Hakki Akdeniz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 1, 1984 |
| Occupation(s) | Restaurateur, pizza chef |
Hakki Akdeniz (born February 1, 1984) is an American restaurateur. He is owner and founder of the Champion Pizza pizzeria chain in New York City.
Hakki Akdeniz | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | February 1, 1984 |
| Occupation(s) | Restaurateur, pizza chef |
Hakki Akdeniz (born February 1, 1984) is an American restaurateur. He is owner and founder of the Champion Pizza pizzeria chain in New York City.
Akdeniz was born in 1984 in Turkey to a large Kurdish family with sixteen other children. [1] He worked in restaurants, learning to make lahmajoun flatbreads, before moving to Montreal, Canada in 1997 and working at his brother's pizzeria. [2] In 2001, when his tourist visa expired and he was threatened with deportation, he moved to New York as an asylum-seeker. He planned to live with a friend, but became homeless when that arrangement fell through. [3] [2] He slept in a cheap hotel, in Grand Central Station, and in the Bowery Mission shelter for three months. [1] [3] He continued working in restaurants, washing dishes and then making pizzas, saving money to open his own restaurant. [2] In 2009 he started his first pizza shop in lower Manhattan. [2] [4]
For years, Akdeniz entered pizza-making competitions, and in late 2010 he won the New York Pizza Showcase, performing tricks like spinning dough while it was on fire. [1] [5] He became the cover story of an issue of PMQ, a pizza magazine, which he distributed locally to promote his shop. [6] Winning helped him to get an EB-1 green card and according to The New York Times , "he became something of a pizza celebrity, known for his flashy acrobatics in tossing and twirling dough, flaming or otherwise, and for building giant pizzas." [2] [6] He remained involved with homeless charities and activities, donating pizza and other services to shelters and other groups. [1] [4] [2] In 2019, he received a Beacon Award from the Ellis Island Honors Society and American Immigrant Society, and in 2022 a Carnegie Corporation of New York Great Immigrant Award. [7] [8] [9]
Akdeniz opened his first pizzeria on Essex Street in Lower Manhattan at the end of 2009. [4] The business struggled until he won the 2010 New York Pizza Showcase, receiving press attention. The nickname he received became the name of the pizzeria, Champion Pizza, and he made his story a prominent part of the business's identity. [3] [2] By 2024, there were 15 locations. [1] As of 2024, locations are concentrated in New York City but include stores in Texas and Florida.
The pizza uses a thin crust and a variety of toppings, and is sold both through the pizzerias and frozen at retailers. [1]
Pizza is a traditional Italian dish typically consisting of a flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high temperature, traditionally in a wood-fired oven.
Chicago-style pizza is pizza prepared according to several styles developed in Chicago. It can refer to both the well-known deep-dish or stuffed pizzas and the lesser-known thin-crust tavern-style pizzas. The pan in which deep-dish pizza is baked gives the pizza its characteristically high edge, which provides ample space for large amounts of cheese and a chunky tomato sauce. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza may be prepared in the deep-dish style and as a stuffed pizza. Chicago-style thin-crust pizza dough is rolled for a thinner crispier crust than other thin-crust styles. The thin-crust pizza is cut in squares instead of slices, and is also referred to as a "tavern-style" pizza.
Hawaiian pizza is a pizza originating in Canada, traditionally topped with pineapple, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and either ham or bacon.
New York–style pizza is a pizza made with a characteristically large hand-tossed thin crust, often sold in wide slices to go. The crust is thick and crisp only along its edge, yet soft, thin, and pliable enough beneath its toppings to be folded to eat. Traditional toppings are simply tomato sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. This was a popular meal among poor Italians due to the ratio of product from the limited produce.
New Haven-style pizza is a style of thin-crust, coal-fired Neapolitan pizza common in and around New Haven, Connecticut. Locally known as apizza, it originated in 1925 at the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and is now served in many other pizza restaurants in the area, most notably Sally's Apizza and Modern Apizza. This geographically limited pizza style has been favorably regarded by national critics.
