The Greek migrant who invented Hawaiian pizza from his restaurant in Canada has died. He was 83.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Sam Panopolous created his original - and controversial - take on the popular Italian dish in 1962.
In an interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC in February, Mr Panopolous said he first added pineapple to pizza as an experiment.
"Along the way, we threw some pineapples on it and nobody liked it at first," he said. But after that, they went crazy about it. Because in those days nobody was mixing sweets and sours and all that. It was plain, plain food."
He said most Canadians had never been exposed to pizza back when he opened his restaurant, and at that time awareness of the food was only just starting to make it across the border from America.
But while pineapple on pizza has its supporters, it has picked up some notable detractors.
In February, Iceland's president Gudni Johannesson said he wished he could ban the fruit as a pizza topping, which caused Mr Panopolous to launch a spirited defence of his creation.
He said Mr Johannesson only sold fish and was probably jealous fish as a pizza topping had never taken off as much as pineapple.
Even Canadian Prime Minister ended up wading into the stoush:
Mr Panopolous emigrated to Canada with his brothers in 1954 and opened several restaurants. He passed away in an Ontario hospital on June 8, not long after he had celebrated his diamond wedding anniversary with his wife Christina.
His obituary said Mr Panopolous had an "unforgettable" personality.
"Fiercely loyal and protective, his candid and frank sense of humour, his booming laugh and blunt honesty will be missed by his family, friends, former employees and customers," it reads.
