You see it at home, on the streets, in restaurants, and everywhere in between. You read about it, hear about it, and see it some more on TV and online. Italiana is talking about pizza – one of the most beloved fast foods, whichever corner of the globe you are in.
There is probably no place in the world that hasn’t been touched in some way by this flattened disk of circular bread dough, but how much do you know about its history?
If you want to know everything about pizza and how it came to be, we got you covered with this article.
The Origin Story
Hats off to Naples, one of the largest cities in Europe, for giving us pizza.
It all began in the capital of the southern province in the 18th century when people were forced to get creative in battling hunger.
During these times, overseas trade and migration from the countryside caused the city’s population to almost double from 200,000 in 1700 to 399,000 in 1748.
Street vendors came up with a clever solution to feed the swelling number of people in the form of a flatbread topped with garlic, salt, cheese, tomato, and basil.
From Rags to Riches
At first, pizza was considered a poor man’s supper. It was made for the most impoverished of the population who would eat it with their unwashed bare hands.
Everything changed when King Umberto I and Queen Margherita made their way to Naples during a vacation in 1889.
Curious about the local delicacies, the queen was served three different flavours of pizza. She immediately fell in love with the dish and even had one named after her. The Pizza Margherita was topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.
The queen’s “seal of approval” was all it took for pizza to gain national attention. Natives of Naples began taking it along during their travels, spreading awareness about the dish everywhere they went.
Coming to America
Allied forces invaded Italy during World War I. When it ended, American soldiers brought home not only war stories but pizza as well. It was also introduced to the US by Italian immigrants who found their way to the country in 1905.
The dish offered enterprising chefs a cheap and easy option to run a business. It was no surprise that pizza became an instant hit.
However, it was not until 1943 that America became the second home of the Italian dish when a Texan entrepreneur turned the thin flatbread into a deeper crust, putting a local spin on the foreign dish.
Pizza in the UK
The first Italian restaurant in the UK was established as early as 1803, but there is no evidence that it served pizza. It was not until 1934 that the Italian dish was introduced to Britons when the Olivelli restaurant started serving the Margherita pizza.
The first business to sell this flatbread dish is Pizza Express, with its chain of restaurants that started popping up in 1965. Pizzaland followed suit in 1970, Pizza Hut in 1973, and Domino’s Pizza in 1985. In 1996, Pizza Hut bought our Pizzaland and converted its branches.
Pizza has truly come a long way from its humble beginnings in Naples. It has gone through countless evolutions and iterations, but it remains an innovative dish that people from all walks of life can appreciate.
If this article has got you in the mood for some italian cuisine head over to ChefOnline and get yourself a pizza in the action!
