FAQs

1. What type of pizza oven is best for my restaurant?
We take a consultative approach to answer this question by asking you questions, i.e. what style of pizza do you want to make, how many pizzas do you want to make per day, how much space do you have in the kitchen, what electrical or gas services do you have available, do you have skilled staff, what is your budget. The answers you give will help us advise what the best pizza oven is for your business.

2. What equipment do I need to start a pizza takeaway or restaurant?
You will need a pizza oven and a pizza prep fridge. You will also need a dough mixer unless you are buying the dough from a food supplier. You may also require a dough roller if your staff need help with turning balls into bases! We supply all this equipment and many other items you will likely need, such as refrigeration. 

3. How much does commercial pizza equipment cost?
 We have pizza ovens to suit all budgets and requirements. From an electric oven for one pizza at £442 + VAT to a rotating gas fired pizza oven holding 14 pizzas at nearly £30,000 + VAT. We guide you towards the most suitable equipment and explain why you need it, which will justify the cost.

4. What size pizza oven do I need for my business?
 You will need to consider what size pizzas you want to make, and how many you want to make per hour at your busiest time. This will help us determine the ideal size. Don’t forget that a high-end oven that keeps heat very well with a capacity for 6 pizzas will bake many more per day than a cheap oven with poor insulation that also has a capacity for 6 pizzas. 

5. What is the difference between a deck oven and a conveyor pizza oven?
Deck and conveyor are the two most common types of pizza oven. A deck oven has individual oven chambers with a refractory stone baking surface and a door that you open and close. Typically, these are used for traditional Italian roman style pizzas. Conveyor ovens utilise a belt that moves through an oven chamber for a set amount of time. This is an automated process that requires limited operational assistance. Conveyor ovens are typically used in low skilled environments. 
 
6. Are commercial pizza ovens energy efficient?
Some are and some are not. The more money you spend on the oven the more energy efficient it is. This can be because of the materials used in the construction or the technology employed within the ovens control panel.
 
7. How many pizzas per hour can a commercial pizza oven produce?
For conveyor ovens we can be fairly accurate with an answer to this question because the time for baking is always the same, and you can make a calculation based on this, the size of the pizza, and the size of the oven.

For deck ovens it is more difficult to answer. Usually, the bigger the oven the more pizzas per hour it will produce. However, if you have two ovens of the same size but one is a higher quality machine, you will get more per hour from the higher quality one because this oven will retain heat much better, baking times will remain constant and will not increase the more the oven is used.

8. Should I choose a gas or electric pizza oven?
This is often a personal choice or can be determined by what services you have available on site. Electric ovens offer greater and more accurate control, but gas ovens produce small amounts of water vapour during combustion which leads some chefs to prefer them. Energy costs are another factor. Typically, a gas oven is cheaper to run but will have more set up costs as legislation around extraction for gas appliances is stricter. However, the high-end electric ovens can be just as energy efficient as gas ones due to the modern features built in.

9. What is the best pizza oven for a takeaway business?
A lot of takeaway businesses will use a conveyor oven because they require very little training to use and automatically cook a pizza the exact same way every time without operator intervention during the cooking process. These are suited to venues with high staff turnover or less skilled staff.
 
10. What’s the difference between single-deck and double-deck pizza ovens?
Single deck ovens have one baking chamber whereas double deck ovens have two baking chambers, one on top of the other. Sometimes the two baking chambers are combined within one single unit. Sometimes deck ovens are modular so you can stack one, two, or even three separate chambers together.
 
11. How long does it take a commercial pizza oven to heat up?
This can vary a lot between different types of ovens and different manufacturers. It can be anywhere between 15 minutes and 90 minutes from cold. More important than this is how well the oven keeps the heat once hot.

12. Do pizza ovens require special ventilation or extraction systems?
Ventilation and extraction requirements will be different depending on whether you have an electric, gas, or wood fired pizza oven. Electric ovens require far simpler ventilation / extraction than gas or wood. We can offer some general advice around this issue, but you should always consult a specialist.

13. Can I use a commercial pizza oven in a small kitchen or food truck?
 We have pizza ovens suitable for all locations. Some smaller electric ovens will have a 13AMP plug fitted enabling them to be plugged in anywhere. Our gas ovens can also be ordered with LPG jets so they can be powered by bottled gas.

14. What are the running costs of a commercial pizza oven?
This is a very important question and doesn’t have an easy answer as every oven will be different. Gas ovens typically tend to be cheaper to run than electric ones but not if you buy a top end electric model. A good rule to remember is that the more the oven costs to buy, the better it is at maintaining temperature, which means the less energy it will use. Normally the extra amount spent on a better pizza oven will be recouped by the cheaper running cost in around 3 years.

15. Do you offer installation for commercial pizza ovens?
Installation services are available at an additional cost for pizza ovens purchased from us. We have set charges for call outs and hourly rates. Some pizza ovens take longer to install than others, so we recommend calling us for a quote.

16. Do your pizza ovens come with warranty?
 All our ovens come with warranty. The warranty terms are set by the manufacturer so they will differ from oven to oven. The warranty for any particular oven can be seen in the item specification section on the item page.

17. Can I get help choosing the right pizza oven for my business?
Yes you can. That’s why we are here. We want to supply you with the best oven for your business. We have more than 35 years of experience helping customers choose the right pizza oven.

18. Do you supply full pizza restaurant packages?
 We supply a lot more than just pizza ovens. Our experience extends to dough machinery and the wider catering equipment world. Whatever machinery is needed for your pizza restaurant we have the knowledge and suppliers to help with it all.

19. Do you offer delivery across the UK?
We can deliver anywhere in the UK. Deliveries are normally free of charge but exceptions are in place for certain postcodes. 

20. Do you sell refurbished or second-hand catering equipment?
We do not sell refurbished or second hand equipment. However, we do on occasion have ex demo equipment for sale. This equipment will have typically been used at a trade event for 2 or 3 days and will be available at a reduced rate in very good condition. These items are available to view in the special offers section of our website.

21. How often should a pizza oven be serviced?
We recommend most customers service their pizza ovens every year. If you are a very busy site this could be every 6 months instead. Servicing your oven will increase its lifespan and lessen the chance of breakdown.

22. What maintenance does a commercial pizza oven require?
This will depend on the type of oven you have. For example, a deck oven will require vacuuming under the refractory stones to maintain optimal thermal conduction. Whereas a conveyor oven will need its belt tensioning and lubricating. Maintenance information will be contained within the oven manual.

23. Can I get spare parts for my pizza oven?
 We stock spare parts for Moretti Forni, GGF, and Forni Ceky pizza ovens. There are many other pizza oven manufacturers that we are also able to supply spare parts for.

24. Do you provide after-sales support?
Yes. All our ovens will have a warranty. We also have operational knowledge of many pizza ovens if you require some assistance in how to best use your pizza oven.