| Not many people have managed to create a global pizza sensation, but Sotirios "Sam" Panopoulos delivered. Panopoulos (1934–2017) immigrated to Canada from Greece in 1954, when he was just 20 years old. During the journey, he stopped in Naples and tried his first slice of pizza, a dish that was then also making its way to the Great White North. Upon arriving in Canada, Panopoulos became a restaurateur, going into business with his brothers Elias and Nikitas. At Satellite Restaurant in Chatham, Ontario, Panopoulos began experimenting with pizza in an attempt to lure new customers. In 1962, he drained a can of Hawaiian-brand pineapple and tossed the pieces onto a pie. (He later told the BBC he added the fruit "just for the fun of it.") Soon, he tried a variation that offset pineapple's sweetness with savory, salty ham. He christened the new entrée a "Hawaiian pizza" after the pineapple's purveyor, not America's youngest state. Ever since, food lovers — and even political leaders — have argued over whether pineapple is an acceptable pizza topping. While Panopoulos is widely credited with creating Hawaiian pizza — a recipe he was never able to patent — some have cited Toast Hawaii as a culinary forerunner. Developed in the 1950s by German television chef Clemens Wilmenrod, Toast Hawaii features bread layered with sliced ham, a pineapple ring, melted cheese, and an optional maraschino cherry. | 
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