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Episode Description
๐๐ฅ๐ Papa Murphy's Pizza: Take 'N' Bake, No Ovens, No Mercy ๐ ๐ฅ๐
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.
๐ The Origins of Take 'N' Bake and the Merger That Created Papa Murphy's
๐ฅ Inventing a Dough That Works in a 425-Degree Home Oven
๐ Explosive Growth Into One of America's Biggest Pizza Chains
๐ง No Ovens, No Cooking Licenses, and a Safer, Cooler Workplace
๐งพ Why Papa Murphy's Pizzas Count as Groceries (and What That Means)
๐ Stuffed Pizzas, "Larger Than Large" Pies, and Other Menu Swings
๐ Heart-Shaped and Jack-O'-Lantern Pizzas as Annual Traditions
๐ The Mid-2010s Slump and the Challenge of Staying Relevant
๐ฑ Apps, Online Ordering, and the Modern Take 'N' Bake Pivot
๐ง 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
๐ฌ COMMENT BELOW: Does take 'n' bake pizza feel convenient or like homework?
๐ข SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY:
๐ Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast
๐ฌ Discord (Food talk, memes, cursed Yelp): discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4
๐ฅ Watch full episodes: youtube.com/channel/UCLbraNhL6KhDPkdSWt2yiuw
๐ All links: linktree.com/finediningpodcast
๐ค 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
๐ 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.
