Chef
Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- West Haven, Connecticut, United States
i. Biography
She started making pizzas at the shop when she was 10 years old, entering a New Haven-style apizza tradition built on fresh dough, brick-oven heat, and the slight char that gives the crust its edge. The work was repetition and feel: learning how the dough should answer the hands, how the oven should be read, and how a pie should come together with speed, confidence, and care.
The Path
Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce is today co-owner of Zuppardi’s Apizza, a role she has held since 1988. The date marks continuity more than title: childhood labor carried forward into adult stewardship, with the same shop, the same pace, and the same expectations behind the counter. Her path is rooted in the daily rhythm of the place, in craft learned early and maintained through years of practice, service, and ownership.
The Work Today
The crust is baked in a brick oven and develops a slight char, a finish that carries much of the shop’s identity without ornament. It is a detail that registers immediately: crisp at the edges, shaped by heat, and central to the pie’s structure. The Traditional Plain Pie, Anthony’s favorite, moves in a simpler register: a healthy amount of tomato sauce and grated Pecorino Romano. It is spare in the best sense, trusting the balance of its own ingredients and letting each one stand clearly. The Spicy Shrimp Casino takes a different route, a white-sauce pie with mozzarella, shrimp, hot cherry peppers, bacon, and garlic. The ingredients arrive in layers, each one adding its own note to the whole, for a richer and more assertive profile. Across those pies, the through-line is inheritance rather than novelty: a shop-taught way of making apizza, carried from childhood labor into ownership and daily stewardship. That continuity gives the work its weight. The recipes are specific, but so is the patience and muscle memory behind them, the accumulated knowledge that comes from years in the same orbit.
Signature
Cheryl's signature dishes include Fresh Clam pizza, Traditional Plain Pie, and Spicy Shrimp Casino. Together they sketch the range of her work, from the clean salinity of the Fresh Clam pizza to the straightforward grace of the Traditional Plain Pie and the more layered richness of the Spicy Shrimp Casino.
Acclaim
That attention also points back to formation.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Cheryl
What is Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce's current role?
As of 2026, Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce is co-owner.
What is Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce known for?
New Haven-style apizza.
