Peter James Boizot MBE was an English entrepreneur, restaurateur, politician, art collector and philanthropist.
19 Facts About Peter Boizot
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Peter Boizot is best known as the founder of PizzaExpress.
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In 1953, Boizot earned an Honours Degree in History at St Catharine's College, Cambridge.
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Peter Boizot founded PizzaExpress in 1965, after having worked in Europe for ten years and noticing that he was unable to eat an authentic pizza slice in London.
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Peter Boizot floated PizzaExpress on the London Stock Exchange in 1993 but remained president.
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Peter Boizot was the first to import Peroni into the UK.
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Peter Boizot's empire grew quickly because of its authentic Italian taste and unique artistic approach.
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Peter Boizot twice stood as the Liberal candidate for Peterborough at the general elections of February and October 1974.
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In 1977, Peter Boizot created the Veneziana pizza in his PizzaExpress restaurant to gain attention to and raise funds for Venice in Peril.
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Peter Boizot was a generous benefactor of St Catharine's College and the Peter Boizot Sports Ground on Grantchester Road, Cambridge, was named in his honour.
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Peter Boizot was awarded the MBE "for political and public service" in the 1986 Birthday Honours.
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Peter Boizot purchased and then modernised his favourite local haunt, the Great Northern Hotel in 1993.
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Peter Boizot acquired the former Odeon cinema building in 1996 and transformed it into a multi-purpose entertainment venue complete with theatre, concert and conference rooms.
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Peter Boizot opened his first jazz club, the PizzaExpress Jazz Club, in Soho in 1969, whilst founding the Soho Jazz Festival in 1986.
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Peter Boizot then opened other PizzaExpress Jazz Clubs across the UK.
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Peter Boizot began collecting art from an early age and incorporated art into many of his ventures.
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In 2011, Boizot sold the majority of his art collection near his hometown of Peterborough.
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Peter Boizot worked with restaurant designer Enzo Apicella, who has been credited with being the visual architect of PizzaExpress.
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At the age of 84, Peter Boizot turned his life story into the 2014 autobiography Mr Pizza and All That Jazz.