Latest news with #BubbaPizza
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Reason why pizza travelled 1700km
A viral ham and orange pizza has flown almost 1700km to feed a group of fans who missed out on trying it. Brisbane local Jaz and his friends Laura, Sam and Haylee like to frequent their city's trivia competitions and participate in 'random events' every couple of weeks. But on May 20, the four took out the trophy for the most random thing they've done yet – hop on a spontaneous flight to Melbourne to try a unique combination of ham and orange on pizza. L-R: Laura, Sam, Jaz and Haylee hopped on a flight to Melbourne to try the viral ham and orange pizza. Credit: Bubba Pizza Credit: Supplied The dish by Bubba Pizza, a remake of the classic Hawaiian topper, popped up on Sam's social media feed a few months ago with the group agreeing it 'would be fun' to try. Sam and Haylee, keen from the get go, convinced the other two to join them down south. 'The pizza seems like a 'meme' (interesting) and we kind of have to try it,' Jaz told NewsWire. 'We spent about a month planning this trip, and setting up an itinerary to go down for a week.' The day before they left Melbourne, the group decided it was time and checked the website of various Bubba Pizza franchises to see if the ham and orange pizza was available, putting in an online order at the Richmond store. 'It turns out the order didn't go through,' Jaz said. 'We asked to order an orange pizza but the (worker) says 'no, we're out of oranges'.' The Esky full of vacuum-sealed, half-cooked ham and orange pizzas en route to Melbourne. Supplied Credit: Supplied Jaz said he and his friends offered to go around the corner to the nearby supermarket to buy some more oranges for a pizza to be made, but was told by staff that the store was going to close soon anyway. They asked if the store could stay open a 'little longer', but, to their disappointment, their request was denied. 'We decided to get two other pizzas … a vegetarian and a meat lovers,' Jaz said. 'We (went) back to the apartment a little bit dejected, and on the way back we were talking about a way we can get the pizza quickly tomorrow before our 1.40pm flight … and if we can get someone to Uber it up. 'If you know Melbourne, it's like 40 minutes from the airport to the CBD – there was no way that was happening.' In an crazy turn of events, upon returning home to the Sunshine State, a friend of a friend happened to know a worker at Bubba Pizza and offered to connect them. In a turn of events, Bubba Pizza decided to personally deliver the pizza to them. Supplied Credit: Supplied Delivery flyer Lucy Saarelaht during her 1700km journey. Supplied Credit: Supplied Managing Director Damian Hopper said it was the pizza that just 'won't go away'. 'This is the second time we tried to take it off the menu and something weird has happened,' he said. 'It's a pizza that really surprises people. When they hear about it, some people get angry, other people get really intrigued but when they try it, every single time, they go 'that they actually works'. 'We're doing a menu update for winter … we were planning on taking off. Then we get this text message from someone telling the story of these four friends from Brisbane who flew all the way down to try it, it was sold out and couldn't get it. 'First reaction was like 'I feel terrible.' I feel terrible when regular customers drive 15 minutes down to get a pizza and they can't get one, because I'd be upset myself, you know? 'The other reaction was 'that can't be possible'. Who would bother doing that?' An Esky full of ham and orange pizza has been handed over to a group of Brisbane friends after travelling on-board a flight from Melbourne In a show of phenomenal customer service, Bubba Pizza decided to take the food to them. Damian said: 'I was just like, 'what are we gonna (sic) do?' Like these guys gone through a huge amount of effort for us and we've gotta try and do something for them. 'So I thought I'd send the missus.' An Esky full of vacuum-sealed, half-cooked ham and orange pizzas, kept cool by ice packs, boarded a Jetstar flight from Melbourne to be personally delivered to the friends by pizza 'delivery flyer' Lucy Saarelaht. Lucy escorted the ingredients to a local pizzeria to whip up five of the creations before taking it to the friends to try in a Brisbane park on Wednesday afternoon. When asked if interstate delivery was going to become a regular offering, Damian joked they could now serve the entire planet. 'I was thinking technically that thing would last in an Esky or maybe some sort of fridge for probably three or four day,' he said. Bubba Chef Owner Damian Hopper (left), the brains behind the creation. Supplied Credit: Supplied 'That means our delivery territory now is worldwide. 'If someone wants us to deliver it to New York, I would absolutely get on plane and take it over.' His next masterpiece is in line with the chain's 25th anniversary in the form of a 2000s themed pizza. Damian added he would love to create the next big thing that would 'slip in' alongside the classics. Jaz said the pizza was 'amazing' and that the group was appreciative for Bubba Pizza's efforts. 'It was really good to try and close out the adventure,' he said. 'You gotta try everything once right?' Jaz said he would visit Melbourne again, but this time actually eat the pizza in-store. 'It all started with a Facebook ad and it's a great story,' he added. 'You'll get a weird look when you tell the story but it's kind of awesome.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Why an Esky full of ham and orange pizza travelled 1700km across Australia
