In the annals of culinary achievements, few feats have captured the imagination quite like the creation of the world's largest pizza. In January 2023, the culinary world witnessed an extraordinary event that left pizza enthusiasts and record keepers alike in awe. YouTuber Airrack (Eric Decker) and Pizza Hut joined forces to create a pizza of unprecedented proportions and claimed the title of the world's largest pizza. This monumental creation spanned an astounding 13,990 square feet that is equivalent to nearly 5 tennis courts and set a new Guinness World Record.

This cheesy behemoth didn’t just break records but smashed them like a rogue rolling pin. But how did this carb-loaded kaiju come to life? Buckle up, pizza enthusiast! This tale involves cheesy chaos, doughy drama and a sprinkle of controversy. Let’s unravel the madness.

A pizza fit for a giant (or a hungry football crowd)

Let’s digest the stats, shall we?

Size – 13,990 sq ft (or 1,300 sq m). To visualise that, imagine covering London’s Leicester Square with pepperoni or enough to blanket Trafalgar Square with room for a cheeky garlic dip pond.

Comparisons – 5 tennis courts, 1.5 Olympic swimming pools or 42,000 individual Pizza Hut Personal Pans™.

Ingredients – 19,000 (8,618 kg) pounds of dough, 10,000 (8,618 kg) pounds of tomato sauce applied via a repurposed firehose (because ladles are for amateurs) and 8,800 (3,992 kg) pounds of cheese sourced from enough cows to start a dairy-themed boy band. That’s enough mozzarella to fill a double-decker bus! Or dough the weight of 3 London double-decker buses. Lastly, 630 pounds (286 kg) of pepperoni were arranged by volunteers dangling from cherry pickers like culinary SpiderMen.

Team effort – Over 80 chefs, engineers and ‘dough wranglers’ toiled for 72 hours.

**‘Why? Just… Why?’ – The birth of a doughy delusion**

The inception of this colossal pizza was rooted in a shared ambition between two converging aspirations of YouTuber Airrack and Pizza Hut. Airrack is known for his ambitious content and audacious challenges. He had promised his followers a grand spectacle upon reaching 10 million subscribers on YouTube. Simultaneously, Pizza Hut sought to celebrate the return of it’s iconic 'Big New Yorker' pizza.

Source - Vernon Morning Star

This was a fan favourite pizza from the 1990s making a comeback after 24 years. This confluence of milestones provided the perfect recipe for a record-breaking endeavour. In January 2023, YouTuber Airrack (Eric Decker) and Pizza Hut decided to answer a question nobody asked – ‘What if a pizza was… bigger?’. Not just ‘large’ or ‘extralarge’ but a gargantuan 13,990-square-foot monstrosity

But why? Airrack who is a maestro of viral chaos (read – ‘I Rented Every Billboard in Times Square’), pitched it as a ‘charity spectacle’. Pizza Hut, ever eager to out-pizza Domino’s, bit it. The goal? Shatter Italy’s 2012 record (13,580 sq. ft) as well as the internet. They did both but not without dough-saster.

Making of a monster

Airrack is well-known for viral stunts like ‘I Bought Every YouTube Ad’ and teamed with Pizza Hut for this edible Everest. But ambition met reality. Hard.

Pic credit - KSBW

The ‘oven’ dilemma – Traditional ovens? Pah! Forget your standard kitchen appliance. Engineers crafted the doughzilla. This required a hangar in Los Angeles. Engineers built a custom 1,500 sq. ft conveyor belt oven. Dubbed ‘The Doughminator’, it guzzled enough electricity to power 30 UK homes for a day. Problem? It kept overheating. Yet, uneven heat threatened a ‘burnt crust apocalypse’. Solution? Industrial fans, ice blocks and dividing the pizza into 18 sections and get each baked separately. Controversy alert! Purists cried foul but Guinness allowed it if provided that all slices is connected.

The great pepperoni placement kerfuffle – Imagine pepperoni-ing a football pitch. Spreading toppings required military precision. Volunteers used drones, ladders and sheer desperation to scatter 630 pounds of toppings. One chef confessed…

“It’s like painting the Mona Lisa with a broom!”

Pic credit - Airrack and Pizza Hut

Eric’s ‘dough or die’ moment – In his YouTube video, Airrack admitted that…

“We nearly cracked when the sauce started congealing. It was like spreading cement!”

