125 Fun Facts About Pizza

Modern pizza is widely considered to have originated in which Italian city?

The modern pizza, particularly the Neapolitan style, traces its roots to Naples, Italy, where it evolved from simple flatbreads.

Which Neapolitan pizza, its toppings matching the colours of the Italian flag, is named after a queen?

Red tomato, white mozzarella, green basil. Legend has Raffaele Esposito baking the Margherita for Queen Margherita of Savoy in 1889, though a Naples guidebook described the combination back in 1830.

What does the AVPN, the Naples association that certifies true Neapolitan pizzerias, require of a genuine pizza dough?

No fat, no sugar, no shortcuts. The AVPN says it must be made with only flour, water, salt, and yeast: Type 0 or 00 wheat flour with natural Neapolitan or brewer's yeast.

Which US city's signature pie has a cracker-thin, yeast-free crust and is cut into squares?

St. Louis-style pizza is distinct for its thin, cracker-like crust, often made without yeast, and is traditionally cut into square pieces, known as a party or tavern cut.

On an Italian pizza menu, what topping is 'carciofi'?

Carciofi are artichokes; a pizza ai carciofi is topped with marinated artichoke hearts. Mushrooms are funghi, anchovies acciughe and olives olive on the same menu.

Pepperoni is a spicy salami seasoned chiefly with chili peppers and which other spice?

Paprika. Pepperoni is an American salami of cured pork, or pork and beef, seasoned with paprika and chili pepper; the nearest Italian equivalent is salame piccante.

Tom and James Monaghan took over DomiNick's, the Ypsilanti, Michigan shop that became Domino's Pizza, in what year?

Domino's started as a shop named for someone else. Tom Monaghan and his brother Jim took over DomiNick's in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1960, at 507 Cross Street.

Which 'Pizza! Pizza!' chain was founded in Garden City, Michigan, in 1959?

Little Caesars Pizza was founded on May 8, 1959, by Mike and Marian Ilitch in Garden City, Michigan, originally as "Little Caesar's Pizza Treat."

Around what temperature must a wood-fired oven be for authentic Neapolitan pizza?

About 485°C. The EU specification for Pizza Napoletana puts the oven floor at roughly 485°C and the dome at 430°C, hot enough to blister the rim and leopard-spot the base almost instantly.

St. Louis-style pizza's defining and divisive cheese, a processed blend with a low melting point and a gooey texture, is called what?

It melts into goo on purpose. Provel, a processed blend of cheddar, Swiss, provolone and liquid smoke, has a low melting point and a buttery flavour, and defines St. Louis-style pizza.

EU rules for Pizza Napoletana cap its diameter at how many centimetres?

Brussels has a ruler out. The EU's Pizza Napoletana rules allow a diameter not exceeding 35 cm with a raised rim of 1 to 2 cm, and ban rolling pins and mechanical presses outright.

Which now-essential pizza ingredient only reached Europe from the Americas, centuries after Mediterranean flatbreads were first eaten?

Modern pizza had to wait for Columbus. The Spanish brought the tomato back from the Americas, and only after tomatoes reached Naples did pizza in its modern sense exist.

What is the name for the puffy, raised edge of an authentic Neapolitan pizza crust?

Cornicione, Italian for cornice, is the puffy rim of a Neapolitan pizza; the EU specification sets it at 1 to 2 cm high, leopard-spotted from the oven's heat.

Under EU rules for Pizza Napoletana, how much brewer's yeast goes into a litre of water?

Just 3 g of brewer's yeast per litre of water, alongside 50 to 55 g of salt and about 1.7 kg of flour; the tiny dose is why the dough needs a long, slow rise.

What is the typical cooking time for an authentic Neapolitan pizza in a wood-fired oven?

Due to the extremely high temperatures of wood-fired ovens, an authentic Neapolitan pizza cooks in a remarkably short time, typically 60-90 seconds.

Which body listed the art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo as heritage in 2017?

UNESCO inscribed the arte del pizzaiuolo napoletano on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 7 December 2017; the listing honours the pizza-maker's craft, not a recipe.

Which Italian region is the traditional home of San Marzano tomatoes?

Campania. San Marzano plum tomatoes grow in the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino, the volcanic plain between Naples and Salerno, prized by Neapolitan pizzaioli for sweetness and low acidity; the DOP is San Marzano dell'Agro Sarnese-Nocerino.

