Did a Valoriani Oven Ignite Dua Lipa’s Romance?

The UK supplier of what is probably the world’s most trusted pizza oven brand, Valoriani, is wondering whether one of its ovens was responsible for fanning the flames of celebrity romance and marriage.

Recent reports about the marriage of singing artist, Dua Lipa, to actor Callum Turner, suggest their very first meeting was at the River Café in London.  There, they have been said to have been introduced to each other by restaurateur and owner Ruthie Rogers.

As we all know, food and love are often entwined.  This has led Orchard Ovens, suppliers of Valoriani ovens to the UK market since 2002, to question whether the Valoriani oven, in situ at the River Café since 2008, ignited the Dua Lipa-Callum Turner romance.

That particular oven was actually replaced earlier this year by Orchard Ovens, with a new Valoriani oven fitted in place of the workhorse iconic pink ‘pizza oven’ that had done an 18-year continuous shift at the acclaimed London eatery.

There, it had been used to cook a huge variety of dishes the authentic wood-fired way.    Each had been lovingly cooked by the wood fire, in a Tuscan oven manufactured 1025 miles away, in Reggello, southeast of Florence in the Tuscan hills.

The two celebrities would undoubtedly have sampled dishes cooked in the  Orchard Ovens-supplied Valoriani oven, enjoyed the ambience and food theatre of a wood-fired oven centred at the heart of the River Café and relished the aromas emitted from the real Italian oven.

Currently, the wood-oven delights on offer from the River Café include turbot tranche with anchovy and rosemary branches, served with Tuscan roast potatoes, and a dish of wood-fired pigeon in Valpolicella.

Should the newly-weds return to the River Café, they will notice little difference oven-wise, with the new Valoriani pink oven being more or less a straight swap for the former oven.   The Orchard Ovens’ team completed the refurbishment whilst the River Café was undergoing some changes to other parts of the restaurant too and closed for a short time.

Orchard Ovens owner, Andrew Manciocchi, says, “I’m a true Italian romantic – one of the reasons I introduced pizza ovens to the UK back in 2002, with a dream of having Brits fall in love with them.  For this reason, I would like to think that we played some little part in creating the right environment for ‘belissimo amore’ when Dua Lipa and Callum Turner visited.  Who knows: maybe that’s why they then married in Palermo, to keep the authentic Italian theme going.”

Orchard Ovens has installed Valoriani ovens for other celebrity couples, including Victoria and David Beckham and Geri and Christian Horner. The Anglo-Italian family business hopes that perhaps it will hear from Dua and Callum in the near future, if they too want a first-class Valoriani oven installation.

Any other eateries wanting to spark a little romance with a real-flame Valoriani wood oven can contact Orchard Ovens on 07743 847647, as can homeowners who wish to do a bit of wooing around an authentic Tuscan woodfired ‘pizza’ oven in their own back garden.

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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.