Gordon Ramsay is right to reject pineapple on pizza, say experts from Naples

His comments follow the Icelandic president Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson's outright ban
Wrong ingredient: a Hawaiian-style pizza like the one below would never be seen where Julia Roberts ate in Eat, Pray, Love — or be allowed by Gordon Ramsay
Rod Kitson3 April 2017

It has long been a debate for pizza lovers — whether pineapple is a legitimate topping or has no place on the dough.

Last week, Gordon Ramsay entered the debate on ITV's Nightly Show, declaring pineapple an absolute no-no on the Italian dish, following the Icelandic president Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson, who suggested an outright ban.

Now, some of Naples’ oldest pizza houses have had the final word, with their London branches coming out to call pineapple “horrible, wrong and weird” while claiming other “Americanised” additions are only suitable for “hungover students”.

L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, whose original restaurant in Naples — the birthplace of pizza — was voted best in the world and was popularised by Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love, opened in Stoke Newington in February.

Owner Serena Sarnataro said when she first came across the concept she was overcome with disbelief.

“To a Neapolitan, pineapple is just something you would never have. It’s just wrong, the combination of flavours,” she told the Standard. “For us pizza is sacred, so it is weird to think you would put it on pizza. I first saw pineapple on a pizza on a school trip to England at 17.

“We couldn’t believe it. It is something completely foreign to us — we would never do that. Everyone has got their own taste, but for me it is something that we would not approve of.”

L’Antica, whose history dates back to 1870, has a menu of only two variants — margherita and the cheeseless marinara.

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Naples native Miss Sarnataro, 35, added: “You could say we were a bit extremist but this is our idea of pizza.That is the real pizza. It’s because of the ingredients and the long tradition that we have. When I go out I only ever have margherita, because that’s the best.”

If someone dared ask for pineapple, she said she would tell them: “It sounds horrible — we can’t do that!’”

Tony Carelli, owner of Quartieri, a new Kilburn offshoot of the 100-year old Pizzeria Trianon in Naples, said: “It’s wonderful in a smoothie. But it doesn’t belong on a pizza. I recommend people have them when they are students and hungover.”

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