In a pizzeria, what is a 'peel' used for?

A peel is the long-handled flat paddle, wooden or metal, used for sliding pizzas into and out of the oven; Neapolitan pizzaioli launch with a wooden peel and turn with a metal one.

Which cheese, alongside fior di latte, does the classic recipe allow on an authentic Neapolitan pizza, for its creamy mild taste?

The milk comes from water buffalo. Mozzarella di bufala campana, made in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio, or fior di latte are the only traditional cheeses for Neapolitan pizza.

The word "pizza" was first documented in a Latin manuscript from 997 CE in what Italian town?

Gaeta. A Latin document of 997 CE from Gaeta records a tenant owing the town's bishop twelve pizzas every Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, the earliest known appearance of the word.

A pizza 'quattro stagioni' is divided into four sections representing what?

The seasons of the year: quattro stagioni means four seasons, and each quarter carries a different topping, commonly artichokes for spring, tomatoes or basil for summer, mushrooms for autumn and ham or olives for winter.

Which Naples pizzeria, founded in 1870, hosted Julia Roberts's pizza scene in Eat, Pray, Love?

L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, on Via Cesare Sersale, has served Naples since 1870 and built its fame on just two pizzas, marinara and margherita; the 2010 film shot its pizza scene there.

According to a 2004 ACNielsen survey, which country eats the most pizza per person, at about 5.4 kg a year?

Norway. Frozen pies drive the habit, above all Grandiosa, launched by Stabburet in 1980; Norwegians eat tens of millions of them a year.

The controversy around pineapple as a pizza topping is most associated with which type of pizza?

The debate over pineapple on pizza is most famously tied to the Hawaiian pizza, which traditionally features ham or bacon and pineapple.

Which Canadian restaurateur is widely credited with creating the first Hawaiian pizza in 1962?

Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-Canadian restaurateur, is widely credited with inventing the Hawaiian pizza in Chatham, Ontario, in 1962.

Pizza Marinara typically features which of the following ingredients, notably lacking cheese?

Tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil, and no cheese: the marinara is named for the sailors' wives who supposedly made it, and the EU's Pizza Napoletana specification dates the recipe to 1734, before the Margherita.

Which American city is famous for its thick-crusted deep-dish pizza baked in a pan?

Chicago. Deep-dish was born at Pizzeria Uno in 1943: a tall buttery crust pressed into a round steel pan, cheese laid straight on the dough and chunky tomato sauce spooned on top.

Which Michigan city's signature pie is a thick rectangle with caramelised cheese edges?

Detroit. The style was born at Buddy's Rendezvous in 1946, baked in rectangular blue-steel pans with cheese spread to the edges so it caramelises into a lacy, crisp border.

The term "pizza al taglio" refers to what style of pizza?

Pizza al taglio, an Italian phrase meaning "pizza by the slice," typically describes rectangular pizzas sold by weight, popular as street food in Rome.

Which small, calzone-like turnover from Puglia is by definition fried rather than baked?

Panzerotto. The Apulian panzerotto, a half-moon of dough folded over tomato and mozzarella, is deep-fried by definition; a baked version would simply be a small calzone.

Which chain sent a salami pie to the International Space Station in 2001?

The salami-topped pie flew on a Soyuz resupply craft; salami was chosen because pepperoni went mouldy in testing.

Which ancient civilization made the plakous, a topped flatbread seen as a pizza precursor?

Greeks. Plakous was a Greek flatbread baked with toppings such as herbs, onion, garlic and cheese; the Romans took it up as placenta, a layered cake of dough, cheese and honey described by Cato.

Which chain guaranteed from 1973 that pizzas would arrive within 30 minutes or be free?

Domino's launched the 30-minutes-or-free guarantee in 1973, later softened it to $3 off, and dropped it in the US in 1993 after a multimillion-dollar verdict over a delivery driver who ran a red light.

What is the common name for a Roman flatbread made without tomato, closer to focaccia?

Pizza bianca, brushed with olive oil and salt, is a Roman bakery staple, often split and filled with prosciutto or rocket; it is recognised as a traditional agri-food product of Lazio.

Which type of sauce is considered traditional for a classic Neapolitan pizza?

The sauce is never cooked at all. A Neapolitan pizza is dressed with hand-crushed peeled tomatoes, often San Marzano, seasoned with little more than salt before it goes into the oven.

