Peter Boizot, who founded the international restaurant chain PizzaExpress, beginning in Britain, where he helped shape the country’s casual dining scene, died on Dec. 5 in Peterborough, England. He was 89.

His death was confirmed by his sister and only immediate survivor, Clementine Allen.

There were few indications in Mr. Boizot’s youth that he would have a career as a restaurateur. He grew up on a diet of baked beans, fries and tomato soup, having eschewed meat — and his mother’s cooking — after he found out at age 5 where beef came from.

He first tasted pizza in 1948 in Florence, Italy, where he lived for three months while working as an au pair.

In his memoir, “Mr. Pizza and All That Jazz” (2016), Mr. Boizot recalled watching a pizza maker through a window tossing dough as if the movements were a “dance.” Then he took a bite.