Per a recent article in the Huffington Post, famous chef Gordon Ramsay had something interesting happen during his latest stint hosting “The Nightly Show” (a British talk show). From the article (profanity present in original quote):
While hosting the late-night British talk show “The Nightly Show,” Ramsay ordered a pizza on TV and turned to the audience for suggestions on toppings.
When one person volunteered “pineapples,” Ramsay was forced to put his call on a brief hold.
“You don’t put #$%&*@ pineapple on pizza,” the chef said, while covering the phone’s microphone. Then, he returned back to the order like a true professional.
Now, I know Gordon Ramsay is quite a controversial figure, with a large number of fans as well as a large number of detractors. The pineapple on pizza controversy pre-dates his popularity and no doubt will persist long after he fades from the limelight. Gordon will never be completely forgotten, the same way Julia Child is still fondly remembered by a generation of cooking enthusiasts.
That said, I’m definitely in Gordon’s camp. Even if I wasn’t, I’d give heavy weight to his opinion. I’ve eaten almost every topping imaginable on pizza, including not just the usual pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers, but also bacon, ham, salad peppers, jalapeño peppers, olives, tomatoes, and probably many others I can’t remember off the top of my head, with about the only notable topping I am sure I’ve never tried being anchovies (don’t worry, it’s on my bucket list). Pineapple just didn’t work for me. I don’t like olives (in general, not just on pizza) and I am not a huge fan of mushrooms on pizza.
I will eat pineapple. I will eat pizza. But I will not eat pineapple on pizza. You can say what you will about Gordon Ramsay and his penchant for keeping the bleep machine operators working overtime when editing his shows, or whatever you choose to hate about him. But as an authority on food, he definitely nailed this one spot on.