The mood in Italy is about to change – the reason for this is a pizza with pineapple

Anyone who has ever been to Italy knows that anyone who does not follow the culinary rules will be ignored, harshly criticized or even insulted by the waitress. (Editor’s note: The author speaks from personal experience.)

A cappuccino after dinner? It does not work. Parmesan with seafood pasta? No. Pineapple on pizza? For heaven’s sake, NO!

An Italian pizzaiolo is now breaking the last of these rules and taking on his fellow countrymen. He commits sacrilege – and serves his guests a pizza with pineapple.

The renegade is not just any pizza maker, but the renowned chef Gino Sorbillo, who runs a pizzeria in Naples that has even been awarded a Michelin star.

The Pizzeria Sorbillo was founded in 1935 and has since had a permanent location in Naples on Via dei Tribunali street, also called “Via della Pizza Napoletana”. The family business has now expanded to New York, and the name is known to tourists and celebrities from all over the world, including the Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and the Colombian singer Maluma who stayed at Sorbillo.

After all: Sorbillo does not offer standardized Hawaiian pizza in its restaurants. His version remains traditional with a thick pastry crust and is topped with roasted pineapple, mozzarella and pork knuckle.

The whole country is in turmoil – or so it seems when you look at the Italian media. Dozens of newspapers write about Sorbillo’s latest creation, which arouses anger among the population. Even Rai1, Italy’s main television channel, visits the pizzeria.

The new pizza is also being talked about in the viral world. In an Instagram video, Sorbillo explains that while he is more traditional, he loves the new pineapple pizza. Before he tries it, he says, “People will look at me strangely, but it will be good.”

He cuts himself off and announces, “Guys, she’s good, I swear!”

But he makes this face:

Is that really a sight of joy, dear users? Only Sorbillo himself knows that and he continues: “If you don’t believe me, you can come by and try.”

But most of his followers certainly won’t stop by Sorbillo to try the new pizza. Hundreds of them are outraged by his messages. An Instagram user named pizza-activsm even got involved, writing:

Another user writes in Italian: “It’s not about the taste, but an ambassador of Neapolitan gastronomic culture should also export it to the whole world, not import this ‘Made in USA stuff’ that ultimately only serves to to stir up a little unrest. fanfare and nothing else.”

But many are taking Sorbillo’s creation with humor, one user writes in Italian: “100 Neapolitan pizza makers died suddenly after this video was published.” Someone else wrote: “We want coffee pizza 😂.”