ALL FIRED UP

Enjoy a slice of heaven with an outdoor pizza oven

- JULIA FAIRLEY

Picture this scene: it’s a balmy evening at home and you're feasting with friends and family. Your favourite playlist croons in the background, and mingling with the scent of blossoms is the aroma of sizzling pizzas, each freshly topped with ingredients by the very hands that devour them moments after they leave the oven.

It’s no wonder the allure of pizza ovens has captured a spot in our imaginations and landscape designs. It’s not just for the delicious food they serve up, but also the traditions they create when loved ones cook and dine together, making memories for years to come.

What types of pizza ovens are there?

Rewind thousands of years, and the ovens we see in Roman ruins were built by hand, brick by brick, or fashioned from clay to bake food and flatbreads - the culinary ancestors of pizza. In the 20th century, gas and electric pizza ovens joined charcoal- and wood-burning designs and today, we can choose from all four types - plus multi-fuel models.

Unlike regular ovens, the naked flame inside charcoal-, gas- and wood-fuelled pizza ovens gives food a distinctive, smoky flavour that can only be achieved with fire.