Saskatchewan's homegrown pizza style is so distinctive this chef keeps his secret spices under lock and key
New podcast Good Question, Saskatchewan sinks its teeth into how unique Regina-style pizza is
Stream Good Question, Saskatchewan on CBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published on Jan 29, 2024.
If you really want to experience Regina, there's one thing a lot of people will agree on.
Eat the pizza.
The city's signature pie features a doughy crust smothered with a zingy sauce, a mountain of meat, veggies (sometimes pineapple) and layer upon layer of cheese. It's thick like lasagna and cut into four-by-four-inch squares. A 13-incher can weigh five and a half pounds.
This distinctive recipe is known as Regina-style.
"Every city likes to claim that they have something unique, you know?" said Dan Clapson, a Saskatoon-born food writer.
Winnipeg claims the paralyzer (but so does Colorado). Calgary claims the Caesar (but if you call the same drink a bloody mary, credit goes to a bartender in Paris.)
But can Regina really claim this style of pizza?
"I do feel like their kind of pizza exists in so many places," said Clapson.
It's true. You can get this style of pizza in most Saskatchewan communities – from Estevan to Melfort. There are even places in Alberta that offer a similar slice.
So what prompted Regina to claim this kind of pizza as its own?
It has been on the mind of Samuel Loseth Scheirer, who asks, "What exactly is Regina-style pizza?" He became a regular at Trifon's Pizza in Regina, which serves the thick, square pizza.
"It's still probably one of my favourite pizza places," he said.
So he asked CBC's new podcast Good Question, Saskatchewan: Has it put Regina on the culinary map? The podcast sinks its teeth into Loseth Scheirer's questions on its first episode.
Turns out, Jim Baiton has the answers — even if he won't tell us all of them. He keeps his secret spices under lock and key, and the garbage is taken to an undisclosed location.
Baiton owns Tumblers Pizza on the east side of Regina, a commercial kitchen producing what he calls Regina-style pizza for pick-up and delivery.
His pizzas are also available in 110 grocery stores across Saskatchewan.
Baiton doesn't take credit for creating the style. He said he learned from the best — the Greek families who put Regina-style pizza on the map — and he's proud of how its popularity has spread.
"It's just like when you spill water, it's going to go certain places," said Baiton.
"That's what's happened here. Guys lived here and then all of a sudden they got the spirit of how to do that and they moved to a small town. Sure, it's going to expand."
Baiton said people have shipped his pizzas to Japan. They've also taken them across the border to Arizona — illegally — in a motorhome.
He said he has been hearing laments for 44 years from people looking for that taste of home.
"'I'm in Vancouver. I can't get a pizza. I'm in Toronto. I can't get a pizza. I'm in Alberta. I can't get a pizza that came from [Regina],'" he said, recounting their complaints.
"I'll tell you one thing, it's a treasure."
Your burning questions about Saskatchewan, answered weekly. Nothing too big, too small, or too weird. What are you wondering? Email goodquestionsask@cbc.ca or fill in the form below.
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