Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, in 1962. Inspired in part by his experience preparing Canadian Chinese dishes which commonly mix sweet and sour flavors, Panopoulos experimented with adding pineapple, ham, bacon, and other toppings. These additions were not initially very popular.
The name of this creation was not directly inspired by the U.S. state of Hawaii at all; Panopoulos chose the name Hawaiian due to using canned pineapple from Hawaiian Pineapple Company.
Sam Panopoulos, a Greek-born Canadian, created the first Hawaiian pizza at the Satellite Restaurant in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, in 1962. Inspired in part by his experience preparing Canadian Chinese dishes which commonly mix sweet and sour flavors, Panopoulos experimented with adding pineapple, ham, bacon, and other toppings. These additions were not initially very popular.
The name of this creation was not directly inspired by the U.S. state of Hawaii at all; Panopoulos chose the name Hawaiian due to using canned pineapple from Hawaiian Pineapple Company.