Pizza History in Vallejo

6th Century B.C.

At the height of the Persian Empire, it is said that the soldiers of Darius the Great, 521-486 B.C., accustomed to lengthy marches, wood fire baked a kind of bread flat upon their shields and then covered it with cheese and dates in similiar fashion that we now bake pizzas in our wood burning brick ovens.


3rd Century B.C.

Marcus Porcius Cato (234-149 B.C.), also know as Cato the Elder, wrote the first history of Rome. He wrote about "flat round of dough dressed with olive oil, herbs, and honey baked on stones." Can you imagine the 3rd Century B.C. in all of its glory baked bread and meats much like we do now
from a portable wood burning, gas or propaned fueled oven.



1st Century B.C.

In "The Aeneid" written by Virgil (70-19 B.C.), it describes the legendary origin of the Roman nation, describing cakes or circles of bread:

"Beneath a shady tree, the hero sprad his table on the turf, with cakes of bread; And, with his chiefs, on forest fruits he fed. They sate; and (not without the lead command). Their homely far dispatch'd, the hungry band invade their trenchers next, and soon devour to mend the scenty meal, their cakes of flour...See, we devour the plates on which we fed."


1st Century A.D.

Our knowledge of Roman cookery derives mainly from the excavations at Pompeii and from the great cookery book of Marcus Gavius Apicius called "De Re Coquinaria." Apicius was a culinary expert and from his writings, he provided us with information on ancient Roman cuisine. It is recorded that so great was Apicius' love of food that he poisoned himself for fear of dying of hunger when his finances fell into disarray. Apicius' book also contains recipes which involve putting a variety of ingredients on a base of bread. The recipe uses chicken meat, pine kernels, cheese, garlic, mint, pepper, and oil (all ingredients of the contemporary pizza). The recipe concludes the instruction "insuper nive, et inferes" which means "cool in snow and serve!"