Lupa Pizza – due to co-owner Francis Woolfe's declaration he 'absolutely loathes pineapple on a pizza' – is charging customers £100 ($220) for a Hawaiian. Photo / Lupa Pizza
Lupa Pizza – due to co-owner Francis Woolfe's declaration he 'absolutely loathes pineapple on a pizza' – is charging customers £100 ($220) for a Hawaiian. Photo / Lupa Pizza
“Pineapple on pizza? Never,” says Lupe Pizza head chef Quin Jianoran.
Lupa Pizza, in Norwich, is charging customers £100 ($220) for their Hawaiian pizza on food delivery service Deliveroo because they disapprove of the combination so strongly.
The pizzeria, where the average base costs £11.70 ($25.70), has nailed its culinary colours to the mast, telling customers: “Yeah, for £100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on you Monster! [sic]”
“There’s definitely a lot of controversy,” Jianoran told the Telegraph.
Lupa Pizza head chef Quin Jianoran says he would "rather put a strawberry" on pizza than utilise pineapple. Photo / Lupa Pizza
“People have been talking about it for so many years. I’ve worked in pizza for eight years now, and it’s always been the one thing. It’s very split, people either love or hate it, so I thought it would be a good way to engage with the public.”
Francis Woolf, co-owner of Lupa Pizza, told the Norwich Evening News: “I absolutely loathe pineapple on a pizza.”
It is a sentiment shared by Jianoran, who added: “I love a pina colada, but pineapple on pizza? Never. I’d rather put a bloody strawberry on one than that tropical menace.”
However, their views do not align with the majority of the British public. In the most recent YouGov survey on the subject, 53% of Britons admitted they enjoyed the taste of pineapple on pizza, while 41% did not.
Lupa agreed to feature the Hawaiian special on its main menu if the people of Norwich vote in favour of the combination in an online poll, which closes on January 24.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Jianoran – who claims you can’t go wrong with a margherita – explained: “It started off with us opening up on Deliveroo. It was originally for a laugh. No one has bought it yet, obviously, because of its extortionate price, but we get people leaving comments saying, ‘Oh, I really wanted this, though’.
“If people say yes on the poll, we are going to do it because we want to stay true to our word.
“If pineapple wins the vote, I’ll make it. But I won’t be happy about it. And I might charge £200 [$440] next time.”
As of Saturday, the poll stands at 51% in favour of the Hawaiian.
Earlier this year, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was exposed by his daughter as a hypocrite with regard to Hawaiian pizza.
In a TikTok reel, the celebrity is seen making the public declaration: “I absolutely curl my toes when some muppet puts pineapple on a freaking pizza. Pineapple does not belong on pizza.”
The reel then cuts to show a hooded Ramsay secretly polishing off a Hawaiian.
The topping has even strained political ties in the past. In 2017, Guthni Johannesson, the then-president of Iceland, was forced to clarify his outspoken stance on Hawaiian pizza after admitting he would ban the combination if he could.
In a post titled “Statement on the Pizza Controversy”, Johannesson said: “I like pineapples, just not on pizza. I do not have the power to make laws which forbid people to put pineapples on their pizza. I am glad that I do not hold such power.”
“Presidents should not have unlimited power. I would not want to hold this position if I could pass laws forbidding that which I don’t like. I would not want to live in such a country.”
Johannesson concluded: “For pizzas, I recommend seafood.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – who announced his resignation earlier this week – weighed in on the row to voice his support for the “delicious southwestern Ontario creation”, declaring his loyalty to “#TeamPineapple”.
Like Johannesson, 15% of Britons said they would ban pineapple on pizza. But it is not the most hated topping. Anchovies took the top spot, with 35% calling for a ban, followed by olives, tuna and jalapenos.
