Pizza with 254 types of cheese: Frenchman sets world record
Pizza chef Benoit Bruel has baked a pizza on which he has placed 257 varieties of cheese. A world record, even if the judges only recognise 254 varieties. For Benoit, this is a matter of French national pride.
Frenchman Benoit Bruel, pizzaiolo at Déliss Pizza, has broken the world record. He has combined 254 types of cheese on one pizza. He already did this last winter, but the Guinness Book of Records has only now officially recognised this record. On his Instagram profile, he states that the certificate should arrive this week, as well as the list of recognised cheeses on the pizza.
Because that's the crux of the Duecentocinquantaquatro Formaggi pizza: which cheeses are used?
Actually 257 varieties?
Benoit had to think carefully about which cheeses to use in the run-up to the record. Because apparently it's not just about having as many types of cheese on the pizza as possible, but also that it tastes good and that the cheeses themselves aren't just something like Gruyère from Käsi Meier and a Gruyère from Käserei Müller. According to the news portal UPI, this is precisely why Benoit added three additional cheeses to the pizza at the last minute to round off the flavour profile. However, the Guinness Book and its judges only recognised the 254, apparently because Benoit had not registered the three extra cheeses for the record beforehand.
Which varieties the pizzaiolo from Lyon used is not known. Not yet. But the fact is that, according to Le Progrès, he put a total of 730 grams of cheese on the 30 cm diameter pizza.
- With 257 varieties, that would be 2.84 grams of cheese per variety
- For 254 varieties, that would be 2.87 grams of cheese per variety
The food blog Grub Street, among others, took on the cheese list puzzle. Editor Rachel Sugar writes that she believes she can identify the following cheeses
- Tomme Artisanale Suisse de la Venoge aux truffes
- Rocamadour
- Manigodine
- La Vieille Louche
- Quattrocento
- Raclette
- Picolin
- Comté 9 mois
- Comté 8 mois
- Chaource
But that's only ten varieties, or 3.93% of all varieties. The rest are still secret Benoits.
A contested record
The record for the most cheese on a normal pizza is hotly contested. In 2019, Australian book author and pizza chef Johnny di Francesco baked a pizza with 154 types of cheese. He told the news portal UPI at the time: "The 154-cheese pizza may not be a culinary impossibility, but it's certainly a challenge." Because just like Benoit, he went to great lengths to ensure that each cheese added something to the flavour picture.
Source: Guinness World Records
The Guinness judges are keeping a close eye on the record. Which cheeses go on the dough? Does the pizza exceed the maximum size allowed? Are all the cheeses on the list actually on the pizza that goes into the oven? Is the pizza edible, which is not the same as edible? It is important to Benoit that the record is in France and not somewhere else. He says to the Guinness officials: "France is known for its cheese, so it's important that the record remains in French hands." <p
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