Race star is tops

By Sarah Schwager
MOTOR racing legend Peter Brock will be forever immortalised in Tooradin, oddly enough by a gourmet pizza.
Tooradin Pizza manager Matthew Brown had a close encounter with the ‘king of the mountain’ about four months ago when he breezed in from the street and asked for a vegetarian pizza.
Little did Mr Brown know that the chance meeting with the motor racing icon would soon hold an even greater significance.
Brock, 61, was killed in Perth last Friday when he lost control of his car and slammed into a tree during the Targa West rally.
Mr Brown said since then the pizza shop had been inundated with requests for the Peter Brock Special – potato, kalamata olives, onion, capsicum, herbs, spices, garlic, chilli and cheese.
“All over the weekend people were coming in and saying that if they were ever going to have one of the pizzas, now was the time,” he said.
Mr Brown said when Brock came into the shop on his way to a historic car event at Phillip Island four months ago, he and owner Mark Baker had been considering trialing the gourmet pizza.
When Brock asked what vegetarian pizzas the shop had, they mentioned the idea for the pizza and asked if he would like to try one.
“He was the first person to have one so we asked him to let us know if he liked it,” Mr Brown said.
“As everyone knows, Peter Brock is a vegetarian so he was the perfect candidate to try it on.
“On his way back from the event as he drove past he gave us a call and said he absolutely loved it.”
Mr Brown said Brock gave them permission to use his name for the pizza and said he wanted to see it up on the board the next time he came through.
He said as soon as Brock called, they put the pizza up on the board and it had been a hit with regular customers since.
“Unfortunately he never got a chance to come back,” he said.
People wanting to drop in to Tooradin Pizza for a Peter Brock Special can visit 127 South Gippsland Highway, Tooradin, or call 5998 3337.