Forget olives, mushrooms or pepperoni, and definitely no pineapple. This luxury pizza is topped with caviar, and the price reflects that. But before we get to the toppings that make this a pizza especially exuberant, let’s start with the basics.
Raanan Yossef Nussel is a seasoned “pizziologist” and the owner of a catering company that serves Israel’s wealthy elite. “I come from a family with 52 years of experience in the industry,” he says. “I started young, and in the past decade I’ve gone international. I’ve made pizza for the world’s rich and powerful, presidents, and prime ministers.”
So what exactly do the super-rich want on their pizza?
“They love fish,” Nussel answers without hesitation. “Truffle mushrooms, caviar, and bluefin tuna are all huge hits. And they don’t have a budget cap.”
What about the prime minister, Netanyahu? What’s his pizza of choice, olives, maybe?
“Just a Margherita,” he says. “He likes simple pizza, no toppings.”
And the wealthy clientele?
“The rich want a recognizable figure to make their pizza on sight, right in front of them. They’re paying for the flavor combinations I create, for the premium ingredients I bring. Then they’ll show it off to their friends, invite their neighbors and business partners. And again, there’s no budget limit.”
To demonstrate, Nussel invites us to watch and taste, a pizza priced at 2,000 shekels (about $500). “I live and breathe this”, he says. “The pizza that I’m about to make and show you is a one-percenter pizza you won’t find anywhere else.”
What makes it so expensive?
“It starts with a complex dough-making process and continues with ultra-premium ingredients flown in with precision from all over the world, stored at deep-freeze temperatures. Everything needs to come together in a single perfect bite that just makes you say: wow.”
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Pizza for the ultra-rich
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
After all this talk of gourmet pizza, mouths start watering, including those of the kids who came with me to film the piece. They’re practically drooling, asking for the hundredth time: “When will the pizza be ready?”
Time to move on to step one in making the pizza for the elite.
“Before any sauce or flashy toppings, there’s foundational work, and it has to be perfect,” says Nussel, rolling out the dough made from semolina flour with a near-reverent focus.
This special pizza flour is yellowish in color and ground coarsely from hard durum wheat. According to Nussel, the coarse texture creates an indulgent mouthfeel, prevents stickiness, and produces a divine, crispy crust.
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Preparing the dough
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
“This is a critical step,” he emphasizes. “You press and push the air out of the dough and move it to the edges. We want a big crust so the pizza can support the luxury we’re about to pile on.”
Nussel’s secret sauce starts with a classic Italian base that’s been given a bold upgrade. “The tomato sauce came from southern Italy. I cooked it and added special twists. I spread it over the dough lightly, so it doesn’t get soggy and throw off the balance.”
Next comes a premium cheese with a bold flavor, used sparingly. “It’s a strong-tasting cheese I brought from Hungary. Because it’s so dominant, I only use a few touches so it blends with the rest of the toppings instead of overpowering them. This isn’t a powder or a mash, it’s the real thing.”
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Cheese from Hungary
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
Now comes the hard part – waiting. Nussel slides the dough into a searing oven for a short, high-heat bake, which he says sharpens textures.
“We heat the oven to 375°C (about 710°F). No joke. That high heat gives the dough structure and crispness. To guarantee the perfect bite, all the special toppings are added after the bake.”
The aroma of fresh pizza fills the kitchen. The hungry kids on set are nearly frantic as Nussel carefully removes the hot crust from the oven. Even without its fancy additions, the pizza base is already a treat: crisp, stretchy, and comforting.
Now comes the real jewelry work. This is where the radical ingredients enter the picture, sending the cost of the pizza soaring into billionaire territory.
“Now we build the perfect bite for the ultra-wealthy,” Nussel says. “We’re working with cold toppings, that’s part of the magic.” First up is Italian truffle cheese, a bold ingredient made with real truffle. “You don’t want to exaggerate as it has a strong flavor, so you scatter it lightly.”
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Chef Nussel with the special ingredients
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
Then comes a particularly rare addition, straight from Tokyo’s fish market. “I’m adding slices of bluefin tuna, ‘Toro’ which arrived this morning, via personal import, from Japan. It’s extremely expensive and very hard to get.”
To lift the flavor of the fish and give it a sushi-like feel, Nussel adds a drop of silan, a date syrup. To balance its subtle sweetness and the delicate taste of the Toro, he sprinkles a touch of smoked Maldon salt. “It’s all about building that bite in your mouth, it elevates everything.”
Then comes the crown jewel of the dish, served from a small, glistening black jar.
“This is €5,000-per-kilo caviar. Insane. At that price and quality, every single pearl counts.”
He carefully scatters the sparkling fish eggs. “For a bite this expensive, you have to be precise. If one strong flavor takes over, we’ve ruined it.”
The salty aroma of the caviar fills the kitchen, and Nussel gently offsets it with a rich butter infused with the scent of plum. “This is a specialty Japanese butter with yuzu. It costs 200 shekels per kilo and gives a real twist and balance. But if it went into the oven, it would break down, and the yuzu would disappear. That’s why I add it now.”
The fish aroma fades, replaced by a bright citrus scent. Taste buds go on high alert. Then comes the next surprise: seaweed.
“I’m adding a blend of rare Japanese seaweed. We scatter it gently; it gives a refined, oceanic aftertaste.”
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The “jewels”
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
At last, the final flourish: a subtle splash of alcohol.
“I add a touch of Macallan, an exceptional, high-end single malt whisky that offers both flavor and aroma. Some of the brand’s bottles cost hundreds of thousands of shekels. The wealthy know what they’re drinking, and they know what they’re eating. And let’s be honest, it’s also about enriching the pizza. In every sense.”
Finally, just after the Macallan toast, the long-awaited moment arrives, with no fanfare. Starving, Nussel quickly slices the extravagant pizza into four pieces, grabs one, and devours it in three bites.
The kids, who’ve been watching the whole process with growing impatience, are moving closer, and I realize: it’s now or never.
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“€5,000-per-kilo caviar”
(Photo: Assaf Kamar)
Thankfully, the dough holds up like a fortified bunker, crisp and firm beneath all the luxury. The slice has a hint of whisky, fresh-baked crust, and sea air. I take my first bite of the so-called perfect pizza, and the divine texture, crispy yet soft, hits immediately. For a second, I understand the prime minister’s preference for a plain Margherita.
But then comes a tsunami of briny fish flavors, and my brain short-circuits from the wild mix of sensations.
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Without ceremony and in total chaos, the kids finish off the rest, including the crust, and ask for another pizza Margherita.
So yes, the luxury pizza is an absolute indulgence. Would I enjoy it if I had to pay 2,000 shekels for it? Not so sure. But the experience delighted the taste buds and gave off just the right touch of absurd self-importance.
Dining and Cooking