The Complete Kiwi Pizza Oven

Cooking in a wood-fired pizza oven is simply made for Kiwi outdoor living and The Complete Kiwi Pizza Oven is the one comprehensive source of everything you need to know to share in that lifestyle. Should you build your own or buy a pre-cast oven, where’s the best place to site it, what firewood burns best, what tools do you need, how do you fire the oven and maintain the temperature, and, most importantly, what can you cook in it? Highly regarded chef tutor and author Alan Brown built his own oven, and here he shares invaluable practical advice on all aspects of oven management, as well as his own irresistible recipes, photographed in sumptuous full colour by Todd Eyre. You won’t believe how delicious food tastes cooked in a pizza oven, whether seafood, meat, vegetables, bread, desserts or, of course, pizzas! The Complete Kiwi Pizza Oven also includes the popular Shed magazine article on how to build a pizza oven, as well as profiles of 17 Kiwis and their ovens, with their (often hilarious) experiences, recipes and tips.

Author Biography

Alan Brown is a senior chef lecturer at the AUT, where last year he was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Academic Excellence Award, as well as becoming the first New Zealand recipient of the London City and Guilds’ International Medal for Excellence in teaching culinary arts. Alan has 17 years’ international cooking experience, and has trained some of New Zealand’s best chefs, including Michael Meredith and Ben Bailey. He is also a national culinary judge for Beef and Lamb New Zealand, Monteith’s Beer and Wild Food Challenge and New Zealand Venison, among others. Alan spends most of his spare time tinkering with new food and cooking techniques, such as hot and cold smoking, cheese-making, sausage-making, sourdough bread-making, distilling and, of course, cooking in his pizza oven.