What year did Pizza Hut, one of the largest pizza chains, open its first restaurant?

Pizza Hut opened its first restaurant in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas, in a small rented building whose sign had room for only eight letters, hence 'Pizza Hut'.

Which animated heroes' love of pizza became a running gag in their 1987 cartoon?

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, made pizza their trademark meal in the 1987 cartoon, ordering bizarre toppings to their New York sewer lair, a gag the 1990 live-action film kept.

What did Carmela Vitale's 1985 patent call the plastic tripod that stops a pizza box lid sagging?

Package saver. Carmela Vitale of Dix Hills, New York, filed the design in 1983 and US patent 4,498,586 issued in February 1985; it lapsed in 1993 for unpaid maintenance fees.

On an Italian pizza menu, what meat is 'prosciutto'?

Prosciutto is Italian for ham: prosciutto cotto is cooked ham, prosciutto crudo the salt-cured, air-dried kind such as Parma ham, often draped over a pizza after baking.

In Scottish chip shops, a battered, deep-fried half pie served with chips goes by what name?

Pizza crunch is a half pizza dipped in batter and deep-fried, sold as a 'pizza crunch supper' with chips; Scottish chip shops also fry pizza plain, without batter.

Lahmacun, the meat-topped 'Turkish pizza', traditionally lacks which two pizza staples?

Cheese and tomato sauce. Lahmacun is a thin dough spread with spiced minced lamb or beef, onion, pepper and parsley; its name comes from Arabic lahm bi ajin, 'meat with dough', and it is rolled around salad rather than sliced.

Which grade of oil does the EU's Pizza Napoletana specification list among the six basic raw materials?

The EU's Pizza Napoletana specification lists extra virgin olive oil among the six basic raw materials, drizzled on in a spiral before baking.

How thick must the centre of a true Pizza Napoletana be, per EU specification?

0.4 cm: the EU specification wants a centre no thicker than 4 mm, with a rim rising 1 to 2 cm, the whole disc shaped by hand with no rolling pin or press.

On an Italian menu, a pizza topped with four cheeses, usually mozzarella, Gorgonzola, fontina and Parmesan, is listed as what?

Quattro is four and formaggi is cheeses. Pizza Quattro Formaggi builds on mozzarella, nearly always adds Gorgonzola, and usually rounds out the four with fontina and Parmesan.

What is the common name for the rolling disc blade used to slice a pizza?

A pizza cutter, or pizza wheel, is a sharp steel disc on a handle rolled across the pie; pizzerias also use the long rocking knife called a rocker or mezzaluna.

Lombardi's, long recognised as the first pizzeria in the United States, opened in 1905 where?

New York. Gennaro Lombardi's shop at 53 Spring Street in New York, licensed in 1905, counted tenor Enrico Caruso among its customers, though later research found earlier New York pizzerias by more than a decade.

What is the heavy ceramic slab used in home ovens to mimic a masonry oven's floor commonly called?

A pizza stone or pizza steel is a heavy, flat slab of ceramic or metal used in home ovens to mimic the intense heat of a professional pizza oven, resulting in a crispier crust.

Port'Alba's ovens have been lined since 1830 with rock from which volcano?

Vesuvius. Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba in Naples, a pizzeria since 1830, bakes in ovens lined with lava rock from Mount Vesuvius, which looms over the bay a few miles east of the city.

Raffaele Esposito's 1889 Naples pizzeria still traded in 2025 under what name?

Pietro Colicchio founded it in 1780; it took the Brandi name after Esposito's in-laws, the Brandi family, took it over.

Which king accompanied Queen Margherita to Naples in the famous 1889 pizza legend?

Umberto I. The 1889 legend has Raffaele Esposito serving three pizzas to King Umberto I and Queen Margherita at the Capodimonte palace; historians have since questioned the tale and the thank-you letter behind it.

A 2023 fresco find appearing to show a pizza-like dish was made in which ancient city?

Pompeii. The fresco, uncovered in June 2023 in Regio IX, shows a round flatbread on a silver tray beside fruit and a goblet of wine; it is no true pizza, since tomatoes and mozzarella were unknown in 79 CE.

Which Argentine pizza is a thick onion-topped pie filled or covered with mozzarella?

