All you need is pizza—the Greenwich barkada consisting of various celebrities prove that the dish is meant to be shared. Photo by Dino Mari L. Testa, InterAksyon.com.
Everybody loves pizza. Even in a rice-devouring country such as the Philippines, you can randomly ask a stranger what his favorite dishes are and chances are pizza will be one of them. With rolled dough swamped with tomato
sauce, topped with select toppings then baked to perfection, it’s small wonder why the famous Italian pie has found its way into the hearts and stomachs of millions of people around the world.
According to Lulu De Castro, Greenwich Marketing Manager, aside from the food itself and its ingredients, the pizza experience is also what makes Filipinos crave for the said dish.
“Filipinos love pizza for the reason that in one kind of food, [all] the flavors are already there. Also, it’s something that is good for sharing with friends, and you know that Filipinos are very much into friendship,” De Castro said.
Rugby team Philippine Volcanoes players Chris Everingham, Eric Tai, and Andrew Wolff battles the Magic 89.9’s Radio Vixens in a friendly competition during the launching of Greenwich Special Overload Pizza at the SM Megamall. Photo by Dino Mari L. Testa, InterAksyon.com.
“It appeals to the Filipino taste buds and at the same time it is also a sumptuous treat for the whole barkada with its unparalleled overloaded and mouth-watering toppings,” she added.
Despite pizza being one of the most-famous dishes on the planet, what really is the origin of the baked treat that makes our stomachs grumbling in the middle of the night?
In a certain TVC which started airing last year, people of different countries claimed pizza as their invention, declaring it in their own language except for the Philippines. However, according to the website aboutpizza.com, its creation dates back far back to the Babylonian civilization, Israelites, Egyptians, and other ancient middle-eastern cultures. Just imagine King Nebuchadnezzar munching it while he thought Daniel was being munched in the lion’s den.
The dish, sans the present garnishes in today’s version, was simply flat, unleavened bread cooked in clay-mud ovens. It is pretty much similar to pita, a kind of bread still served in Greece and the Middle East.
Earlier in history, Mediterranean cultures such as Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians made the variation in the way they eat the said bread. They drenched it with olive oil and topped it with native spices. But the version closest to the modern-day pizza actually originated in Naples.
Raffaele Esposito, a Neapolitan baker, baked a pizza with the ingredients bearing the trichromatic flag of Italy: red tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil leaves. This was done to show patriotism in his dish as well as to impress Italian monarch Umberto and wife Margherita during their visit in 1889. The couple was so amazed that it became a phenomenon and others copied it. Because of it, Esposito earned the credit as the inventor of the modern pizza. Also, that particular pizza flavor was named in honor of the queen;
thus the presence of Pizza Margherita on some menus.
Back to present time, Greenwich, a famous pizza chain in the country, recently launched its newest product, the Greenwich Special Overload Pizza. De Castro claims that it has the most number of toppings among all the other pizza joints in the country.
Greenwich's Special Overload Pizza—can't go wrong with 13 ingredients generously placed on top of crispy pizza. Photo courtesy of Greenwich Pizza.
“It has practically everything any other pizza lover can ask for,” she said.
The pizza, contains 13 toppings, such as beef, bacon, pepperoni, salami, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, mushroom, olives, red and green bell pepper, onion, garlic, and glazed pineapples. All the toppings are laid on a crush that’s crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside.
“It is overloaded with toppings that can satisfy any pizza craving, making it better than any other,” she said.
To add to the pizza experience and in keeping up with the current rave on crispy and sweetly glazed fried chicken, Greenwich also launched the Greenwich Crispy Glazed Chicken. Their fried chicken, deep-friend until golden brown, is coated with a sweet and mildly spicy glaze that is sure to attract fans of fried chicken.
Greenwich's Crispy Glazed Chicken, a new way to enjoy fried chicken. Photo courtesy of Greenwich Pizza.
From being merely plain flat bread to a sumptuous dish loaded with many toppings, the pizza has travelled a long way and evolved to its current form. However, the best part about pizza is that it’s still best enjoyed as a communal experience—served into slices, meant to be held with the fingers, and shared with others.
