Save our Pizzeria! Commercial Wood-fired Oven Rescues Soar

This is the message which Orchard Ovens has been receiving from many pizzerias and restaurants offering a woodfired pizza menu this year: ... .- ...- . / --- ..- .-. / .--. .. --.. --.. . .-. .. .-

If you are not au fait with Morse Code, the message actually spells out Save Our Pizzeria.  This has been a cry sent out by restaurants, pubs, mobile caterers and pizzerias across the UK, when a woodfired oven, which they thought would allow them to pull in punters, has either proved a complete disaster, in terms of functionality, or failed completely.

Commercial wood fired oven failures

Catastrophic failure is something you might believe would only occur after many years of use and when the woodfired oven has turned out thousands upon thousands of gourmet pizzas.  This is not often the case, if ever.  Most of the wood fired oven rescue missions are having to be launched after the owner has been using their ‘other brand’ oven for a matter of months, or barely a year at best.

Sometimes, this is because the chef, mobile caterer or pizzeria owner has a sound business head and realises that the standard of food produced by the wood-fired oven in question is not good enough.  In other instances, they recognise that the speed of cooking in the commercial pizza oven is not sufficient to deliver a good food service within the eatery or business.  Recognising that the oven is damaging their food reputation, or denying them the opportunity to maximise their sales potential, particularly if catering outdoors, they take the decision to change their commercial wood fired oven.  .

Limiting the damage of a poor commercial wood-fired oven

For many of these business brains, speed is of the essence.  They know that the longer they continue to use the sub-standard pizza oven, the more business will be lost, or the less they will be able to charge for food.  The poor-performing commercial oven is literally eating directly into profit margins. 

Mobile pizza caterers, in particular, cannot afford to lose the ‘audience’, as they are often competing, in an open air environment, with other highly visible alternative food outlets who can soon pull business in.  If they are not providing a swift food service, along with visibly beautifully cooked pizza, the queue will move on, even before a bite is taken.  The sub-standard pizza oven plays into the hands of competing mobile catering businesses.

To read about one business that recognised that its oven was not good enough and did something about it, click here.

Writing off the financial loss of wood fired pizza oven failure

What is most alarming within the ‘Morse Code alerts’ being picked up by Orchard Ovens, is the sheer number of commercial pizza ovens that have catastrophically failed within a matter of months.  With many of their owners having invested significantly in a woodfired oven that they believed would do the job, there is a big financial loss involved in this scenario.  That is irrecoverable, as it was their decision to choose that oven and no warranty can be called upon.  Instead, they have to dig into the bank reserves and buy a replacement oven.

If there is a positive in all of this, the number who turn to Orchard Ovens, at this stage, suggests that there has been a strong learning exercise underpinning the journey  They don’t make a mistake twice. 

Often, that is because, when initially working out which commercial woodfired oven to buy, they almost inevitably considered the market leader, Valoriani, if they did their homework well. What they didn’t realise was that, for what was perhaps a little more outlay, they could have had a commercial pizza oven that lasted 20 years, rather than a few months.  

They were seduced by a lower price tag and didn’t listen to the voice in their head saying ‘buyer beware’.  They didn’t ask to hear of businesses that had been using this other woodfired oven for a decade or more.  They didn’t question whether the oven they ultimately bought was actually fit for purpose within a commercial restaurant environment.

Choosing a commercial wood-fired pizza oven that will last

They also failed to recognise that the Valoriani oven is designed for longevity. That makes the period over which the rate of return on investment can be earned a very long one. Just take the hard-worked oven floor – the part of a commercial wood-fired oven most  likely to suffer an issue.  With a Valoriani oven, this can actually be replaced without dismantling the oven.  Other wood-fired ovens have to be scrapped, if the floor fails.

Conveying the quality difference that comes with a Valoriani oven is the number one challenge for Orchard Ovens.  It is almost impossible to show a pizzeria owner or restaurateur that a Valoriani oven will stand the test of time.  It is the process behind the oven that makes it the star that it is, but it’s not always easy to have people appreciate how the artisanship of crafting and building the oven then almost guarantees decades of performance.  

When someone else is making claims about their oven, even if unsubstantiated, and highlighting a price tag differential, the supposed ‘saving’, often wins the day.  It’s only when that ‘saving’ actually translates into masses of additional cost and outlay, and even loss in business because of sub-standard cooking performance over a period of time, that the penny drops.

Helping restaurants and pubs choose the right wood fired oven

Orchard Ovens’ director, Andrew Manciocchi, says, “We naturally don’t want to see pubs, restaurants and pizzerias losing money because of poor decision making when choosing a commercial wood fired oven but we do ultimately tend to get their business, if they can carry on trading.

“After so many years of banging the drum of quality and explaining just what the Valoriani difference is, I’m not sure what else we can do.  I believe it will be a case of having to continue to pick up the Morse Code signals, rescuing commercial pizza businesses, unless somehow the commercial catering sector becomes more astute within its purchasing and woodfired oven decision-making.”

To try to prevent eateries suffering commercial losses, Andrew has recorded a few podcasts that highlight the Valoriani difference, whether buying a ready-to-go or built-in oven, or a DIY pizza oven kit for self-build.  Listen to these here and here.

To make a wood-fired pizza oven, gas-fired pizza oven or electric pizza oven enquiry, please call 07743 847647.

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Editors notes

Orchard Ovens is the domestic and commercial pizza oven supplier in the UK of Valoriani, based in Reggello, Tuscany - the manufacturer of Italy's hugely respected Valoriani pizza ovens, known as the Maserati of pizza ovens and the kings of clay. These ovens are made from superb refractory clay - cotto clay - found in the family's quarry and unique, thanks to having just the right alumina. This allows Valoriani ovens to heat up quickly and retain heat superbly, bring huge advantages to homeowners, as well as restaurant owners, hotels, pubs, mobile caterers, pizzerias, takeaways and more.

Orchard Ovens supplies some of Britain's best-known restaurants and chefs, whilst it is also a specialist creator of outdoor kitchens and wood-fired oven builds for the rich and famous, as well as everyday homeowners wishing to add value to their home and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle to the full.