Navigated to Papa Murphy's Pizza: A Spiteful Dough Recipe, Food Stamps, and DIY
"Fine" Dining

ยทS4 E3

Papa Murphy's Pizza: A Spiteful Dough Recipe, Food Stamps, and DIY

February 4
50 mins

View Transcript

Episode Description

๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿ  Papa Murphy's Pizza: Take 'N' Bake, No Ovens, No Mercy ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿ•

This week, comedian Peter Murphy (@peter_murphy) joins me to break down the strange, fascinating history of Papa Murphy's, the pizza chain that refuses to cook your food for you. We dig into how take 'n' bake became the brand's entire identity, why you literally cannot buy a hot pizza there, and how that decision shaped everything from employee working conditions to who can even buy the product. We also check in with the internet, because of course someone on Yelp is furious about flip-flops.

๐Ÿ• The Origins of Take 'N' Bake and the Merger That Created Papa Murphy's
๐Ÿ”ฅ Inventing a Dough That Works in a 425-Degree Home Oven
๐Ÿ“ˆ Explosive Growth Into One of America's Biggest Pizza Chains
๐ŸงŠ No Ovens, No Cooking Licenses, and a Safer, Cooler Workplace
๐Ÿงพ Why Papa Murphy's Pizzas Count as Groceries (and What That Means)
๐Ÿ• Stuffed Pizzas, "Larger Than Large" Pies, and Other Menu Swings
๐ŸŽƒ Heart-Shaped and Jack-O'-Lantern Pizzas as Annual Traditions
๐Ÿ“‰ The Mid-2010s Slump and the Challenge of Staying Relevant
๐Ÿ“ฑ Apps, Online Ordering, and the Modern Take 'N' Bake Pivot
๐Ÿง‡ The "Hub of Hacks" Includes Waffle Irons, Football Pepperonis, and Dough Experiments
โญ Yelp From Strangers Includes a Reviewer Outraged by an Employee Wearing Flip-Flops

๐Ÿ’ฌ COMMENT BELOW: Does take 'n' bake pizza feel convenient or like homework?

๐Ÿ“ข SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY:
๐ŸŽ‰ Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast
๐Ÿ’ฌ Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4
๐ŸŽฅ Watch full episodes: youtube.com/channel/UCLbraNhL6KhDPkdSWt2yiuw
๐Ÿ”— All links: linktree.com/finediningpodcast
๐ŸŽค Guest: Peter Murphy | IG: @peter_murphy

WATCH PETER'S SPECIAL "OUT OF NOWHERE" HERE 

Patreon Producers:
Sue Ornelas & Joyce Van

Patreon Subscribers:
David Ornelas, Kellie Baldwin, Jeremy Horwitz, Herbert Amaya, Simone Davalos, Scott Bennett, Amy Reinhart, Josef Castaneda-Liles, & Travis Langley

Free Patreon Followers:
Joe Warszalek, Lauren Cummings, Grace Krainak, Keri Estes, Robert Duran, Patrick Elliott, Michelle Elmer, Dave Plummer, Nicholas Volney, Michael Gerard, Tracy Molino, Phuong Duong, Tyler Robinson, Brandon Gully, Mason Cruz, Michael Milito, Mez, Aaron Hubbard, Steff, Robert McLaughlin, Jewell Hermann, Renae Michael

๐Ÿ‘‰ NEXT WEEK: We actually review Papa Murphy's and put take 'n' bake pizza through the Chili's Test to see how it stacks up against the ultimate casual-dining benchmark.

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