California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) is celebrating its 18 years in the casual dining industry as the pioneer in offering gourmet pizzas in the country. In line with this, it is again mounting its successful annual campaign which is the National Pizza Day to be held on August 14 and 15 in all nine CPK branches in Metro Manila. It’s a two-day pizza fest with five off the menu premium items that truly highlights the innovative and creative California spirit that the brand has been known for.
“This year, we are celebrating CPK’s 18th anniversary with a two-day National Pizza Day wherein we give our guests the gift of free pizza. By simply ordering a regular or thin crust pizza, a guest will get to have one for free from our special pizza menu just for August 14 and 15. As with the past years, these pizzas are about pushing the envelope when it comes to taste profile and having an adventure on the dough,” says Archie Rodriguez, Global Restaurant Concepts’ President and CEO, the first company to franchise CPK outside of the US in 1997.
These exclusive free pizzas include Caprese, Hawaiian Pepperoni, Salami + Bacon, Italian Sausage and Pepper, and Traditional Cheese.
First Philippine PIZZAWARS winning pizza launch
The National Pizza Day also marks the official launch of the winner of the first PIZZAWARS in the Philippines called The Farmer’s Choice. It was a competition designed to challenge the culinary teams of each branch of CPK both here and abroad, exploring several premium ingredients to create pizza flavors that are out of the box.
The winning pizza is a vegetarian’s dream with fresh mozzarella, grilled eggplant and zucchini, cherry tomatoes, cinnamon on top of a roasted squash base and drizzled with desiccated coconut. Renowned chef Rolando Laudico was part of the panel that chose it as the winner.
“CPK has always been at the forefront of serving food that really makes one explore their culinary preferences. Like in the case of this winning pizza, who says you can only use tomato sauce as a base and coconut for desserts? At CPK, we tell our guests that they are what they eat and we provide the items that make them interesting. And with The Farmer’s Choice, they will definitely be pleasantly surprised. Plus, being inspired by ingredients is what our brand DNA is all about, something that CPK Alabang’sRomelPanaligan (the winner) took to heart,” says Luisa del Rosario, CPK Philippines’ Senior Operations Director.
Looking into the next 18 years
With 18 years under its belt, what’s next for the pizza giant? The man behind the brand sums it up best:
“CPK will always have the distinction of being Global Restaurant Concepts’ flagship international brand. And for the last 18 years, we are very proud of being consistently regarded as a favorite casual dining place in such a fickle industry. It truly boils down to being true to the California heritage that Filipinos have embraced since our very first store in Glorietta and that they continue to love to our present nine locations. The next 18 is not just a continuation of what we do but raising the bar when it comes to culinary innovation, service excellence, and amazing ambiance that creates the CPK dining experience.”
California Pizza Kitchen is located at Bonifacio Global City, Greenbelt 5, Shangri-La Plaza Mall’s East Wing, Rockwell PowerPlant Mall, Eastwood Mall, Greenhills, SM Mall of Asia, Alabang Town Center. It opened its newest branch with the first island concept design at Century City Mall in Kalayaan Avenue last year.