Fugazzeta is the Buenos Aires fugazza, an onion-topped pizza descended from Genoese focaccia, with mozzarella added and often stuffed between two layers of dough; it is credited to the Banchero pizzeria in La Boca.

Which entrepreneur opened the first PizzaExpress on London's Wardour Street in 1965?

Peter Boizot, who had fallen for Neapolitan pizza on a 1948 trip to Italy, opened the first PizzaExpress on Wardour Street, Soho, in 1965 with an oven imported from Naples.

Roughly how many pizzerias were there in the United States in 2017?

The US market was worth $44 billion that year.

New York's 'pizza principle' holds that a plain slice costs about the same as what?

A subway ride. The 'pizza principle', first noted by Eric Bram in 1980, observes that the price of a plain New York slice has tracked the subway fare for decades.

American square 'Sicilian pizza' derives from which Sicilian dish?

Sfincione, Palermo's thick, spongy sheet pizza topped with onions, tomato, anchovies, caciocavallo and breadcrumbs, came over with Sicilian immigrants and became the square 'Sicilian slice' of American pizzerias.

What Italian name is given to the fried pizza dough sold from Naples street carts?

Pizza fritta: dough stuffed with ricotta, provola and cicoli, folded and deep-fried, sold from Naples street stalls since the post-war years when oven-baked pizza was unaffordable; Sophia Loren fried them in the 1954 film L'oro di Napoli.

In Home Alone, Kevin McCallister orders a cheese pizza from which pizzeria?

Little Nero's. Kevin orders a plain cheese pizza from Little Nero's Pizza, a parody of Little Caesars, and scares off the delivery boy with the gangster film Angels with Filthy Souls.

In Toy Story, what is the name of the space-themed pizzeria with the claw machine?

Pizza Planet is the space-themed pizzeria in Toy Story (1995) where Buzz climbs into the claw machine among the squeeze-toy aliens; its delivery truck cameos in nearly every later Pixar film.

Natural-casing pepperoni that curls in the oven is called what style?

Cup and char: natural-casing pepperoni, a Buffalo speciality, curls into little cups as it cooks and its edges blacken; casing-free commercial slices lie flat and pool their grease.

Which herb's popularity in the US soared after WWII, earning it the nickname 'the pizza herb'?

Oregano. American GIs came home from Italy with a taste for it, and sales of the herb soared in the decade after the war; dried oregano became the standard pizzeria shaker herb.

What did the dots on Domino's original 1965 logo stand for?

Its stores at the time: the three dots on the 1965 logo stood for the three shops Domino's then had, and the plan to add a dot for every new store was quickly abandoned.

Domino's opened its first international store in 1983 in which city?

Winnipeg. Domino's first store outside the US opened in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1983, the year the chain opened its 1,000th store; Luton in England and Tokyo followed in 1985.

In which city did Domino's open its first Italian store in 2015?

Milan. Domino's opened its first Italian store in Milan in October 2015 through franchisee ePizza, which went bankrupt and closed the last Italian Domino's in 2022, undone by local pizzerias and delivery apps.

Which brothers founded Pizza Hut while students at Wichita State?

They launched it on May 31, 1958.

Which soft-drink giant acquired Pizza Hut in 1977?

PepsiCo bought Pizza Hut in 1977 in an all-stock deal, adding it to a restaurant portfolio that later took in Taco Bell (1978) and KFC (1986).

In what year was Pizza Hut's iconic red-roof building style introduced?

The roof was later worked into the corporate logo.

Pizza Hut launched its stuffed crust pizza in which year?

1995. Pizza Hut launched Stuffed Crust in March 1995 with a TV spot in which Donald Trump ate a slice crust-first; the cheese-filled rim became the chain's signature.

In German-speaking countries, Pizza Hut's roof emblem is often mistaken for what?

The German word Hut means hat.

Which pizza chain was founded in Menlo Park, California, in 1959?

Round Table Pizza was founded by William Larson in Menlo Park, California, in December 1959; its knights-of-the-round-table theme and 'the last honest pizza' slogan spread the chain across the West.

Little Caesars' $5 Hot-N-Ready large pepperoni pizza was introduced in which year?

Shaker boards were used to advertise it.

Little Caesars became the official pizza sponsor of which league in 2022?

NFL. Little Caesars became the NFL's official pizza sponsor in 2022, replacing Pizza Hut, which had taken the deal from Papa John's in 2018.

