King Umberto I of Italy and Queen Margherita of Savoy were on business in Naples in 1889. The queen requested to dine on something that the common Italian would eat. According to Food & Wine, Napoli pizza chef Raffaele Esposito was summoned to supply the royals with a pie fit for a king and a queen. The chef and his wife went above and beyond, making three different pies, including one with stripes of white mozzarella, green basil, and red tomatoes, resembling a rather delectable Italian flag. The chef took the piping hot pizzas to the couple himself. As far as we know, it’s the first pizza delivery in recorded history.  Hence the lovely Marherita pizza pictured here.

As for unrecorded history…

The idea of takeout started back in ancient Rome with the creation of the thermopolium, a street kitchen  for many who couldn’t afford a kitchen of their own. This was their only source of hot food. These kitchens have been found in the ruins of Pompeii and demonstrate the beginnings of the takeout concept. Halfway across the world, another ancient civilization, the Aztecs, had gigantic open air markets.  Vendors  sold “on the go” food, mostly tamales. Butchers in 14th century Paris would frequently send their wares directly from the butcher’s block to the homes of the city’s well-to-do families. 

In American history, the take-out and delivery options have been equally ample. For example, during the 1700’s, colonial hotels in big cities advertised that “families may every day be provided with plates of any dish, that may happen to be cooked that day, by sending their servants for the same.

So now I know. I also know about the invention and patent dispute and history of the pizza delivery box. I need to eat now though, so that will wait for another day.