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At LloydPans, we’re always looking to connect with the biggest voices in the pizza industry, and few are as passionate as Eamonn Murphy @TheMayorOfPizza. In just under 4 years, Eamonn has surpassed over 51 thousand Instagram followers, become an Ooni Ambassador and grown into a voice for a legion of pizza makers who truly bake from the heart.
In this exclusive interview, we chat with him about the importance of the right pans in achieving the perfect crust (spoiler alert: it’s LloydPans) and how you too can become the mayor of your own kitchen. Whether you're a pizzeria owner, a home cook or just a die-hard pizza fan, you won’t want to miss what The Mayor of Pizza has to say.
Like others we’ve interviewed, your journey into the pizza industry began during the pandemic. But, you’ve definitely created a (literal and figurative) name for yourself!
I think a lot of us missed our favorite foods during the pandemic. Friday pizza—that’s our thing. I started following some people on Instagram, but I had already followed this guy @notorious_p.i.e. He had a digital cookbook of bar-style pizza. I purchased it, and I read it cover to cover. He made it so simple—here are all the items you’re going to need. I bought everything, and obviously the first couple of pizzas were terrible. But, I started falling in love with making dough, sourcing toppings, hand grating cheese and really elevating it. Pre-sliced pepperoni? No no no.
I started posting on my personal Instagram and Facebook pages, and people loved what they saw. They encouraged me to start my own page. They were like, ‘People get paid for posting stuff!’ I wasn’t really in tune with the whole world of influencers and that sort of thing.
When crafting your pizzas, what tools or equipment do you consider indispensable?
When I first started with the Notorious P.I.E.’s cookbook, I was using this old cake pan and stuff that was so random. Dough was starting to stick, and the pan was starting to chip. I found another pan that was like $5, but it was insanely non-stick. I basically would cook the pizza 75% of the way in the pan, then transfer it onto the baking steel or inside the Ooni oven, then finish it directly on the stone for a harder, crisper bake. I used this cheap pan forever, and people started reaching out to me saying that I'm not supposed to put pans in like that. @eddiespizza412 has always been a huge influence of mine. I just love the guy; he’s like the nicest guy ever. He was like ‘Dude, you should look into LloydPans. They make this pan; it’s a Bar Pizza Pan.’ I purchased a couple of those, but I wanted something a little different. That’s where the 14-inch Cutter Pan came in. The walls are on an angle versus up and down.
I researched LloydPans more, and I literally bought one of everything. And the ones that I have now, I’ve probably made like 400 or 500 pizzas in them, and they still look brand new. They’re the most durable pans ever. I used a Cutter Pan at one of my sister’s backyard picnics, and I made about 12 pizzas in a row with the same pan. I thought that the pan was going to be shot afterward, and it was perfectly fine. I took a paper towel, wiped it out and it was good. My love for LloydPans literally exploded. Huge, total fanboy.
And now, you’re an influencer!
You know how much time you want to dedicate, and it's hard work. How much time do I have to dedicate to pizza? If I were to sell pizzas, it would probably take at least a full day, if not two days, to prep, cook and sell. My biggest enjoyment is when we have friends come over to the house, and they are just so excited to have pizza. The pizza society, we all want to try each other’s toppings, styles, you name it—and it’s so much fun. A baker friend used my dough recipe recently because she wanted to try something thin and crispy. I can’t believe how awesome that was. You feel so honored.
There’s always that pipe dream of when I retire. I work 100% remote, and I love my job. I want to get to a point in my career where I can dial back and then maybe do something where I could do more pizza pop ups. There's still the part of me that thinks it would be fulfilling to even have a tiny slice shop in a beachy area or somewhere down South where I could basically run it on a supply and demand. Something like that would be really fulfilling.
What's your favorite pizza to both make and eat, because a lot of times it's different.
I have what I called my Death Row Pizza, which is basically my style pizza—The Mayor style, but it's in LloydPans. It's fresh mozzarella, spicy crumbled sausage that I cook on the pizza directly, and some good tomatoes on it. It's really basic, really simple. Being from Connecticut, we like our pizzas kind of like New Haven-ish, like hard bake. I want to see some leoparding on the cheese and some nice cheese char around the edges.
The pizza that I like to make the most is just a simple margherita. It's my style, still. I love my own kind of Mayor Margherita, I guess you want to call it. We really are so spoiled in Connecticut—there's really no bad pizza. But wow, that sounds really egotistical. My favorite pizza to eat is my pizza.
You’re a great example of how pizza can build a community.
Everyone is so nice, fun and welcoming. I remember asking so many questions when I first started, and everyone stopped, took the time and talked to some guy with like 246 followers. That stuck with me, so now I do the exact same thing. I respond to every single DM—sometimes it takes a while—but I want to give that same satisfaction to people who are crazy over the top about pizza.
Maybe you could run for actual mayor?
There's another funny story. Recently, I've befriended our town Selectman. We don't even have a mayor, we have a town Selectman. And she loves my pizza, content, everything like that. We joke all the time that the real mayor of Simsbury and The Mayor of Pizza need to get together and do a collab. She’s like anytime you want, come on in.