John Schnatter started Papa John's in 1984 by installing an oven where?

A broom closet in a tavern: Schnatter knocked out a broom closet in the back of Mick's Lounge, his father's bar in Jeffersonville, Indiana, installed a used oven and sold pizzas to the regulars.

Under what NASDAQ ticker symbol did Papa John's go public in 1993?

It had 1,500 stores by 1997.

How many bitcoins were paid for two Papa John's pizzas on 'Bitcoin Pizza Day' in 2010?

10,000. On 22 May 2010 Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 bitcoins, then worth about $41, for two Papa John's pizzas delivered to him in Jacksonville, Florida; the day is celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

Which NFL quarterback became a Papa John's franchisee in Denver in 2012?

Peyton Manning bought 21 Papa John's franchises around Denver in October 2012, his first season with the Broncos, and sold them back in early 2018, days before the chain's NFL sponsorship ended.

Which Atari founder created Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre?

Nolan Bushnell, who co-founded Atari in 1972, opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose in 1977 to sell pizza alongside his arcade games.

Bushnell's coyote costume for Chuck E. Cheese turned out to be what animal?

He briefly proposed the name Rick Rat's Pizza.

Sbarro began in 1956 as a salumeria in which Brooklyn neighborhood?

Bensonhurst. Gennaro and Carmela Sbarro opened their salumeria at 65th Street and 17th Avenue in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in 1956; the family's first mall restaurant followed at Kings Plaza in 1970.

Which future presidential candidate became CEO of Godfather's Pizza in 1986?

Herman Cain. Pillsbury sent Cain, then a Burger King regional executive, to run Godfather's Pizza in 1986; he led a buyout of the chain in 1988 and sought the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Which signature pie did California Pizza Kitchen introduce and popularize?

BBQ Chicken. Ed LaDou put the Original BBQ Chicken Pizza, with smoked Gouda, red onion and cilantro, on California Pizza Kitchen's first menu in 1985, and it became the chain's signature.

What was the profession of CPK founders Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax?

Attorneys. Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax were lawyers, former federal prosecutors turned defence attorneys, when they opened the first California Pizza Kitchen in Beverly Hills in 1985.

Ed LaDou was the first pizza chef at which Wolfgang Puck restaurant?

He earned the nickname the Prince of Pizza.

Which Berkeley restaurant is co-credited with inventing California-style pizza in 1980?

Chez Panisse. When Alice Waters opened the upstairs café at Chez Panisse in 1980, its wood-burning oven turned out thin pizzas with goat cheese and other unorthodox toppings, a co-origin of California-style pizza alongside Ed LaDou's work.

Which fish tops one of Wolfgang Puck's signature pizzas at Spago?

Smoked salmon. Wolfgang Puck's signature Spago pizza, improvised for Joan Collins when the kitchen ran out of brioche, tops a crust with crème fraîche, smoked salmon, red onion, dill and caviar.

Blaze Pizza was founded in 2011 by the couple behind which snack chain?

Wetzel's Pretzels. Rick Wetzel, co-founder of Wetzel's Pretzels, and his wife Elise founded Blaze Pizza in Pasadena in 2011, opening the first fast-fired store in Irvine in 2012 with LeBron James among its investors.

Marco's Pizza is headquartered in which Ohio city?

Toledo. Italian-born Pasquale 'Pat' Giammarco opened the first Marco's in Oregon, Ohio, a Toledo suburb, in 1978, and the chain kept its headquarters in Toledo as it grew past 1,000 stores.

Papa Murphy's, based in Vancouver, Washington, specializes in what kind of pizza?

The oven is yours, not theirs. Papa Murphy's is a take-and-bake chain, assembling the pizza in store for customers to cook at home; it formed in 1995 from Papa Aldo's and Murphy's Pizza.

Mystic Pizza (1988) was the film debut of which future Oscar-winning actor?

Matt Damon made his film debut in Mystic Pizza with a single line at a dinner-table scene; the film, set in Mystic, Connecticut, also launched Julia Roberts, Annabeth Gish and Lili Taylor as its three waitresses.

The Pizza Rat video of 2015 was filmed on the steps of a subway station in which borough?

Manhattan. Comedian Matt Little filmed the rat dragging a slice down the stairs of the First Avenue L station in the East Village in September 2015 and posted it to Instagram.

