International Hawaiian Pizza Day
August 20, 2025-August 20, 2025 -
Global, Global
Hawaiian Pizza has a history that is actually more international than one might think! The credit for this version of pizza toppings goes to a chef named Sam Panopoulos, who was a Greek-born Canadian.
Because Hawaii had just become a US state a couple of years earlier, nods to the culture had become all the rage in the early 1960s.
With a background that included mixing sweet and savory flavors in Chinese cooking, Panopoulos tossed some pineapple on his pizza, along with ham. It took some time for this combination of flavors to become popular in his Toronto restaurant, but it eventually spread all throughout the world.
The story goes that Panopoulos gave the pizza the name after the brand of canned pineapple he was using.
Even so, the Hawaiians may still have a bit of difficulty with the name. Because it didn’t actually come from Hawaii at all, if a person visiting Hawaii wanted to order this pizza, they would probably simply refer to it as ham and pineapple pizza.
20 Aug 25
00:00 - 23:59
International Hawaiian Pizza Day
