Pizza has become one of the Australia's favourite dishes. That's surprising considering that pizza was only really introduced in Australia in the late-1940s, when Italians and Greeks migrated to Australia following the Second World War.
1961 Toto's Pizzeria opens in Carlton
Toto's claimed to be the first pizzeria in Australia, and on this basis was inducted into the World Pizza Hall of Fame in 2007.
The "Aussie" was invented by the late Salvatore Della Bruna, the Picasso of Australia's pizza heritage who established this country's first pizza parlour, Toto's on Melbourne's Lygon Street.
1970: Pizza Hut was introduced to Australia.
Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn't gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States.
Many people credit baker Raffaele Esposito from the Naples region of Italy for first creating the dish. Others believe that the history of pizza dates far further back than Esposito's era of the late 1800s.
But the modern birthplace of pizza is southwestern Italy's Campania region, home to the city of Naples. Founded around 600 B.C. as a Greek settlement, Naples in the 1700s and early 1800s was a thriving waterfront city.
1968. Guildford, NSW is treated to the first KFC restaurant Down Under.
A franchisee of the U.S Domino's Pizza brand, the fast-food giant is the largest pizza chain in Australia, supplying pizza to Australians since its first store was opened in the country in 1983.
There are just 12 remaining dine-in Pizza Hut stores across the country including in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. Once a ubiquitous site across Australia, the dine-in stores gradually closed over the years. Whilst in other countries such as the UK, they remain a permanent fixture.
A common unique type is the Aussie, Australian or Australiana, which has the usual tomato base or a seasoned base and mozzarella cheese with options of chicken, ham, bacon and egg (seen as quintessentially Australian breakfast fare). Pizzas with seafood such as prawns are also popular.
Pizza has become one of the Australia's favourite dishes. That's surprising considering that pizza was only really introduced in Australia in the late-1940s, when Italians and Greeks migrated to Australia following the Second World War. Since then, our country's pizza market has evolved rapidly.
Primarily regarded as the first pizza ever created, the tried-and-tested margherita pizza was created in 1899 and continues to dominate as Australia's most popular pizza takeaway choice.
When it came to standard Australian dinners in the 1950s, meat was always the main feature of the meal, whether it be served as a hearty sausage casserole, beef stew or mixed grill featuring lamb chops steak. And who could forget about the classic Sunday roast?
Focusing on food, however, we find that, as well as the aforementioned French fries, the hot list included smoked kangaroo fillet, baby barramundi, white bread, onion rings, couscous, yoghurt-coated almonds and peanuts, and Brussels sprouts.
Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba began cooking pizzas in ovens lined with volcanic rocks from Mount Vesuvius in 1738 and the establishment is still open today.
“We're delighted to have opened our 50th store, and it couldn't be more fitting it's in Dublin, where the country's first Domino's store opened in 1991. I would like to thank our world class franchisees and team members for the role they've played in reaching this milestone and our ongoing success.
1995: Silvio's Dial-a-Pizza was merged into Domino's Pizza. 1997: Domino's established the Domino's Partners Foundation. 2000: Silvio's Dial-a-Pizza was renamed Domino's Pizza Australia.
The Domino's brand is owned by Domino's Pizza, Inc, a listed US company. Domino's Pizza Enterprises now extends across 12 markets, with more than 3,700 stores and is the leading international Domino's franchise. Use the links below to find out more about Domino's in the community and our purpose and values.
1. First off, let's talk about ingredients. Australia has some of the highest food standards globally, so the freshness and quality of our produce is a lot better than what you get in the US — meaning that our fast food tastes better.
Number of McDonald's restaurants in Australia in 2023
There are 1,035 McDonald's restaurants in Australia as of June 06, 2023.
Jack Cowin, our founder and still our biggest shareholder, opened our first restaurant in Innaloo, Perth in 1971.
Well for a start, you might be surprised to learn that it was probably the Greeks who were first putting toppings on flatbreads, followed by the Romans. But the true home of pizza is credited to be Naples in Italy.
The Italians use a variety of terms to describe their pizza. Crostata and torta are both used to describe savory and sweet pies, and pizza is a singular word that represents only one dish. There are other names for pizza, but these are the most common.
Norway consumes the highest amount of pizza in the world. This is based on the pizza-per-person ratio. A person consumes about 11 lbs of pizza annually in Norway (still way less than I do). Considering 5.5 million people live in the beautiful and pizza-ful country, this accounts for a huge amount of pizza.