Anthony DeMauro invented the pizza bagel in 1957 in a suburb of which city?

Amster's Bagel Bakery was in South Euclid, Ohio.

Jeno Paulucci's bite-size pizza snack began as a new use for a machine that wrapped what?

He called them egg rolls with pizza crust and filling.

Which food giant gained the Totino's pizza rolls trademark by buying Pillsbury in 2001?

General Mills picked up Totino's with its 2001 purchase of Pillsbury.

Rose and Jim Totino opened their original take-out pizzeria in 1951 in which city?

Minneapolis. Rose and Jim Totino opened Totino's Italian Kitchen in Northeast Minneapolis in 1951, moved into frozen pizza in 1962 and sold that business to Pillsbury in 1975.

Which Kraft frozen pizza brand of 1996 was the first with a self-rising crust?

It was the top-selling frozen pizza by 1997.

Which company bought Kraft's frozen pizza business for $3.7 billion in 2010?

Nestlé paid Kraft $3.7 billion in cash in January 2010 for its North American frozen pizza business, taking the DiGiorno, Tombstone and Jack's brands and Canada's Delissio.

Which company bought the Mama Celeste frozen pizza brand in 1969?

Quaker Oats. Celeste Lizio built her Chicago restaurant's pizza into a frozen brand, and Quaker Oats bought Mama Celeste in 1969, adding it to a grocery portfolio that already included Aunt Jemima.

In what year was the first patent for a corrugated fiberboard pizza box applied for?

1963. The first patent application for a corrugated fiberboard pizza box was filed in 1963, and its design already had the foldable blanks, stackable shape and vent slots that boxes use today.

Chef Chris Bianco's acclaimed Pizzeria Bianco, opened in 1988, is in which US city?

Phoenix. Chris Bianco opened Pizzeria Bianco in 1988 in the back of a Phoenix grocery store, and his wood-fired pies won him the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest in 2003.

What was Buddy's Rendezvous before it created Detroit-style pizza in 1946?

A speakeasy. Buddy's Rendezvous, at Six Mile Road and Conant Street, began as a Prohibition-era blind pig; owner Gus Guerra added the square pizza in 1946, using his wife's Sicilian dough recipe.

Detroit-style pizza was originally baked in steel trays designed for what?

Automotive drip pans. Buddy's baked its pies in rectangular blue-steel trays bought from local automotive suppliers, pans used on Detroit assembly lines to catch oil drips and hold small parts.

Which Wisconsin variety is the traditional topping on Detroit-style pizza?

Brick. Wisconsin brick cheese, a mild, high-fat washed-rind cheese, is cubed and spread to the pan's edges so it caramelises into the crisp, lacy border of a Detroit-style pie.

Via 313, which spread the 'Detroit-style' name in 2011, opened in which city?

Austin. Brothers Zane and Brandon Hunt, Detroit natives, opened Via 313 as a trailer outside an Austin bar in 2011, named for Detroit's area code, and helped make 'Detroit-style' a national term.

Chicago 'stuffed pizza' differs from deep-dish by adding what?

A second crust under the sauce. Chicago stuffed pizza, popularised by Nancy's and Giordano's in the 1970s, lays a thin dough layer over the fillings and spoons the tomato sauce on top of it.

Which two men founded Pizzeria Uno in Chicago in 1943?

Ike Sewell and Richard Riccardo opened Pizzeria Uno at Ohio and Wabash Streets in Chicago in 1943 and added Pizzeria Due a block away in 1955; Sewell, a Texan, had first planned a Mexican restaurant.

Gino's East, founded in 1966, was opened by two men of what profession?

Cab drivers. Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli, two Chicago taxi drivers, opened Gino's East on Superior Street with friend George Loverde in 1966, a deep-dish house famous for its graffiti-covered walls.

Lou Malnati opened his first pizzeria in 1971 in which Illinois suburb?

Lincolnwood. Lou Malnati, whose father Rudy had worked at Pizzeria Uno, opened the first Lou Malnati's in Lincolnwood on St Patrick's Day 1971, and his sons Marc and Rick took the deep-dish chain across Chicagoland.

Which northern Italian city's 'pizza al padellino' is baked in small round pans?

Turin. Pizza al padellino, 'pizza in a little pan', is proofed and baked in small round tins, giving a thick, soft pie with a crisp base; it is a Turin speciality also called pizza al tegamino.