A viral ham and orange pizza has flown almost 1700km to feed a group of fans who missed out on trying it. Brisbane local Jaz and his friends Laura, Sam and Haylee like to frequent their city's trivia competitions and participate in 'random events' every couple of weeks. But on May 20, the four took out the trophy for the most random thing they've done yet – hop on a spontaneous flight to Melbourne to try a unique combination of ham and orange on pizza. The dish by Bubba Pizza, a remake of the classic Hawaiian topper, popped up on Sam's social media feed a few months ago with the group agreeing it 'would be fun' to try. Sam and Haylee, keen from the get go, convinced the other two to join them down south. 'The pizza seems like a 'meme' (interesting) and we kind of have to try it,' Jaz told NewsWire. 'We spent about a month planning this trip, and setting up an itinerary to go down for a week.' The day before they left Melbourne, the group decided it was time and checked the website of various Bubba Pizza franchises to see if the ham and orange pizza was available, putting in an online order at the Richmond store. 'It turns out the order didn't go through,' Jaz said. 'We asked to order an orange pizza but the (worker) says 'no, we're out of oranges'.' Jaz said he and his friends offered to go around the corner to the nearby supermarket to buy some more oranges for a pizza to be made, but was told by staff that the store was going to close soon anyway. They asked if the store could stay open a 'little longer', but, to their disappointment, their request was denied. 'We decided to get two other pizzas … a vegetarian and a meat lovers,' Jaz said. 'We (went) back to the apartment a little bit dejected, and on the way back we were talking about a way we can get the pizza quickly tomorrow before our 1.40pm flight … and if we can get someone to Uber it up. 'If you know Melbourne, it's like 40 minutes from the airport to the CBD – there was no way that was happening.' In an crazy turn of events, upon returning home to the Sunshine State, a friend of a friend happened to know a worker at Bubba Pizza and offered to connect them. Managing Director Damian Hopper said it was the pizza that just 'won't go away'. 'This is the second time we tried to take it off the menu and something weird has happened,' he said. 'It's a pizza that really surprises people. When they hear about it, some people get angry, other people get really intrigued but when they try it, every single time, they go 'that they actually works'. 'We're doing a menu update for winter … we were planning on taking off. Then we get this text message from someone telling the story of these four friends from Brisbane who flew all the way down to try it, it was sold out and couldn't get it. 'First reaction was like 'I feel terrible.' I feel terrible when regular customers drive 15 minutes down to get a pizza and they can't get one, because I'd be upset myself, you know? 'The other reaction was 'that can't be possible'. Who would bother doing that?' In a show of phenomenal customer service, Bubba Pizza decided to take the food to them. Damian said: 'I was just like, 'what are we gonna (sic) do?' Like these guys gone through a huge amount of effort for us and we've gotta try and do something for them. 'So I thought I'd send the missus.' An Esky full of vacuum-sealed, half-cooked ham and orange pizzas, kept cool by ice packs, boarded a Jetstar flight from Melbourne to be personally delivered to the friends by pizza 'delivery flyer' Lucy Saarelaht. Lucy escorted the ingredients to a local pizzeria to whip up five of the creations before taking it to the friends to try in a Brisbane park on Wednesday afternoon. When asked if interstate delivery was going to become a regular offering, Damian joked they could now serve the entire planet. 'I was thinking technically that thing would last in an Esky or maybe some sort of fridge for probably three or four day,' he said. 'That means our delivery territory now is worldwide. 'If someone wants us to deliver it to New York, I would absolutely get on plane and take it over.' His next masterpiece is in line with the chain's 25th anniversary in the form of a 2000s themed pizza. Damian added he would love to create the next big thing that would 'slip in' alongside the classics. Jaz said the pizza was 'amazing' and that the group was appreciative for Bubba Pizza's efforts. 'It was really good to try and close out the adventure,' he said. 'You gotta try everything once right?' Jaz said he would visit Melbourne again, but this time actually eat the pizza in-store. 'It all started with a Facebook ad and it's a great story,' he added. 'You'll get a weird look when you tell the story but it's kind of awesome.'
The Guardian
10-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ham, mozzarella and … orange?! Australia invents a new topping to enrage the pizza purists
Name: Orange pizza. Age: First mentions come in 314BC and AD997 respectively. The combination, however, is a product of our own dark age. Appearance: There's no getting round this – it's an orange pizza. All pizzas are sort of orange, aren't they? By which I mean, a pizza with oranges on it. What? Who on God's green Earth would do such a thing? Australians. Ah, I see. Specifically Bubba Pizza, a chain restaurant with 15 outlets in Victoria. And it is purposely putting oranges on pizza? It is putting smoked ham, fresh orange chunks and mozzarella on pizza. And it's not just doing it, it's selling it. Let me guess: sparking online outrage? Correct. The pizzas have been around for a few months, but now it has blown up, with one commenter on Reddit posting: 'Some people just want to watch the world burn.' Why has Bubba Pizza done this? The chain's managing director described it as 'a way to bring people together over something unexpected'. I imagine it will upset the pizza purists. Pineapple on pizza upsets purists; oranges on pizza upsets people who like pineapple on pizza. Is Bubba Pizza worried about what the Italians will think? Evidently not: when it launched the ham and orange pizza, it offered free samples to anyone who produced an Italian passport. Yet another sign that the old international order is crumbling. You may be right. An earlier incidence of this abomination occurred in 2023, when a pizza topped with chicken, jalapeños and oranges was created in Hungary for the country's prime minister, Viktor Orbán. Like I needed another reason to dislike that guy. Is this the worst thing that's ever happened to a pizza? No. It's possibly not even the worst thing to happen to a pizza in Australia, where you can order a full breakfast pizza in Melbourne, a chicken tikka masala pizza in Sydney or a pumpkin and hummus pizza in Brisbane. But outside Australia and Hungary, everything is still OK, right? Nothing is still OK and it hasn't been for a long time. In Sweden, they put bananas on pizza. Really? I watch lots of Scandi dramas and this never comes up. They know the idea would be impossible to export. In China, pizza topped with the notoriously smelly durian fruit is the most popular order at Pizza Hut, accounting for one in every four pizzas sold by the chain. Ham and orange pizza is starting to seem a bit tame by comparison. This is how they suck you in. In fact, I'm starting to develop a hankering for one. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Do say: 'Mozzarella, tomato, basil – basta!' Don't say: 'The blueberries work surprisingly well, but the vanilla ice-cream melted in the oven.'
