The brothers decided that they wanted the word pizza in the name of the restaurant and since the place itself reminded them of a hut, they came up with Pizza Hut. In 1964, the brothers decided to change the look of Pizza Hut and they erected the buildings that are universally recognized and related to the Pizza Hut name. In 1970, the history of Pizza Hut made a huge move. Pizza Hut was now publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1973, Pizza Hut opened its first doors off of American soil. Japan, England, and Canada all housed the first of the international Pizza Hut businesses. In 1977 a huge company named Pepsico merged with Pizza Hut and Frank Carney still remained the leader even with the merged companies. The business was really starting to flourish after pan pizza got introduced six years earlier.

The early 90’s consisted of many delivery and restaurant stores opening throughout the United Kingdom and Russia. In 1994 there were over ten thousand Pizza hut open for business world wide.

In 1997, PepsiCo decided to focus solely on their drinks business (Pepsi) which resulted in the foundation of Tricon Global Restaurants. Tricon Global Restaurants is known today as the largest restaurant brand in the World. Sicilian pizza was also launched in the United Kingdom in 1997 and proved to be a huge success.

In the year 2000, Pizza Hut introduced a new type of pizza called The Edge. This pizza was very unique and unlike any other pizza available. The history of Pizza Hut made a big step forward in 2003 when it was made public that 500 restaurants were now open in the United Kingdom employing a total of over 20,000 people.

In 2004 the Big New Yorker Pizza was introduced to the public which proved to be yet another successful and desirable pizza. 2005 brought the launch of the bigger and larger 4 for All pizza. Just this year Pizza Hut came out with their garlic crusted pizza and a larker 4 for all.

Pizza Hut can now be found in 17 different countries and all of the United States. The company has became a world recognized symbol of good pizza.***

Queen Margherita was much beloved by her subjects. In the latter part of the 19th century the King Umberto and Queen Margherita of Spain were touring Naples. Queen Margherita loved the bread. For her pleasure Queen Margherita summoned Chef Rafaelle Esposito from his pizzeria to the royal palace to bake a selection of pizzas for court. Rafaelle made a special pizza for the Queen. Note the topping artistry. The colors red, white and green which represent the colors of the Italian flag were the color scheme for the topping. The ingredients were tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.

Rafaelle Esposito was the first to put topping on the pizza bread. This pizza was known as the Pizza Margherita and is known today in Naples and has spread throughout the world. Variations began to spread throughout Italy. Meat was introduced in Bologna and the Neapolitan pizza has cheeses, herbs and vegetables.

Pizza gained popularity in America and Western Europe after World War II. While Western Troops occupied Italian territories they were first introduced to pizza. Returning home to America and Western Europe the pizza became commercialized. We now have multiple variation of the pizza. The pizza has come a long way since the Greek creation. Discover Secrets from Inside the Pizzeria.

Pizza Margherita

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 pieces)

Ingredients
1 (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, halved
5 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 3/4 pound)
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.

Unroll crust dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 13 x 11-inch rectangle. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven, and brush with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Rub crust with cut sides of garlic.

Arrange tomato slices on crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Combine 1/2 teaspoon oil and vinegar, stirring with a whisk.
Sprinkle pizza evenly with sliced basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over the pizza.**

In the Mediterranean we there was a rather common usage of flat breads. This kind of bread was most likely introduced to the southern parts of Italy (Magna Graecia) by its early Greek colonists. In the 3rd century B.C., Marcus Porcius Cato describes something that seem s to be very similar to what we know today as the pizza : “flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones”.

In 79 A.D. archeologists excavated shops that might have been pizzerias. The tomato only became a common ingredient in the late 1800’s as until then it was believed to be poisonous.

The pizza finally grew quickly in popularity and the word of its delicious flavor spread quickly throughout Europe, leading to a large amount of tourists setting off to Naples to taste the local specialty.

the earliest pizzeria that there is record of opened in 1830 in Naples and is currently active. Until 1889 pizza was not considered food for the wealthy, that’s when Rafaele Esposito, a pizzaiolo, was called upon from the King Umberto I to prepare a pizza.

It is believed that he made two traditional flavors and one in the colors of the Italian flag with red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese and green basil leaves. The new pizza was named after the queen Margherita.

The pizza became popular in the US in 1897 when Italian immigrant Gennaro Lombardi opened a small grocery store in New York. The store began to sell pizzas which were embraced mainly by Italian immigrants at that time, Lombardi then went on to open the first American pizzeria in 1905.

There were two important factors that helped the Pizza gain more popularity among the American people after World War II. Firstly the American troops who were stationed in Italy took their acquired taste back home to America, in addition, the millions of Italian immigrants who were called to help restore the economy brought their cuisine over to the US and the rest of Europe.

In the fifties with the increasing popularity the history of pizza, some restaurant chains began to show up, including pizza hut which was founded in 1954. The pizza business grew leaning constantly towards home delivery, which today is responsible for the biggest part of most pizzeria profits.

Today the pizza, has taken up the palates of almost all cultures around the world and can be found in a huge variety of toppings, and can easily be made at home or be bought frozen at any supermarket.**