'Pineapple Pizza' Made by a Napoli Pizza Master... What Is the Local Reaction?

"New Attempts Using Controversial Ingredients"
Cold Reaction in Italy... Rising as a Topic of Debate

A pizza artisan (pizzaiolo) who has been making pizza for three generations in Naples, Italy, the birthplace of pizza, has attracted attention by presenting a pineapple pizza instead of a traditional one.

On the 3rd (local time), the US CNN broadcast introduced the story of Gino Sorbillo, who runs a restaurant on Via dei Tribunali, a famous pizza street in Naples. He recently unveiled a new menu item called 'Margherita con Ananas,' which is a Margherita pizza topped with pineapple.

This pizza is different from the typical Hawaiian pizza. It has no tomato sauce layer and is topped with more than three types of cheese, including smoked provola cheese, Sardinian goat cheese, and Cilento buffalo cheese. Then, pre-baked pineapple is placed on top and baked again in the oven. The characteristic feature is the caramelized texture that comes from the pineapple being cooked twice, and the price for one pizza is 7 euros (about 10,000 KRW).

Pineapple pizza presented by Sorbillo [Image source: Screenshot of Sorbillo Instagram account]

Sorbillo continues the family business of making pizza for three generations. In an interview with CNN, he said he made pineapple pizza to challenge prejudices about food. Sorbillo said, "In recent years, I have seen many people criticize food ingredients or cooking processes simply because they were unfamiliar with them before," adding, "I wanted to put controversial ingredients, which are treated like poison, on Neapolitan pizza to create flavor." Operating 21 stores worldwide in places such as Miami, USA, Tokyo, Japan, and Ibiza, Spain, he emphasized that introducing pineapple pizza at the Naples flagship store was an 'important point.'

However, the local reaction in Italy, where pride in pizza is strong, was cold. When Sorbillo introduced pineapple pizza on social media (SNS) this week, a commotion arose with insulting comments. Subsequently, pineapple pizza became a topic of debate on Italian national TV.

Sorbillo said that those who bravely tried pineapple pizza showed favorable reactions after eating it. He said, "Before posting pineapple pizza on SNS, I quietly added it to the menu for a few weeks, and many people ordered it, including even Neapolitans." Food journalist Barbara Politi, who went to Naples and tried Sorbillo's pineapple pizza, gave a positive review, saying it was "delicious and fresh."

Politi explained that after the Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus tasted pineapple in Guadeloupe in the West Indies in 1493 and brought it to Europe, pineapple became part of European food culture for a long time. She said, "At first, you might not like it, but later you get hooked, somewhat similar to sushi."

Sorbillo said, "I think my pizza artisan ancestors would be embarrassed if I gave them pineapple pizza," but insisted, "However, you should taste it first before giving your opinion." Having tried various pizza toppings that are not traditional Italian pizza styles like ketchup, he said, "I am confident that pineapple pizza will soon appear on the menus of other pizzerias in Naples."

Meanwhile, Italy, the home country of pizza, considers pizzas with various food ingredients as toppings that alter their own pizza as 'fake pizza.' Last month, the Italian agricultural group Coldiretti showcased a 'Gallery of Horror' featuring pizzas with unique toppings at a food expo held in Naples. The group explained that they collected pizzas from around the world into one collection to show the insult to Italy's national pizza.

The unusual pizzas featured in the 'Gallery of Horror' included toppings such as Australian kangaroo and crocodile meat, South African zebra meat and banana, and Indian tandoori yogurt chicken. The most shocking pizza selected by the group was a snake meat topping pizza from Hong Kong. Additionally, there are pizzas topped with crickets and cannabis in Vietnam and Thailand, and Portuguese pizza topped with the fish dish bacalhau.

Coldiretti chairman Ettore Prandini said, "The authenticity of pizza recipes means protecting cooking, which is a core part of our tradition," and argued, "Fake food threatens Italian jobs and damages the excellence of gastronomy." In a survey conducted by Coldiretti and the polling agency Ipsos, one-quarter of Italians said they hesitate to eat pizza abroad. More than one-third of respondents said they were surprised by exotic pizza ingredients.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.