Pizza Influencer Interview: @PizzaChannelKevin

Heads up to the pizza obsessed: Tune into @PizzaChannelKevin to get your fix! For 12 years, Kevin Lynch has been making pizzas at home, and he was hooked as soon as he bought his first pizza dough ball. The “pizza gateway drug” turned into something much bigger for the video production and media professional, and he now has thousands of followers and subscribers ready for the next pizza-making video.

When the pandemic hit, Lynch joined the stuck-at-home masses, and with his LloydPans in tow, he combined three of his loves: pizza making, producing content and — of course — eating the finished product.

“The YouTube channel and TikTok are a fun way to share my love of pizza and how to make pizza with the world. It’s fun to get a little bit of attention, and it’s been a fun ride so far,” he said.

With a list of about “a bazillion videos,” he wants to produce, sometimes it can be tough to narrow down what makes the cut. With YouTube, he observes what types of videos may be lacking or needed in the ethos in terms of pizza making tips.

“I see what the needs are that people may need to learn [about pizza],” he said. “A lot of my choices are based on people asking questions. Instagram is based on what I want to eat, and I’m a man of variety. I love pizza; there’s more than 10 styles of pizza that I make.”

“I’ve never had a pizza not separate from a LloydPan. They are really good,” he said. “With my Detroit, I just run the edge with a knife and it separates easily. It gets nice and hot on the bottom; it’s an even bake. As far as cleaning them, when you’re cleaning the burnt cheese the crumb comes off easily as well.”

Lynch uses the 10-inch Bar Pizza Shovel, the 10×10 Sicilian/Detroit-Style Pan and a large 16×11 Detroit-Style to make pizzas for his videos.

Lynch’s bar pies are especially thin, but with the LloydPans shovel, he just gives it a few shakes and the pizza comes right off.

“If I had a bar pie business, I’d definitely stock up on those. It definitely saves time and the potential that you might rip a pizza crust,” he said.

Lynch’s reputation as a video/pizza maker has taken on a life of its own, and now he has to start the process a bit earlier, usually on a Friday. The dough is a three-day process, which starts on Tuesday. If it’s a pan pizza video, however, it may need a little extra rise in the pan.

“It’s really about thinking ahead,” he said. “Once you develop a reputation, there’s no turning back. You have to give them [viewers] the real experience every time. In the last two weeks I’ve made a five-cheese white New York-style pizza topped with sausage that people absolutely loved. The saltiness of the difference cheeses — and it gets nice and crispy.”

Lynch’s Sicilian-style with fresh rosemary, olive oil, garlic and cheeses is also a fan favorite, as is a pho-inspired pizza with garlic, olive oil, mozzarella, green onion and a little bit of pepper.

“After I pull the pizza out of the oven, I add a squeeze sriracha and squeeze of lime, rare roast beef, red onion, cilantro and basil. Honestly, everything involved in a pan — Lloyd’s certainly makes it better.”