France is known as a “country of cheese” and one French restaurateur decided to highlight that fact in all its glory by making a pizza topped with an astounding 257 cheese toppings.
The cheesy treat was the creation of Benedict Burle, the manager of Déliss’ Pizza in Lyon, which he revealed on February 22. His intention was to break the world record but he succeeded in obliterating it.
The previous record was in September 2018 made by Johnny Di Francesco in Melbourne, Australia, with a pizza that had 154 different varieties of cheese.
Benedict felt that it was only right that he should strive to practically obliterate the previous record since France has always been known for its cheese.
He said: “I told myself that we, the French, with our country of cheese, we could easily put 100 more… We couldn’t even see the tomato sauce anymore.”
Benedict made sure that his pizza complied with the requirements of the Guinness World Records to ensure that he’s officially recognized.
He said: “The pizza had to be 30 centimeters wide and there should be at least two to four grams of different cheeses.”
But even in a “cheesy” country like France, it wasn’t easy getting the dizzying variety of cheeses.
The 41-year-old said: “People laughed when I went to the checkout several times with about 60 cheeses.”
Aside from prowling the supermarkets, Benedict also visited dairies in Beaujolais and Mornant and spent almost €1,000 (£869.55) in total.
Benedict needed more than two hours to make the pizza and, unsurprisingly, eating “a small piece is enough.”
He said: “[With] the time to unpack the cheeses and shape the dough, the making of the pizza lasted almost two hours and 20 minutes.
“People think it’s sickening, but it’s not. It is a pizza made for several people, a small piece is enough to appreciate. For the aperitif, it’s perfect.”
According to a spokesperson from the Guinness World Records, they have already received Benedict’s record application and are reviewing it.
She said: “We are currently pending evidence from the applicant. Once we have received the required evidence, our records team will begin to investigate whether the attempt has met the guidelines and achieved the record title.”
While waiting, Benedict is planning to come out with more of the 257-cheese pizzas as he has a lot of ingredients still available.
He said: “There is still enough to make thirty pizzas like this.”
Replaced!