The Woodfired Pizza Ovens Not Just for Summer

Last November 5, homeowners and restaurants that recognised that bangers and burgers are now a little old-hat for Bonfire Night, were rustling up something far more adventurous … and in amazing, theatre-creating woodfired pizza ovens. 

Al fresco dining is not just for summer afternoons, as many Orchard Ovens’ customers demonstrate.  Many use their wood-fired ovens well into the autumn months and some even rustle up delightful Christmas dishes – or mulled wine – in them too.  After all, what’s not to like about pizza as the perfect Twixmas treat?

All of this is part of the sophistication of the al fresco experience that we have seen in recent years, with homeowners looking to upgrade from their BBQ.  A proper woodfired pizza oven can quickly become a hub of an outdoor dining experience and be flexible and adaptable too.

With a Valoriani, authentic Italian wood-fired oven, it is perfectly possible to escape the ‘pizza oven’ label and cook far more types of dish than you might have imagined - jacket potatoes, steak, pasta, breads, fish dishes, stews, puddings and desserts of many varieties being just some of them. 

As Orchard Ovens’ owner, Andrew Manciocchi, always says, it’s not a question of what you can cook in a Valoriani wood-fired oven but rather that of finding something that you can’t.  He’s even mastered chips and Yorkshire puddings, so the world really is your oyster!

However, many pizza oven owners simply have to put their oven into storage as we head into autumn, because their ovens are not robust, weatherproof or resilient to all the weather throws at them.  Additionally, many pizza ovens just will not retain the heat long enough to create a successful autumn or winter’s foodie experience around the oven, based around slow-cooked dishes.  This is where the first-class credentials of the Valoriani oven’s construction come into their own.

Constructed from the best cotto clay and with excellent amounts of insulation, they are capable of hugging the heat and trapping it internally, even if the ambient temperature is very low.  When the temperature is medium or high, things will cook consistently, thanks to no cold spots or sudden Celsius drops. But overnight, you can also shut the oven door and cook with residual heat, once the flame has died.

Your autumnal cooking experience can be delivered by either a built-in oven, which becomes the centrepiece of a design of your choice, or through a ready-to-go oven, either static or wheeled, which can be used almost the moment it is delivered to your door.  The Valoriani Fornino – available either as a baby oven 60, or a larger 75 model, fits the bill perfectly.

Of course, if you are looking at the in-built option, you can also consider the oven becoming part of a full outdoor kitchen. The Orchard Ovens team has extensive experience in creating such outdoor kitchens, for not just everyday homeowners but top business brains, sporting directors and celebrities too.  Did you see the Valoriani oven featured in a Netflix documentary about one very famous English footballer and his pop star, now turned fashion-designer, wife?

If you did, you will know that their oven is indoors and that’s another option for someone wanting to cook all year round the wood-fired way. After all, the oven might be able to brave the elements but you might not want to!  The Orchard Ovens team can carry out a survey at your property and advise on what adaptations might be needed, to ensure you have the correct flue arrangement to keep things safe.  It’s really not as difficult as it seems.

The other option, for those wanting to look forward to pizzas cooked outdoors in warmer weather, is a DIY pizza oven kit.  Start piecing your future pizza oven together in autumn and you should have plenty of time to get it fully built by Easter or Whitsun, depending how kind the weather may be.  It’s certainly a project to keep you busy, whilst there’s no lawn mowing or major gardening tasks to look after.

This time of year is also one in which restaurants may be planning their refurbishment budgets and January upgrades.  If so, having a wood-fired oven in your eatery could be just the ticket – or maybe having one as a feature outdoors, in your pub garden perhaps, is a great way to bring in additional income in the year ahead.

Whatever your motivation for focusing on scrumptious wood-fired food and pizza this autumn, Orchard Ovens has a solution for you. Just pick up the phone and discuss your ideas and let the team inspire you.  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.