Cheap slices sold in small New York shops earned what nickname?

Dollar slice. Shops such as 2 Bros. Pizza spread the $1 plain slice across Manhattan from the late 2000s; inflation later pushed most 'dollar slices' past a dollar.

Which Coney Island pizzeria was opened in 1924 by Lombardi's original baker?

Totonno's. Anthony 'Totonno' Pero, who had made the pies at Lombardi's on Spring Street, opened Totonno's on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island in 1924, and his family ran it for the next century.

Joe's Tomato Pies, opened in 1910, brought pizza to which New Jersey city?

Trenton. Joe's Tomato Pies opened in Trenton's Chambersburg neighbourhood in 1910, followed by Papa's Tomato Pies in 1912; the Trenton tomato pie puts its crushed tomatoes on top of the cheese.

Pizzeria Napoletana, a claimant to be Canada's oldest pizzeria, opened in 1948 in which city?

Montreal. Pizzeria Napoletana opened on Dante Street in Montreal's Little Italy in 1948, the oldest pizzeria in the city; Boston Pizza, the national chain, began in Edmonton in 1964.

Where was the record-setting 1,261.65-square-metre pizza of December 2012 made?

Rome. The 1,261.65 m² gluten-free pizza, nicknamed Ottavia, was baked in thousands of sections at Fiera Roma on 13 December 2012; Pizza Hut beat it in Los Angeles in January 2023 with 1,296.72 m².

Frank Pepe, founder of New Haven's famous pizzeria, was born in which Italian town?

Maiori. Frank Pepe was born in 1893 in Maiori on the Amalfi coast, emigrated to New Haven in 1909 and opened Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana on Wooster Street in 1925.

Frank Pepe's is famous for a New Haven pie topped with which shellfish?

Littleneck clams were first served on the half shell at the bar.

For what price did Filomena Consiglio buy New Haven's Sally's in 1938?

Filomena Consiglio was Frank Pepe's sister.

Which fuel traditionally fires New Haven-style pizza ovens?

Ovens run above 650°F.

Which Midwood, Brooklyn pizzeria did Domenico DeMarco run from 1965 until his death in 2022?

Di Fara. Dom DeMarco, from Caserta, opened Di Fara on Avenue J in 1965 and made every pie himself, snipping fresh basil over each one with scissors, until he died in March 2022 at 85.

Pizza farms, serving pies from home-grown ingredients, are popular in which US region?

The Upper Midwest. Pizza farms, where families picnic on pies baked from the farm's own wheat, vegetables and meats, took off in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the 2000s, with A to Z Produce near Stockholm, Wisconsin, an early model.

Kebab pizza, topped with kebab meat, is one of the most popular fast foods in which country?

Sweden. Kebab pizza, pizza topped with döner meat and often kebab sauce, was created by immigrant-run pizzerias in the 1980s and topped Swedish pizza-sales rankings through the 2010s, ahead of the Margherita.

PepsiCo's 1997 spin-off of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, Tricon Global, was renamed what?

Yum! Brands. Tricon Global Restaurants took the Yum! name in May 2002 after buying Long John Silver's and A&W, and kept Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell as its core chains.

Which savory griddled pancake is often nicknamed 'Japanese pizza'?

Okonomiyaki means roughly 'grilled how you like'; the savoury cabbage-and-batter pancake boomed after World War II as a cheap, filling meal when rice was scarce.

Pizza Hut's Book It! reading program, launched in 1985, rewards children with a certificate for what?

A free Personal Pan Pizza. Pizza Hut launched Book It! in 1985 to get children reading; each monthly goal met earned a certificate for a free Personal Pan Pizza, and the best-reading classrooms won pizza parties.

Which former Soviet leader starred in a 1998 Pizza Hut commercial with his granddaughter?

Mikhail Gorbachev. Filmed in Moscow in 1997 and aired in 1998, the ad shows Gorbachev and his granddaughter Anastasia at a Pizza Hut off Red Square while diners argue over his legacy; his fee went to his foundation.

In 2000, Pizza Hut paid to put its logo on a Russian Proton rocket launching which ISS module?

Zvezda. Pizza Hut paid to paint a 30-foot logo on the Proton rocket that launched the Zvezda service module, the ISS crew's living quarters, on 12 July 2000 from Baikonur.