The inventor of the Hawaiian pizza has died, leaving behind a meaty, cheesy and fruity legacy that continues to divide pizza lovers around the world.

Sam Panopoulos, a Greek man who immigrated to Canada in his twenties, had the daring idea to put pineapple on top of a pizza in 1962 while running a restaurant with his brothers.

“We just put it on, just for the fun of it, see how it was going to taste,” said Mr Panopoulos, who was 83 when he died on Thursday. “We were young in the business and we were doing a lot of experiments.”

More than half a century later, the debate continues as to whether Mr Panopoulos’ invention was a work of culinary genius or a revolting bit of vandalism on an otherwise good pizza.