Trendy UK pizzeria charges $220 for Hawaiian to discourage customers from buying divisive variant

“Pineapple on pizza? Never,” says Lupe Pizza head chef Quin Jianoran.

It is arguably the most divisive culinary combination.

Topping the traditional Italian favourite with pineapple now comes with a hefty price tag at one trendy pizzeria.

Lupa Pizza, in Norwich, is charging customers £100 ($220) for their Hawaiian pizza on food delivery service Deliveroo because they disapprove of the combination so strongly.

The pizzeria, where the average base costs £11.70 ($25.70), has nailed its culinary colours to the mast, telling customers, "Yeah, for £100 you can have it. Order the champagne too! Go on you Monster! [sic]”

“There’s definitely a lot of controversy,” Jianoran told the Telegraph.

“People have been talking about it for so many years. I’ve worked in pizza for eight years now, and it’s always been the one thing. It’s very split, people either love or hate it, so I thought it would be a good way to engage with the public.”

Francis Woolf, co-owner of Lupa Pizza, told the Norwich Evening News: “I absolutely loathe pineapple on a pizza.”

It is a sentiment shared by Jianoran, who added: “I love a pina colada, but pineapple on pizza? Never. I’d rather put a bloody strawberry on one than that tropical menace.”

However, their views do not align with the majority of the British public. In the most recent YouGov survey on the subject, 53% of Britons admitted they enjoyed the taste of pineapple on pizza, while 41% did not.

Lupa agreed to feature the Hawaiian special on its main menu if the people of Norwich vote in favour of the combination in an online poll, which closes on January 24.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Jianoran, who claims you can’t go wrong with a margherita, explained: “It started off with us opening up on Deliveroo. It was originally for a laugh. No one has bought it yet, obviously, because of its extortionate price, but we get people leaving comments saying, ‘Oh, I really wanted this, though’.

“If people say yes on the poll, we are going to do it because we want to stay true to our word.

“If pineapple wins the vote, I’ll make it. But I won’t be happy about it. And I might charge £200 [$440] next time.”

As of Saturday, the poll stands at 51% in favour of the Hawaiian.

Earlier this year, celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay was exposed by his daughter as a hypocrite with regard to Hawaiian pizza.

In a TikTok reel, the celebrity is seen making the public declaration: “I absolutely curl my toes when some muppet puts pineapple on a freaking pizza. Pineapple does not belong on pizza.”

The reel then cuts to show a hooded Ramsay secretly polishing off a Hawaiian.

15% of Britons said they would ban pineapple on pizza. But it is not the most hated topping. Anchovies took the top spot, with 35% calling for a ban, followed by olives, tuna, and jalapenos.

Written by Ruth Hallows for Daily Telegraph UK and republished here with edits and permission via NZ Herald.