had been voted number one.

“We work here very hard every day, so it’s very good news for us, for me,” he said.

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So why were the pizzas so good?

Mr Veneziani, who is from Piacenza in northern Italy, said everything was made from scratch – and a good quality dough took years to perfect.

They never used anything pre-made or pre-packaged, he said.

“We get everything fresh, we work with the ingredients ourselves,” Mr Veneziani said.

Sorbellos spicy pepperoni pizza

Another important factor, he said, was that each ingredient was balanced and evenly spread over the surface.

“All ingredients that go on the pizza are weighed, so the pizza is never too heavy,” Mr Veneziani said.

And numerous taste tests were done before anything made the menu.

“The combination of all these things is what makes a difference,” Mr Veneziani said.

The Sorbellos’ team dishes up between 600 to 800 pizzas a week to the hungry Mackay hordes, but Mr Veneziani said the number exploded even higher over Christmas.

The most popular options were chilli pepperoni, real meat lovers, Sorbellos special and gourmet supreme.

Sorbellos head chef Riccardo Veneziani holds a freshly made spicy pepperoni pizza, which is one of the venues most popular pizzas. Sorbellos was voted by Mackay as having the best pizzas in town.

Mr Veneziani said his favourite was the chilli pepperoni.

“I love spicy pizza and the salami/pepperoni we use is very good quality,” he said.

He offered a few tips for anyone who wanted to try and create the perfect pizza.

One of the most important things, he said, was in making the dough.

“When you mix the yeast, water and flour you can’t start working it straight away you need to wait for the dough to (be ready) to proof,” Mr Veneziani said.

“Make sure you don’t work the dough if it’s not proofed enough.

“Otherwise the dough can become very flat or too chewy. Sometimes people underestimate that.”

Use fresh ingredients and be careful how much of each ingredient is being placed on the pizza.

Mr Veneziani said if there were too many, the slice would collapse.

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Another mistake was not spreading the toppings evenly across the base, he added.

“You want your pizza to hold, your slice to be evenly balanced,” he said.

Mr Veneziani said it was rewarding to know the community loved their food.

“We’re very proud of what we’re doing,” he said.

Originally published as Sorbellos Italian Restaurant has been voted as having the best pizzas in Mackay