Raffaele Esposito () was an Italian chef and owner of a

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

called ''Pizzeria di Pietro e basta così'' ("Pietro's Pizzeria and that's enough") in the 19th century that had been founded in 1780 by Pietro Colicchio. Esposito is considered by some to be the father of modern

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

.Arthur Schwartz, ''Naples at Table: Cooking in Campania'' (1998), p. 68. .John Dickie, ''Delizia!: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food'' (2008), p. 186. In 1889, pizza had not yet become a popular or well-known dish and was typically eaten by poor people as a way to utilize various ingredients that would otherwise be wasted.Paul Hofmann, ''That Fine Italian Hand'' (1991), p. 32. At that time, Esposito was considered the premier pizza-maker in the city of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

.Father Giuseppe Orsini, Joseph E. Orsini, ''Italian Baking Secrets'' (2007), p. 99. Esposito was requested to prepare a pizza for Queen Margherita of Savoy, who had traveled to Naples with

King Umberto I Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900. Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...

. Esposito and his wife were admitted to the royal kitchens to prepare this dish as he saw fit. Deeming the traditional

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

topping to be unfit for the royal palate, Esposito instead prepared three different pizzas, the last of which used a combination of

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es,

mozzarella Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method. Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...

cheese and basil to emulate the red, white, and green of the

Italian flag The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...

. It is claimed by some sources that this was the first time pizza was made with mozzarella cheese. Queen Margherita, having never had pizza before, so enjoyed the dish that she had her head of table services send Esposito a letter to commend his pizzas, stating that they "were found to be delicious". Esposito used this recommendation to successfully promote his restaurant, naming the pizza most enjoyed by the Queen, " Pizza Margherita". The legend of pizza Margherita is considered a false history, as a pizza made with the same toppings was already present in

between 1796 and 1810. It is widely reported that this event caused pizza to become a fad, from which it retained enduring popularity. Because of Esposito's experiments with ingredients and presentation, and his successful preparation of the dish for Queen Margherita, it is suggested by some that Esposito was the father of the modern pizza. Esposito's restaurant still exists, although the name has been changed to Pizzeria Brandi. The royal letter favoring Esposito's pizza is on display in the restaurant.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esposito, Raffaele Italian chefs Year of death missing Year of birth missing