Squisito Talks Record-breaking Pizzas

There wouldn't be a National Pizza Month if pizza wasn't the most popular food in the universe, so it shouldn't come as a great surprise that not only have people taken their pizzas to the breakfast table (with sausage and eggs) and the dessert table (with fruit and cream cheese), some people have also pushed pizzas above and beyond the bounds of ovens everywhere and out of the range of most people's pocketbooks. The pizza lovers involved in these adventures go to great lengths to show their love for everyone's favorite Italian original; and in honor of National Pizza Month, we thought we'd tell you about some of the biggest and best pizzas ever created.

Biggest Pizza Ever Made: Picture it: It's January 8th, 1990, in Johannesburg, South Africa, and a pizza has been made that is 122.7 feet in diameter using 1,102 lbs. of flour, 1,764 lbs. of cheese, and 1,984 lbs. of tomato puree. Yep, that's a big pizza! Big enough to make the Guinness Book of World Records! And then-in December, 2012, a group of Italian chefs came together to blow that record away! This latest gigantic pizza measured 131 feet in diameter and was made with 19,800 lbs. of flour, 10,000 lbs. of tomato sauce, 8,800 lbs. of mozzarella cheese, 1,488 lbs. of margarine, 551 lbs. of rock salt, 220 lbs. of lettuce and 55 lbs. of vinegar. It weighed in at a massive 51,257 lbs. Another cool thing about this pizza: It was gluten free. The chefs who collaborated on this monster of a pizza came together and baked the dough in batches-5000 batches, actually; and they spent 48 hours doing it.

Biggest Pizza Ever Made AND Actually Eaten: So, a group of Italian chefs may have made the biggest pizza ever, but apparently no one pulled a chair up to the table and had a slice. Not so in Havana, FL, back in October, 1987. This event was hosted by the city of Havana and fed more than 30,000 people. The pizza weighed in at 44,457 lbs. and was divvied up into 94,248 slices.

Longest Pizza Delivery: The love of pizza never traveled so far. On November 14, 2004, Lucy Clough traveled from London to Melbourne, Australia (10,532 miles), to set the record for the longest pizza delivery, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. We're thinking she didn't make it in 30 minutes or less, though.

Most Expensive Pizza: This category is an interesting one because there is a "Most Expensive Pizza Ever Made," and there are a couple of contenders for "Most Expensive Pizzas Served Regularly." We'll cover the most expensive one ever first: This pizza was created by a Scottish chef, Domenico Crolla, and named "Pizza Royale 007" (yep, in referance to James Bond). It was created for a fundraiser; and in the end, it cost 3,000 euros ($4,437). You might say that the toppings were a bit over the top, but like any extravagance, they were only the best, and included edible gold, lobster marinated in cognac, champagne-soaked caviar, venison medallions and smoked salmon.

If you're looking for an everyday extravagance (or at least a special occasion dinner), consider these two places: Nino's Bellissima restaurant in New York City or Gordon Ramsey's restaurant, Maze, in London. At Nino's, the "Luxury Pizza" is topped with fresh lobster, creme fraiche, chives and six types of caviar. You may want to fill up fast though; each slice is $125, and a whole pie goes for $1,000 per 12-inch pizza.

Maze's pizza is somewhat more affordable, but no less impressive. Ramsey tops his famous pizza with onion puree, white truffle paste, fontina cheese, baby mozzarella, pancetta, cep mushrooms, freshly picked wild mizuna lettuce, and he garnishes it with fresh shavings of a rare Italian white truffle. The rare Italian truffle itself goes for about �1400/kg. (or $2500/2 lbs. 3 oz.), and the pizza usually goes for �100.

Is there really another food that people would go to such lengths for? Intercontinental travel? Baking in batches of 5,000? Sprinkling pizza with edible gold? Few foods inspire such creativity and devotion, but at Squisito, we understand the impulse to lift our pizza up above the rest. So, while you won't find caviar on our toppings menu, you will get the very best and freshest ingredients on every pizza we make, from our crust to our toppings and everywhere in-between.

We're curious, our pizza-loving friends: How far would you go for a pizza? Are you a strictly pepproni lover or would venture into the land of rare Italian truffles? Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter pages!

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