Stromboli is a type of baked turnover filled with various Italian cheeses and usually Italian cold cuts or vegetables, served hot. The dough used is either Italian bread dough or pizza dough. Stromboli was invented by Italian Americans in the United States, in the Philadelphia area. The name of the dish is taken from a volcanic island off the coast of Sicily.
Grimaldi's Pizzeria is an American pizzeria chain from the New York City area with over 40 restaurants throughout the United States. Its most famous restaurant is under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn at 1 Front Street, next door to its original location. Zagat Survey rated Grimaldi's the No. 1 Pizzeria in New York in 2007. With a carry-out and delivery service model in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2022 it had 43 restaurants in operation overall. It does not sell slices, only whole pies, which are cooked by coal-fired brick ovens. It also sells wines and appetizers, as well as calzones. Among desserts are cannoli and tiramisu, as well as New York–style cheesecake.
Lombardi's is a pizzeria located at 32 Spring Street on the corner of Mott Street in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1905, it has been recognized by the Pizza Hall of Fame as the first pizzeria in the United States.
Detroit-style pizza is a rectangular pan pizza with a thick, crisp, chewy crust. It is traditionally topped to the edges with mozzarella or Wisconsin brick cheese, which caramelizes against the high-sided heavyweight rectangular pan. Detroit-style pizza was originally baked in rectangular steel trays designed for use as automotive drip pans or to hold small industrial parts in factories. It was developed during the mid-20th century in Detroit, Michigan, before spreading to other parts of the United States in the 2010s. It is one of Detroit's iconic local foods.
Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is an American Chicago-style pizza restaurant chain headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois. It was founded by the son of Rudy Malnati, who was instrumental in developing the recipe for Chicago-style pizza, and it has become one of the Chicago area's best-known local lines of pizza restaurants. Lou Malnati's operates a division of its company called Lou Malnati's Presents Tastes of Chicago, a partnership with Portillo's Restaurants and Eli's Cheesecake, which ships Chicago-style cuisine nationally.
Marion's Piazza is a pizzeria chain based in Dayton, Ohio. Established in 1965 by Marion Glass, the company operates nine restaurants throughout the greater Dayton area. Marion's son, Roger Glass, took over as CEO after Marion's death in 2006 and continued to manage the company until his passing in August of 2022.
Pizza arrived in the United States in the early 20th century along with waves of Italian immigrants who settled primarily in the larger cities of the Northeast, such as New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore. After American soldiers stationed in Italy returned from World War II, pizza and pizzerias rapidly grew in popularity.
Patsy's Pizzeria is a historic coal-oven pizzeria in New York City. Opened in Italian Harlem in 1933, it was regarded as one of New York's original pizzerias for its use of traditional New York style thin crust pizza.
Pizzeria Bianco is a pizza restaurant in downtown Phoenix, Arizona established in 1987 by Chris Bianco. It has earned positive reviews from notable food critics. Nationally recognized for its pizzas, the restaurant's small seating capacity can lead to wait times that sometimes surprise casual patrons. The restaurant features a wood-fired oven and homemade mozzarella cheese used in pizzas primarily fashioned by the owner himself. In 2013, the restaurant established a second location in the Biltmore Area of Phoenix. In 2022, the restaurant opened a third location, in Los Angeles.
National Pizza Month is an American observance that occurs for the month of October every year.
Purezza is a vegan pizzeria operating in Brighton, London and Manchester. It is Europe's first all-vegan pizzeria, opening its first branch in Brighton, UK, in November 2015.
Handsome Pizza was a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2012, the business closed in August 2022.
Lonesome's Pizza was a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon. Co-owners Noah Antieu, Nic Reddy, and Nik Sin started the delivery-only business in 2010. In 2012, Lonesome's began operating from a window at the nightclub and music venue Dante's. Known for its quirky pizza names and for including artwork and music with deliveries, the pizzeria closed in 2017.
Baby Blue Pizza was a vegan pizzeria in Portland, Oregon. The restaurant operated from July 2019 to January 2022, closing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saint Pizza Lounge and Gladstone Street Pizza, more commonly known as simply Gladstone Street Pizza (GSP), is a pizzeria in Portland, Oregon.