7 New Year’s Resolutions for Pizzerias and Pizza-serving Restaurants

Orchard Ovens, the supplier of world-renowned Valoriani commercial pizza ovens, has seven suggestions of New Year’s resolutions that pizzerias and pizza-serving restaurants should adopt in 2026.

Its list of New Year’s resolutions for those wanting to offer top-quality wood-fired pizza to customers are as follows.

1. Aim for longevity

With so many pressures on restaurants these days, pizzerias and eateries should be exercising best practice when it comes to their procurement.  That means looking for commercial catering equipment that will have longevity and be in the kitchen for many years to come, ensuring great payback on the initial investment.  Longevity is not something associated with the majority of commercial pizza ovens, but that is where Valoriani pizza ovens differ.  Valoriani is all about giving a long life to its ovens. In fact, the Valoriani family’s pride comes from its manufacturing of a top-quality, artisan-led product.  Valoriani ovens will be with a commercial kitchen for 15 or 20 years. Most other pizza ovens might last a year or two.  

2. Reduce downtime

Commercial kitchens should remember that downtime equates to a loss of revenue and a hit to profits.  If the wood-fired pizza oven needs repairs, or has to be completely replaced, that means a day or more of it being out of action.  With a Valoriani oven, repairs are rare and typically occur only when an oven has been misused.  Should a floor need replacing however, the whole oven does not need to be dismantled.  A new floor simply goes in.

3. Create a better quality product

In tougher economic times, all customers seek better value from their purchases.  For a diner, that means getting first-class food on their plate.  Diner reviews of venues that had one pizza oven that was then replaced by a Valoriani oven always follow one trend – demonstrating much-enhanced customer satisfaction with the taste and texture of their pizza.  There is good reason for that. If you buy a commercial pizza oven that is not fit for purpose, or constructed of poor quality materials, you cannot expect it to turn out great-quality pizza.  With a Valoriani oven, you can create gourmet pizza, time after time, with no fear.  The correct cooking environment, delivered by an oven with an optimal design, excellent insulation and fantastic refractory clay shell and floor, makes all the difference.

4. Enjoy better kitchen conditions

No member of a kitchen team relishes working in steamy, red-hot conditions and yet many pizzerias and eateries inflict that on their employees, by purchasing a wood-fired pizza oven that lacks insulation, is of poor design and constructed of materials that do not retain heat, meaning that the fire has to be continuously fed.  If that sounds like your kitchen, do something about it in 2026.  A Valoriani oven will prevent your kitchen becoming a sauna and could make working for you a much nicer proposition for your employees.

5. Increase safety

An inadequate commercial pizza oven will create health and safety issues in two ways.  Firstly, it can start to disintegrate, leading to fragments of cement, staples and all manner of debris falling into the food you serve to customers.  Secondly, it can lead to the shell of the pizza oven being so hot that it can lead to members of staff suffering burns to the skin.  With a Valoriani oven, neither of these situations arises.

6. Reduce costs

If you are continually having to feed wood to your commercial pizza oven, there is a fair chance that it is not up to the task you are asking of it.  Switch to a Valoriani wood-fired oven and you will notice a big difference.  Some commercial pizza ovens from Valoriani also have patented technology that recycles heat under the oven floor, reusing generated heat to help reduce costs.  Ask Orchard Ovens about the options, if costs are getting out of control with your current commercial pizza oven.

7. Get more out of your oven

Many pizzerias and restaurants that have a wood-fired pizza oven are not getting the most out of it.  Sometimes, this is because the oven is not capable of cooking much more than pizza.  However, with a Valoriani oven, the opportunity to create other menu items is vast.  Even if you just opt to offer jacket potatoes or freshly cooked bread, you can be a winner in the diner stakes, as these items will taste amazing when cooked in a Valoriani oven.  But you could also be thinking desserts, slow-cooked dishes, nibbles, incredible roasted vegetables and much more.  The more you use the full capacity of your oven, the better the return on your investment will be.

Resolve to get more from your wood-fired pizza oven in 2026 and you could serve your pizzeria, restaurant, pub, café or eatery well.  Talk to the team at Orchard Ovens today, by calling 07743 847647.  Significant improvements in your kitchen could be just weeks away.

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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.