Cue frantic cheese-flinging and a ‘sweatier than a Wimbledon final’ crew.

Wildlife interruption – Midbake, a seagull dubbed ‘Dave’ by the internet divebombed the pizza. Airrack’s YouTube footage (now viral) shows crew members waving spatulas like Excalibur.

“It was a Hitchcock remake. We edited it out but fans spotted the shadow”.

…laughed Airrack about the incident. #PizzaSeagull trended for days.

A grocery list for giants

Crafting a pizza of such magnitude required ingredients in industrial quantities. They managed to gather them anyway.

Dough – Approximately 13,653 pounds which was enough to carpet a modest-sized home.

Marinara sauce – Around 4,948 pounds that ensured each slice was generously sauced.

Cheese – Over 8,800 pounds created a gooey melted layer that would make any cheese lover rejoice. The 8,800 pounds of mozzarella were all sourced from 320 dairy cows.

Pepperoni – Roughly 630,496 slices that were meticulously placed to ensure uniform coverage.

Saucy tsunami – 10,000 pounds of tomato sauce that was ladled by a modified firehose.

Toppings tornado – 630 pounds of pepperoni, 400 pounds of mushrooms and 220 pounds of olives were all hand-tossed by volunteers on cherry pickers.

Pic credit - Daily Mail

These staggering figures highlight the logistical challenges and meticulous planning required to bring a vision to life.

The assembly line

The Los Angeles Convention Center was transformed into a massive pizzeria for this endeavour. Teams of chefs and volunteers worked tirelessly to assemble the pizza in sections. The process involved laying out the dough, spreading the sauce, adding the cheese and meticulously placing each slice of pepperoni.

Given the pizza's size, it couldn't be baked in a traditional oven. Instead, specialised portable ovens were brought in to cook the pizza in segments which ensured each portion was perfectly baked.

A slice for the community

Beyond setting a world record, the project had a philanthropic angle. Once the pizza was certified by Guinness World Records, the 68,000 slices were donated to local charities and food banks across Los Angeles. This act ensured that the monumental effort served a greater purpose, providing meals to those in need and reinforcing the community-centric values of both Airrack and Pizza Hut.

**Food waste Fury, ‘publicity dough’ and when cheese meets carbon footprint – Controversies**

Not everyone applauded this venture. Critics slammed the stunt’s environmental impact. While the event was largely celebrated, it did spark discussions about food waste and the resources involved in such large-scale projects. However, the organisers' commitment to donating all portions of the pizza to those in need helped mitigate potential criticisms.

Food waste fiascos – Only 3,000 slices were donated via L.A. food banks. The rest? Reportedly composted. Cue Twitter meltdowns. Even though Pizza Hut claimed it was composted, critics howled…

“Composting 19,000 pounds of dough isn’t ‘green’. It’s grotesque!”

…tweeted Greta Thunberg’s UK cousin named Graham.

Carbon footprint – The oven’s energy use equalled powering 30 homes for a day. Ecowarriors groaned…

“Save the planet; not the pepperoni!”

Pizza Hut – defended it as a ‘charity initiative’ and raised $15k for ‘No Kid Hungry’. Airrack retorted…

“Sometimes you gotta go big to do good’.

Pic credit - CNN

The ‘Frankenpizza’ debate – Purists raged when Guinness allowed the pizza to be baked in 18 connected sections.

“Mamma mia, questo è un mostro! That’s not a pizza — it’s a patchwork quilt!”

…fumed Naples’ pizza patriarch Gino Sorbillo. Guinness retorted…

“Rules say ‘continuous base’. No rules against teamwork’.

The great cheese slide – As seen in Airrack’s BTS video, cheese refused to melt evenly.

“We had to use infrared heat lamps like sunbeds for pizza! At one point, a cheese glacier threatened to slide off. We stapled it down. Staples. On pizza.”

…confessed head chef Marco.

Carbon guilt-tripping – The event’s carbon footprint was equivalent to 75 transatlantic flights which sparked think pieces. The Guardian quipped…

“This pizza didn’t just break records — it broke the planet. If gluttony is a sin, this is the eighth deadly”.

Pizza Hut countered by pledging £50k to reforestation. Pizza Hut countered by planting 1,000 trees. Airrack shrugged and said…

“Can’t make an omelette without cracking a few polar ice caps. Next time, we’ll use solarpowered pepperoni”.

