Culinary Circle is a private label brand from manufacturer Richelieu Foods. Products are marketed in a large variety of grocery chains, including Super Valu, Albertsons, Cub, and Shaws.
Richelieu dates back to 1862, and for the first 100 years or so, was primarily known as a packager of salad dressings and sauces. Diversification came with the influx of new capital from a sale to private equity.
Their frozen pizzas are manufactured in plants in Wisconsin and Ohio, for nationwide distribution. Richelieu was named “Pizza Manufacturer of the Year” in 2006
The flatbread crust pizza comes shrink wrapped on a cardboard round inside a box for display. Toppings include a blend of cheeses (Parmesan, Romano, and fontina) , capicola ham, Italian sausage, and salami.
For my personal palate, I added sliced green olives.
This is a conventional oven affair, 400 for 16-20 minutes. I’m not sure what “flatbread” refers to these days, there are so many products which use it as a descriptor. In the case of this pizza, its a square pie, which a slightly thicker crust than is what is generally offered as “thin crust” pizzas. In other words, for the frozen pizza industry, I would call this a fairly standard thickness.
The sauce is slightly sweeter. Toppings are adequate. Overall, to me, the flavor and texture is slightly better than the average “value brand” frozen pie, like Tony’s or Totino’s.
It’s an “OK” product and a relatively good value when priced right.
Below are pix of the unbaked pie, and the finished from the oven pizza.
