The German-born supermodel opened up about working with her ex and the biological father of her daughter Leni to open the New York City location of Crazy Pizza
Heidi Klum might have some controversial opinions when it comes to pizza!
On Tuesday, Oct. 28. the supermodel, 51, spoke exclusively with PEOPLE at the debut of Crazy Pizza NYC, the newest location of the upscale pizza chain.
Opening up about her favorite controversial pizza toppings, Klum — who is a partner and investor in the New York location — spoke about working with her ex, businessman Italian businessman Flavio Briatore.
According to the model, she and Briatore — the biological dad to her daughter, Leni, 20, who was also in attendance at the restaurant’s opening — had one “big fight” when they were deciding which toppings would be on the menu.
“One item I had a big fight with Flavio about — because, you know, I’m German and in Germany we have pizza Hawaiian — it’s pineapple and ham,” the America’s Got Talent judge revealed. “I grew up on pizza Hawaiian so it has pineapple on it, but Italians think this is the worst thing on the planet.”
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The model recalled Briatore telling her: “They’re like, ‘There’s no way. We’re not doing this.’ And I was like, ‘But why?’ There’s a lot of tourists or so that I hear. [that like it]”
“Plus I’m also a partner. So I feel like I should have a say,” she joked. “So he was like, ‘Fine.’ But he is normally like, ‘There’s no way. Italians don’t do pizza Hawaiian.’ I’m like, ‘Well, in Germany, Italians are in Germany, and [also it’s] my friends’ from Australia [go-to] too.”
While the item is not on the official Crazy Pizza NYC menu, a special version of the pizza was served to the model during the grand opening of the restaurant on Tuesday, Oct. 29. She said Briatore asked her to become a partner for the New York city location — due to her knowledge of the area — and she hoped that “people love the food” so they could potentially do “more” business ventures together.
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Although Briatore and Klum’s relationship ended before she had Leni, the model said that she and her ex worked well together — and her husband, Tom Kaulitz, was also in attendance at the opening, along with her sons Johan, 17, and Lou, 15. She also shares Henry, 19, with Seal.
“Leni’s biological dad Flavio, he asked me to be partners with him and his pizza ventures,” she said, referring to the 14 Crazy Pizza locations around the world. “So this is the first one in America, with more to come.”
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“It looks so cute,” she added. “I’m so happy with it… I think it looks amazing. It’s super chic. And obviously the food is amazing, and we leave it to the Italians.”
Elsewhere in her chat with PEOPLE, Klum teased what she has in store for her 2024 Halloween costume, as she’s known for her extravagant Halloween costumes at her annual Halloween party in N.Y.C.
“I always get anxious,” the German-born star said of planning her costumes. “Because there is no real trial. like, I can’t do a real fitting before I am in it. Because I never know if it works until the day [of]. And then you know, and then something happens and I’m like, ‘Oh god.’”
Located in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood at 218 Lafayette St., Crazy Pizza will open to the public on Nov. 6.