Expert opinions – Chefs, scientists and a very confused historian weigh in

The feat garnered attention from culinary experts and industry leaders. David Graves is the President of Pizza Hut and he remarked…

"Our customers have been begging us to bring back the Big New Yorker for more than 2 decades so we knew we had to do something big".

David Graves | Source - Business Wire

This sentiment was echoed across the food industry with many praising the innovative approach to community engagement and the marketing. Few culinary pros their take when interviewed about this feat.

Gordon Ramsay (via Twitter) – “Bloody hell. Next, they’ll bake a cake on the moon. Ridiculous…but brilliant. It’s a bloody circus. But if they’d asked me, I’d have added black truffle. And a parachute”.

Dr. Carla Jones (Food Scientist) – “The structural engineering here rivals the Shard. Preventing sogginess at that scale? Miraculous!”

Anonymous Michelin Chef – “It’s a PR stunt; not cuisine. But hey, it got us talking”.

Dr. Emily Carter (MIT) – “The tensile strength of that crust? NASA-level innovation. Shame they didn’t launch it into space. That’s Nobel Prize stuff”.

Historian Dr. Reginald Smythe – “In 1762, the first pizza was a humble peasant dish. This is what happens when capitalism meets YouTube. God save the Queen — and pass the antacids”.

Capturing the world's attention

The event was documented extensively with Airrack sharing behind-the-scenes footage and the journey of creating the pizza on his YouTube channel. The content quickly went viral which amassed millions of views and starting conversations worldwide. The blend of culinary artistry, community service and entertainment resonated with audiences. The feat solidified the event's place in internet history.

The bonker bits that you didn’t know

Previous record – The previous record for the world's largest pizza was set in the year 2012 at Rome. The final product was measuring 13,580 square feet.

Nutritional content – While exact figures aren't available, but it was roughly ~19 million kcal. That is enough to fuel 2,842 marathon runners. It's safe to say that consuming the entire pizza would involve an astronomical calorie count and making it a cheat meal of epic proportions.

Leftovers – Thanks to the efficient planning and swift distribution, there were no leftovers which ensured minimal food waste.

Secret weapon – A NASA-inspired dough roller named ‘Gravyty’ was used and hence it prevented any tears in the dought…and the chefs.

Viral moment – Airrack’s video shows a seagull divebombing the pizza midshoot. ‘The real MVP’ fans declared.

The ‘doughminator’ aftermath – The custom oven now rots in a Nevada warehouse. eBay listing – ‘Gently used. Cheese stains included’.

Desperation to prevent overcooking – Volunteers resorted to using leaf blowers to cool the crust.

TikTok takedown – A prankster livestreamed himself sprinting across the pizza. It got 12M views before Pizza Hut’s lawyers ‘yeeted it into the void’. Now the video is no more available.

Transport tangle – Delivering ingredients required a convoy of lorries that caused traffic jams and rivalled the M25 on a Friday.

Still the king? – 2025 update

As of 2025, the record still stands. Rivals plot revenge. Rumour says that Domino’s is eyeing a 15,000 sq. ft pizza on a cruise ship. Domino’s is rumoured to be plotting a 15,000 sq. ft ‘Pizza Yacht’ in the Mediterranean. Leaked plans include olive-stuffed lifeboats and a pepperoni helipad. Meanwhile, Airrack’s pizza remains a cultural touchstone that is inspiring memes, merch and a West End musical called ‘Sauce: The Musical’. Critics called it ‘a cheesy masterpiece’.

A slice of absurdity

The collaboration between Airrack and Pizza Hut not only set a new world record but also demonstrated the power of combining community service with entertainment. This monumental pizza will be remembered not just for it’s size but for the creativity, generosity it symbolised and the unity. Love it or loathe it, this pizza redefined ‘extra’.

Was it bonkers? Yes. Wasteful? Arguably. Iconic? Undoubtedly. This pizza wasn’t just food. It was a metaphor for humanity’s eternal cry of…

“But what if we… made it bigger?”

So next time you order a Pepperoni Passion, remember – somewhere, a madman with a YouTube channel is dreaming bigger. Now, who fancies a takeaway? Bon appétit! Or as we say in Blighty — get stuck in! 🍕 Now, pass the garlic dip.