Halifax pizzeria ranked among top 100 in the world

When Cédric Toullec opened his pizzeria in Halifax in 2022, he never imagined his pizza would get recognition on an international scale.

Every year, the Best Pizza Awards, a body of more than 500 panellists from 60 countries, votes on the 100 best pizza restaurants in the world.

This year, the panel ranked Toullec's restaurant, Lou Pécou, located on Cunard Street, No. 93 on its list. It was one of only two Canadian pizzerias to make the list. 

"To be honest, it was a real surprise," Toullec said. "We knew about this assessment, we knew about this organization, but it was way beyond our reasonable thoughts to think like after just three years being new in Nova Scotia, we could have been noticed and assessed like that."

Born and raised in Marseille, France, Toullec's journey to becoming one of the world's top pizza chefs began after attending a world championship pizza competition in Rome, where he witnessed the craft at the "highest level."

Toullec said that up until that point he was still finding himself as a young chef. He was unsure if he wanted to be a cook or pastry chef or an ice cream maker. But attending the competition settled it for him.

"It really hooked me because it was just stitching everything I love together," he said. "So pizza was the perfect medium for me to find clarity and alignment in my career."

Upon moving from Marseille and opening Lou Pécou in Halifax, Toullec noted a strong reaction from the locals to his "classico" style of pizza making. He says that Haligonians tend to be passionate about pizza and have certain expectations of how it should be prepared, which were often at odds with Toullec's European sensibilities. 

When Lou Pécou first opened, Toullec initially didn't slice his pizzas, common for most European pizzerias, but in Halifax led to him receiving many complaints. 

But none of this has discouraged Toullec, who is still committed to bringing gourmet pizza to the city and exposing people to different tastes and cultures. Included on Lou Pécou's menu are Nova Scotian staples such as garlic fingers, but also gourmet options with toppings like apple chips, pine oil and truffle ricotta on an organic pizza dough.

He hopes that newfound exposure from the Best Pizza Awards will help in this mission. 

"The entire food scene will shine and the agriculture will shine, the new talent will shine," he said. "It's more like a moment where we share."