How Proper Pizza Ovens Trump BBQs at Outdoor Parties

Orchard Ovens, the UK supplier of top-of-the-range Valoriani domestic and commercial pizza ovens, says Brits need to use experiences from this year’s BBQ Week (May 29 – June 4) and reflect on how to upgrade their al fresco lifestyle.

Orchard Ovens points to the findings of a recent Avant Homes research survey[1] that suggest that 40% of Brits are bored with barbecue parties and think the whole thing needs a serious upgrade.  Furthermore, many Brits are finding the traditional bangers and burgers menu a yawn and want to have more out-of-the-ordinary food, with ingredients such as avocado, wild boar and ostrich of appeal.  Then, there is also a desire to enjoy more of an experience than the barbecue can provide. 

Upgrade the BBQ experience with a woodfired pizza oven

The answer to all of these issues can be found in a pizza oven of a decent size and credibility, which can become a hub for an outdoor party.  For that, you need an oven with at least the footprint of the wood-fired or gas-fired Valoriani baby oven – the Fornino 60 – or of the new Orchard Ovens Fornino 50.  The latter can run on wood or gas and comes with a removable Valoriani oven floor, to use inside and out.

The reason why you need a good-sized oven is because your outdoor entertaining should be seeking to get people involved.  The issue with barbecues and portable metal pizza ovens is that one person takes charge and nobody else is needed -  until expected to clear up!  That can invoke boredom and also some frustration, particularly if the chief barbecuer or pizza chef is not that proficient.

The frustration can be even greater for women.  In a Tropical Sun survey in 2024[2], it was found that a fifth of people think barbecuing should only be done by a man.

Added engagement for garden party guests

If you have a wood-fired oven around which several people can gather to cook, there is more involvement for everybody.  That involvement could be lighting the fire and arranging the logs.  It could be fire management, loading more logs to keep the fire bright.  It can involve dough ball spreading and dough spinning, selecting toppings for a pizza, loading a pizza into the oven, turning pizza and also taking pizzas out, ready for serving on to the plate.

However, it can be much more than this.  With a proper ‘pukka’ pizza oven, from the brand chefs like Jamie Oliver have adopted, you can cook so much more than pizza.  Let’s start with the surprising.  Your pizza oven can also be a barbecue, as you can use it to grill food.  Here, you can use a Valoriani Tuscan grill and place your typical barbecue fayre on the top.  This will allow you to enjoy steaks, burgers, sausages and more.

Greater food variety than a BBQ

But, at the same time, you could be cooking jacket potatoes, snuggly wrapped up in foil and baked to perfection by the time they come out of the oven.  You could be toasting bread for crostini – topped perhaps with the avocado your guests are craving.  You can be cooking pasta dishes, sea bass and other fish, curries, chilli, quiches, pies and so much more – even desserts.

On this basis, you can offer a revolving menu for your outdoor dining parties, surprising guests on each occasion, rather than just introducing a different variety of sausage to the barbecue.

Other ways in which pizza parties trump BBQs

All ages can get involved and you have some distinct advantages.  If you are cooking with wood, you don’t have to worry about the hazard of the gas canister.  If you can master the art of building the fire, it will be far less problematic than cooking with charcoal.  The temperature of the oven will take away all the health fears that surround barbecue cooking and the need to be continually checking whether food is cooked through, or just charred on the outside.  

There is also the danger relating to the heat of the barbecue kit itself, should someone touch it.  pthey lack a good level of insulation, this is not true of a Valoriani oven.  You can actually place your hands on the shell and feel none of the dramatic heat from within the oven.  The insulation is first-class and that makes it a safe oven to have around children – not to mention energetic or slightly tipsy adults!

Memorability of pizza parties and their exciting food offering

All of those Brits who want more memorability at their garden parties and Bank Holiday shindigs, could easily get that if they introduced a proper wood-fired pizza oven into the mix – a proper domed oven that can be a multi-purposing cooking maestro.

And, they could also get that avocado, ostrich and wild boar onto the menu in very many ways.  Whether it’s a simple avocado and chicken or avocado and prawn pizza, or a more advanced smoked venison and avocado burger, or perhaps a beautifully cooked ostrich lasagne, pizza oven owners can tickle taste buds.  And that’s before they move on to a wild boar stew with mushrooms, wild boar and bean casserole, or wild boar goulash!

Throw a few wild boar bangers atop the Valoriani Tuscan grill and the job is sure to be a good’un for the guests.

Summing up BBQ v pizza oven advantages

Barbecues have been around for decades but are rapidly having their day, as people crave healthier and more tasty food outdoors and, above all, the sort of engagement and interaction that now comes in many other aspects of life.

Luckily, a proper outdoor pizza oven, (particularly if woodfired but also a great asset if gas-fired), can satisfy the needs of the modern barbecue guest.  Just contact us on 07743 847647, to allow us to sort your outdoor entertaining-at-home dilemmas out.

[1] https://www.yourworld.net/derbyshire/derby/news/revealed-east-midlands-residents-secret-summer-bbq-party-wishes-116061

[2] https://www.staffordshire-live.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink/barbecue-rules-unveiled-uk-prepares-9325323

Ends

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.