The Pizza Girl

New Jersey publisher Telina Cuppari has amassed a collection of 672 pizzarelated items, with the goal of setting a new Guinness World Record.

Telina Cuppari aims to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest collection of pizza-related items on the planet.

BY RICK HYNUM | PHOTOS BY TELENA CUPPARI

Telina Cuppari, aka “The Pizza Girl,” welcomed her newborn baby boy, Giacomo, to the world last July in a maternity room blinged out with pizza-themed decor. That’s how much she loves a good pie. Since then, Cuppari, a New Jersey publisher, editor, writer, educator and mother of two, has built what she believes to be the largest collection of pizza-related stuff on the planet—and she’s hoping the Guinness World Records will agree.

At last count, Cuppari, who publishes TAPinto Kenilworth, a digital neighborhood news site for Kenilworth, New Jersey, had amassed 672 pizza-related items, from apparel and accessories to toys, games and more. “I have over 230 books just on pizza,” she says. “I have a bunch of clothes, ranging from newborn to adult, and even outfits for the dogs and cats, plus tons of jewelry from all over the world, decorations, and over 200 items in the stationery category.

Cuppari’s collection runs the gamut from games, books and toys to decorative items for true pizza fans.

“We ate pizza so much in my house growing up that I remember giving the delivery man a Christmas present every year.”

— Telina Cuppari

“One of my favorites is a pizza swagger chain that spins,” Cuppari adds. “It is very ostentatious, and it is definitely a conversation starter. I also have an ‘I Love You More Than Pizza’ date night box with pizza-themed games and questions. My daughter is named Francesca, and there is even a pizza chef doll named Francesca that comes with her very own ‘Once Upon a Pizza’ story.”

Barring unexpected competition, Cuppari’s collection appears well-positioned to top the world record, currently held by Brian Dwyer, co-founder of Pizza Brain in Philadelphia. Building the collection has been a labor of love that started in 2012 when she moved from California to New Jersey. “I love going out to eat pizza dressed as the Pizza Girl,” Cuppari noted in a TAPinto Kenilworth article published on December 30, 2021. “Most people think it’s fun, and you make a statement. And if I get strange looks, well, that’s OK, too. You can’t please everyone, plus I have never had the best fashion sense.”

On October 3, 2021, Cuppari bolstered her collection by hosting Kenilworth’s first Pizza Palooza event, featuring pizza-themed games for children and adults, music, gift certificate giveaways and food from local restaurants, including a lot of pizza. The event was free, and attendees were asked to simply donate a pizza-related item to her collection.

Earning Guinness World Records certification requires a great deal of documentation. Every item has to be logged, photographed and shot on video in front of witnesses, including an expert on the subject, and detailed and verified statements have to be submitted. As her witnesses, Cuppari brought in Kenilworth police chief Fred Soos; Attilio Guarino, owner/pizza chef of Ava’s Kitchen & Bar; and Mike Hysa, owner of Big Apple Pizza.

Ava’s and Big Apple are two of her favorite Kenilworth shops, along with Capri Pizza. She’s also a big fan of Santillo’s in Elizabeth, New Jersey. “There are so many great pizza places in New Jersey, so it really depends on what I am feeling,” she says. “If I’m going for more veggie, meat or just plain cheese, I have my spots. And no matter what pizza I am eating, I always love extra garlic.”

Cuppari says her passion for pizza “started at a very young age. We ate pizza so much in my house growing up that I remember giving the delivery man a Christmas present every year. Pizza, I also believe, is the one universal food that can bring people together from all different cultures. In some countries, pepperoni is more popular, and then there’s canned tuna, eggs and even bananas. However, wherever I have found myself in the world, pizza is the one food we can all enjoy—no matter what language we speak or nationality we are—that makes us happy.”