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Hawaiian pizza inventor Sam Panopoulos dies aged 83

L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link.

Panopoulos is the Canadian man who invented Hawaiian pizza, a dish so divisive it led to a presidential outburst this year.

He passed away in hospital suddenly on Thursday.

Panopoulos emigrated to Canada from Greece in 1954 when he was 20, eventually going on to own and operate several successful restaurants with his two brothers.

It was in one of those restaurants in 1962 that Panopoulos was inspired to add canned pineapple to pizza.

In February, Panopoulos recounted to the BBC how he and his brothers came up with the idea for the pizza, topped with pineapple and ham.

They were then owners of the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, a southwestern Ontario town about 290km (180 miles) from Toronto and 80km from Detroit.

"We just put it on, just for the fun of it, see how it was going to taste," Panopoulos told the BBC. "We were young in the business and we were doing a lot of experiments."
Customers ended up loving the savoury sweetness of the dish.

The creation also capitalised on the mid-century tiki trend, which popularised Polynesian culture in North America.

Media often sought out Panopoulos after learning that the origins of the controversial tropical-flavoured pizza topping had actually hailed from Canada.

He was back in the spotlight earlier this year after Iceland's president, Guoni Johannesson, created an online uproar by announcing to a group of schoolchildren that he was "fundamentally opposed" to pineapple on pizza and suggested it should be banned.

Panopoulos said at the time he did not understand the president's opposition to the pineapple topping, which he thought gave the dish a "refreshing" bite.

Panopoulos' obituary describes him as "unforgettable personality" whose "candid and frank sense of humour, his booming laugh and blunt honesty will be missed by his family, friends, former employees and customers".
Click to expand...

No disrespect.
 
T

TheOfficeMut

Unconfirmed Member
I hope no one makes a stupid ass post saying the obvious "joke."

RIP. Love this style of pizza. I'll have one tonight in honor.
 
P

PeakPointMatrix

Member
rayjaystare.jpg

rip
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
I bet he had a sense of humor about it and it's awesome to think that Hawaiian Pizza "trended" with unmatched controversy this year. I hope he witnessed it and I hope he enjoyed it.

#teampineappleonpizza
#teamanchovies
#teamnocannedolivesplz
#teamdefinitelynocannedmushroomseeew
 
H

HomerSimpson-Man

Member
Wait up?

Hawaiian pizza was made in Canada from someone who immigrated from Greece?!

I...I don't know how to process this missmass of geographical information, but bless this man and rest in peace.
 
jts

jts

...hate me...
Legend. I'd eat an Hawaiian in his honour right now if I wasn't "cutting".

Saved for the next pizza I eat.
 
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