On the heels of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s recent proclamation declaring New Haven the “Pizza Capital of America,” a new segment will debut this week on WTNH—and it’s all about the state’s highly acclaimed pizza scene.
The Pizza Files will launch on Friday, February 23, during the CT Morning Buzz, a new WTNH lifestyle show. It will be hosted by Colin M. Caplan, founder of Taste of New Haven, producer of Pizza: A Love Story and author of Pizza in New Haven.
WTNH described The Pizza Files, which will air monthly on cable and streaming TV, as “a hot pizza-related adventure” that “gives viewers saucy stories about pizza culture, history, families, recipes and lore, feeding the growing national interest in this subject.”
Caplan, who provides pizza tours of the city through Taste of New Haven, spearheaded the push to get Lamont to issue the proclamation. The state’s legislature has failed to pass a bill that would officially enshrine pizza as Connecticut’s state food.
In The Pizza Files, Caplan will cover episode subjects that include New Haven Declared Pizza Capital (February 23); Women in Pizza (March 22); and Origins of New Haven-Style Apizza (April 19).
“The Pizza Files guarantees to stir up controversy and camaraderie over who makes the best pizza as we pursue close encounters with the pizza makers, their family stories and the secrets behind Connecticut’s pizza elite,” Caplan said in a statement. “From the legendary pizzerias like Sally’s Apizza, Modern Apizza, Frank Pepe Pizzeria and Zuppardi’s Apizza to the newer kids on the block, pizza is a major industry in Connecticut, and it’s a huge part of our culture.”
Lamont issued his proclamation on National Pizza Day (Friday, February 9), which saw many of New Haven’s most celebrated pizzaioli gathering to make pies at Ernie’s Pizzeria. Represented at the event were apizza’s holy trinity—Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Sally’s Apizza and Modern Apizza—as well as others that offer different pizza styles.
New Haven boasts 75 pizza restaurants, and the food generates $100 million in sales annually, Caplan said in an interview with NBC Connecticut.
“We get about 2 million visitors into pizzerias each year in New Haven alone,” Caplan said. “We’re celebrating our community because we can eat together, we can share together and have a better world around pizza.”
