The history of how pineapple pizza was created in Ontario

The pineapple-on-pizza debate has become one of those never-ending food arguments that everyone seems to have an opinion on.

For some people, it's the perfect sweet and savoury combo that just works, while for others, it's a hard no, like "why in the world would you ever put fruit on a pizza?"

The age-old debate has gotten so intense over the years that even global politicians have jumped in, with one world leader joking (or half-seriously suggesting) that it should be banned altogether.

What many people don't realize, however, is that the dish at the centre of this polarizing debate, referred to as Hawaiian pizza, was actually created right here in Ontario.

The man credited with the invention is Greek-born Canadian restaurateur Sam Panopoulos, who was born in Vourvoura, Greece, in 1934. At just 20 years old, he emigrated to Canada in 1954, arriving in Halifax by boat before making his way through a series of Ontario towns.

Panopoulos worked in the mines in Sudbury and Elliot Lake, moving through Chatham before eventually settling in London, Ont. Along with his brothers Elias and Nikitas Panopoulos, he went on to operate several restaurants across southwestern Ontario, one of which was the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, the birthplace of arguably the world's most divisive pizza.

At the time, Panopoulos noted that pizza was still relatively unknown in Canada. The restaurateur first encountered the dish during a stop in Naples, Italy, and later reflected on how unfamiliar the dish still was in North America.

"Pizza wasn't known at all, actually," Panopoulos told Atlas Obscura. "Even Toronto didn't know anything about pizza in those days. The only place you could have pizza was in Detroit."

During that time, Panopoulos also noted that pizza options were limited and traditional, typically just served in mushroom, bacon, or pepperoni varieties. After watching how pizzas were made by chefs in Windsor, he began experimenting with combinations that went beyond the traditional pie.

In 1962, while testing out different combinations, Panopoulos added canned pineapple to a pizza, along with bits of ham and bacon, in hopes of creating a contrast between the sweet and savoury flavours. He later described the moment in an interview with the BBC, saying, "We just put it on, just for the fun of it, see how it was going to taste. We were young in the business and we were doing a lot of experiments."

Sam Panopoulos. Photo: Old Ontario Series.

The name "Hawaiian" reportedly came from the label on the canned pineapple used in that experiment. Over time, the pizza's popularity grew beyond Chatham, Ont., and so did its critics.

In 2017, Iceland's president at the time, Guðni Jóhannesson, sparked international backlash after telling school children he was "fundamentally opposed" to the idea of pineapple on pizza, and even suggested that it should be banned.

Panopoulos himself didn't agree with the outrage, and continued to defend the topping as something that added a "refreshing" bite to the savoury dish.

The divisive topping was quickly backed by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who responded, "I have a pineapple. I have a pizza. And I stand behind this delicious southwestern Ontario creation. #TeamPineapple."

Today, the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham is still family-owned and continues to sell its "Satellite Super Special" pizza, featuring pepperoni, ham, bacon, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and, who could forget, pineapple.

Panopoulos unfortunately passed away in 2017 at the age of 82, but his creative, culinary invention continues to spark debates more than half a century after his original experiment.

Do you think pineapple belongs on pizza?