A taste of Rome at home: The perfect pizza oven

In the late 1940s when Italians emigrated to Australia after the war, little did Aussies know they’d be introduced to a life-long love affair with the humble pizza. Golden crust an edible palisade hugging herbaceous tomato sauce covered in bubbling cheese and spicy meats. Slice, slice, baby!

More than a half a century later, Australia’s obsession with pizza has not waned. From a Friday night drop-in at your local for a quick ’za, to a fancy night out at the top end of town for a gourmet deep dish — pizza is a culinary faithful well ensconced in our culture. Nowhere does this love show up more than in the back gardens of pizza aficionados around the country doing it for themselves, eschewing pizza-chain offers with fake ingredients and diminutive portions to create gourmet pies with fresh toppings on state-of-the-art equipment with effortless al fresco results.

Taking the pie out back

Until recently, backyard cooking was limited to the trusty barbie, where steaks and snags happily sizzled their way into the mouths of family and friends over a good chin wag. A good day, to be sure, but one question lingered in the air with the rising smoke: what about the pizza?

Enter the Everdure KILN R Series. An innovative oven giving traditional pizza with a new spin. With a unique U-shaped burner, under-stone burner and rotating turntable, the KILN ensures the perfect pizza in under 2 minutes – beautifully crispy, slightly charred – every time, with no need for incessant checking and turning of your creation.

“Having a rotating turntable function means that I don’t need to use the turning peel,” says executive chef and director of Essence BBQ Lab, Bart Beek. “That frees me up and allows me to stretch out another pizza while one is cooking. It becomes a stress-free, one-person pizza production line.”

Stylishly designed in a variety of colours, the KILN is compact enough to sit atop a standard benchtop, which makes setting up the KILN in your outdoor entertainment area a breeze. And with 50-hours of battery life on the turntable, or the option of mains power, you’ll be cooking more than pizza. With its fast and efficient high heat capability, the KILN is capable of searing and baking a range of dishes, making it the quintessential outdoor cooking centrepiece.

“I have been able to produce a whole varied range of food dishes other than pizza,” says Beek. “With the temperature set to low, I am able to make pastries, cakes and various yeast goods.”

The veteran chef, who has worked with innovators like Heston Blumenthal, says he’s amazed at how well the powerhouse oven grills proteins like steak, lamb cutlets and fresh seafood when simply placed in an oiled skillet pan and positioned in the KILN oven.

“For me, it’s more of a multi-function outdoor oven that’s easy to use and very efficient.”

Next stop: the Pizza Station

Rome was not built in a day, and no worthy pizza was built without the proper benchtop and accessories, which is why Everdure created the ultimate outdoor pizza oven companion aptly named, The Pizza Station. Form meets function in this sexy yet practical mobile storage benchtop that allows for preparation and cooking all in one place.

“The new Pizza Station is a standout accessory,” boasts Beek. “As a chef, food preparation is paramount for seamless food flow. The benchtop is stainless steel, so it ticks the food safety box and is set at the perfect height. I’m also impressed with the vast amount of clever storage options for ingredients, pizza trays and accessories.”

Accessories like Everdure’s Infrared Temperature Gun put the power of precision in the palm of your hand. Simply aim the laser in centre of the pizza stone and observe the temperature on the display screen for a perfect cook every time. Channel your inner chef with the Aluminium Perforated Pizza Peel, a lightweight yet sturdy tool to launch, retrieve and serve your masterpiece without burning your hands.

Check out the KILN oven and other accessories on the Everdure website.