Spring is around the corner, so now is exactly the right time to get planning your dream al fresco entertaining space. If an outdoor kitchen is very much on your agenda, here are 8 reasons why including a wood-fired oven will make your space truly next-level.  

• More than just pizza

Yes, one of our authentic Italian wood-fired ovens will cook incredible pizza, but you can truly shine as a host or hostess by showing that you can do much more than that when it comes to cooking with wood. Curries, stews, steaks, desserts – everything from gourmet breakfasts to three course meals – could be in your repertoire. Your entertaining schedule could soon feature anything from pizza and Prosecco nights, to steak jamborees and Sunday family roasts, enjoyed in your own back garden, or even courtyard or terrace.

• A social experience

Outdoor kitchens are all about getting social outdoors, just as you would at an indoor party and nothing has a more magnetic appeal, or ability to make people become more social, than a Valoriani wood-fired oven. 

Whether it’s getting the kids involved in preparing their own meals or creating a hands-on foodie feast with friends, a wood-fired oven, and the hundreds of recipes that can be tried within in, will be sure to bring everyone together.

• Not just for the summer months 

Incorporating a Valoriani wood-fired oven into your outdoor kitchen will give you the opportunity to enjoy your outside space all year round.  With the addition of shelter, or covered areas to protect you from the elements, and the warmth of the oven to keep things cosy, outdoor dining will become a regular event in your household, helping you to really benefit from your investment.

• Bringing the Mediterranean to your patio

Having an outdoor kitchen is not enough to relive those moments spent in Tuscany or in a beach-side restaurant in Cyprus.  What you need, to truly recreate that style of outdoor living, is an oven that will provide the food theatre, the sound effects of crackling wood and the aroma of wood and food intermingling on the breeze.  To attain that, it’s an absolute must to have a wood-fired oven at the heart of your outdoor kitchen.

• Baking bread

What could be more joyous than being able to bake your own bread to enjoy in your outdoor kitchen, whether that’s served with dips, garlic butter, smashed avocado, or something else?  Install one of our Valoriani wood-fired ovens and you will have the best homemade bread imaginable – as long as you learn the basics of bread-making, of course!

• Slow-cooked heaven

Our wood-fired ovens don’t just cook pizza and don’t need you to stand over them all the time.  If you want to really impress, you could fire up your oven, let the flames die down and very slowly cook a dish with the residual heat.  Just get some practise in and you could be inviting people back after a Christening or day out, to tuck in to something that’s been slowly cooking away whilst you weren’t even there!

• Breakfast like kings

As your guests arise after a great night’s sleep, what could be better than wowing them with a delicious breakfast cooked in a Valoriani oven, using the residual heat from the  energy built up in the oven the day before?

Baked eggs, crispy smoked bacon, sizzling sausages – your wood-fired oven should be at the perfect temperature the following morning, to cook a mouthwatering brekkie banquet for friends, ensuring the most memorable of stays.

• Creating authentic Italian pizza at home

And finally, of course you can turn your outdoor kitchen into a pizza palace.  We’ll even help you install the beer pumps that will ensure you can serve it up with your favourite Italian lager, or the wine fridge that ensures there’s always a crisp white at hand.  This will give you much more versatility in your outdoor entertaining than that provided by the ubiquitous barbecue, which you can even fully replace, if you wish, as you can barbecue in the wood-fired oven, simply by using our Tuscan grill accessory.

If you would like to discuss how you can build a wood-fired oven into your outdoor kitchen plans this summer, why not give us a call on 01772 250000 or email info@orchardovens.co.uk