Hawaiian pizza creator’s legacy lives on
You’re either for it or against it, pineapple on pizzas still divides diners, 55 years after it was created.
Manly
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Love it or hate it, one ingredient has divided pizza lovers.
The idea of pineapple as a pizza topping came from Sam Panopoulos, a Greek migrant who moved to Ontario in Canada in 1954 and became creative with canned pineapple in the early 1960s.
Mr Panopoulos, 83, died this month. However, his legacy lives on with an army of worldwide fans, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
On the northern beaches, Hawaiian pizza at award-winning pizzeria Hugos is more fancy than most. The Manly restaurant uses quality ham off the bone and caramelises its pineapple by roasting it in the oven before putting it on the pizza.
Kids loved it and once adults have tried it they were hooked, too, restaurateur Dave Evans said.
“It is one of our most popular pizzas. We sell between 200 and 300 each week,” Mr Evans said.
Hugos also has a winter pizza promotion. Book a table on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, and mention the pizza promo special when booking, and pizzas including the Hawaiian are half price, Mr Evans said.
Hawaiian pizzas fly out the oven at Pittwater RSL’s rebranded pizzeria Nonna’s.
The club has already sold nearly 2000 Hawaiian pizzas this year, and surprisingly over half were adult-sized pizzas. The remainder were gobbled up by junior club goers.
Head chef Henry Eastwood said that sweet-salty combination worked.
“The sweetness of pineapple and the saltiness of ham, it’s the combination that makes everyone so happy,” Mr Eastwood said.
“Sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious.”
Not everyone is a fan. Italian chef Giovanni Pilu said that he respected everyone’s views on food, but pineapple on pizza was offensive to something as simple and great as a margherita.
Devotees can get behind fruity pizza with the hashtag #teampineapple.
Top topping
The Hawaiian pizza was invented in Canada
Sam Panopoulos, a Greek migrant, loved to experiment and came up with the idea
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is a fan, tweeting with the hashtag #teampineapple that he stands behind “this delicious southwestern Ontario creation”
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