The age-old pineapple on pizza debate has officially come to a head; Deliveroo has today announced that it will ban pineapple on all pizza ordered from the food-delivery platform. The decision is being backed by a cohort of top Italian restaurants on Deliveroo including Pizza Express, Pizza Pilgrims and Bella Italia, who support the move to put a stop to orders of ‘Hawaiian’ style pizzas.
Deliveroo’s move to scrap the dish from the app comes following a recent study by YouGov, which revealed Italians believe adding pineapple to pizza is not just unacceptable but practically a crime against Italian cuisine.
The controversial topic of pineapple on pizza has sparked a wide debate on social media for many years, with people on Twitter suggesting that if 2020 had been a pizza, it would have had pineapple on it. Back in 2017, British Chef Gordon Ramsey also publicly claimed that pineapple does not belong on pizza. He wasn’t wrong.
Surprisingly, Deliveroo has revealed that Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are the most popular days for customers to order Hawaiian pizza, which proves that pineapple pizza eaters love to break tradition. Despite this, the company wants to nip it in the bud before the scandalous food-affair escalates further, no matter the appetite for the debatable combo.
Deliveroo’s Chief Business Officer for the UK and Ireland, Carlo Mocci, is supportive of the decision. Mocci said: “As a proud Italian, I am passionate that pineapple does not belong on a pizza. With more than 160,000 restaurants available to order from on our app, there are millions of different meals to choose from that do not involve putting pineapple on pizza. It’s great to see multiple leading Italian restaurant partners take a stand against the food faux-pas.”
Whatsmore, despite the name of the dish, the origin of pineapple on pizza did not come from the US island state of Hawaii, it came from Canada; which comes as no surprise that the Canadian President Justin Trudeau admitted to being “team pineapple”. A decision he might regret considering some of the UK’s most-loved Italian restaurants back the ban.
Jane Treasure, Food and Beverage Director from Pizza Express said, “Deliveroo is banning the Hawaiian? No problem. It’s been banned from our menu for the last 6 years! The Padana is a fab sweet fix for those who fancy that kind of thing though, thanks to the delicious caramelised onion and goat’s cheese topping.”
Joss Mostert, Marketing Director from Bella Italia said, “Deliveroo banning the Hawaiian is no problem because if you are on Team Pineapple, we just don’t think we can be friends! Swap over to the right team and try our Pepperoni that is the perfect pizza every time. You won’t regret it and we won’t judge you!”
James & Thom Elliot, Founders of Pizza Pilgrims said, “Putting pineapple on Neapolitan pizza is basically considered a crime in Naples. Most of our pizza chefs are from Naples and safe to say they are not fans! We fully support Deliveroo’s decision to ban pineapple on pizza and make a stand for proper pizza!
Customers can still order every other type of pizza on Deliveroo (options that don’t include pineapple!) and place orders directly through the Deliveroo app, or online. Download the app here. App link will direct people to their device’s app store.