Orchard Ovens

Orchard Ovens The Orchard Ovens Family have brightened UK gardens for decades. As fifth-generation Anglo-Italians, WHY CHOOSE AN ORCHARD OVEN? The truth? Our ovens do.

Our philosophy is to supply customers with nothing less than
we accept ourselves. Our Tuscany-sourced, artisan-built and
DEFRA-approved ovens are built by the fire-brick specialists,
Valoriani, using only material Italians trust. Cooking in a wood oven is a science, requiring first-class
thermal conductivity and excellent insulation. Oven shells
should be cool to both observe and touch. Oven floors should
be almost ‘seamless’. They should relish incredible
temperatures. Others don’t.

Our contribution to - a rack of lamb cooked in a Valoriani woodfired oven in such a way as to create a succulent feast...
03/09/2026

Our contribution to - a rack of lamb cooked in a Valoriani woodfired oven in such a way as to create a succulent feast with that inimitable flavour that comes from cooking with a real flame.

Is this the sort of thing you would simply love to rustle up in your own woodfired oven at home?

Did you know that you can fit a woodfired oven indoors, as well as out, with the right flue arrangement?

Do you realise we can create both bespoke oven builds and supply ready-to-use woodfired ovens?

Head to orchardovens(dot)co(dot)uk to find out more about different options we can offer and get in touch if you want to talk it through and get some advice.

The start of the Real Bread Campaign's is appropriate for the next part of our story of the Valoriani family brand and...
01/09/2026

The start of the Real Bread Campaign's is appropriate for the next part of our story of the Valoriani family brand and its ovens.

We are now in the factory of today in Reggello, where the component parts of a woodfired, or pizza oven if you prefer, are manufactured in-house. Unlike other manufacturers, Valoriani produces both domes and floors under the expert artisan eyes of its operatives. Quality control is everything.

Furthermore, such is the manufacturing skill that they can produce a different floor, with a different composition for those who wish to bake bread - sourdough or otherwise. Artisan woodfired oven manufacturers truly deliver for artisan bread makers.

This is yet another way in which Valoriani stands apart. It speaks of expertise, specialisation and dedication to the art of woodburning oven manufacturer.

Is your garden or indoor pizza oven lovingly created by such a team?

We continue our Valoriani pizza oven story today with some pictures of the factory in Reggello in the years after Silvio...
28/08/2026

We continue our Valoriani pizza oven story today with some pictures of the factory in Reggello in the years after Silvio Valoriani had created the world's first pre-fabricated pizza oven.

The artisans working in the Valoriani factory brought something equally important to the story: practical knowledge of refractory materials, an understanding of clay, an eye for quality and skills honed through years of working with materials required to perform under extreme heat.

This wasn't mass production without a soul. It was innovation built upon craftsmanship.

Hands shaped components. Eyes judged materials. Experience informed decisions. Knowledge passed from one person to another.

And today, this is still the case.

It's easy to look at your pizza oven and see only the finished product.
What you don't see are the decades of experimentation, innovation and accumulated knowledge behind it – or the generations of craftspeople who helped perfect what came next.

So when buying a woodfired pizza oven, the question shouldn't just be
“What does this oven cost?” but also "What knowledge and experience has gone into its production."

Today it's a spot the difference challenge as we highlight the next step in the history of our oven manufacturer, Valori...
27/08/2026

Today it's a spot the difference challenge as we highlight the next step in the history of our oven manufacturer, Valoriani's, history.

In 1948, this picture was taken. In the foreground, you will see pizza oven components. By this point in history, Valoriani was dispatching the component parts of ovens to locations across Italy, to support the post World War II recovery programme.

A means of constructing an oven from component parts had been cleverly created by Silvio Valoriani. It was a step towards what came next - the simplification of the whole process by creating the world's first pre-fabricated oven.

Silvio channelled the family’s centuries-old experience in selecting and handling best-in-class raw materials and designed a self-supporting, segmented vault. He then managed to increase the stability of the design. With this advance, the first pre-fabricated refractory oven in the world came into being.

This is the basis of the wood-fired ovens from Valoriani that we know today and what every other manufacturer has tried to copy, with little success.

If you have a wood-fired oven from Valoriani, its story lies in the genius and problem-solving ability of Silvio Valoriani. The stakes were high. People need to be fed. Thankfully, his knowledge won through and created an oven that has never been surpassed.

For more on that, keep checking this page.

Today, we are highlighting how much the knowledge acquired by the Valoriani family was required in post-war Italy. This ...
26/08/2026

Today, we are highlighting how much the knowledge acquired by the Valoriani family was required in post-war Italy.

This atmospheric photograph takes us back to the Valoriani family manufacturing base in 1944. They had moved their factory to Reggello, close to a supply of superb refractory clay.

At a time when Italy faced the enormous task of rebuilding communities devastated by war, the skills of the Valoriani family had a very practical role to play.

The family had generations of experience in working with clay and refractory materials; materials capable of withstanding and retaining intense heat.

That expertise counted.

Valoriani provided high-quality clay bricks, as part of the official post-war recovery programme. These were used to build thousands of wood-burning ovens, helping families to bake bread as a staple of their post-war diet, as villages and communities began the long process of rebuilding their lives. Valoriani ovens were literally helping to feed Italy.

An oven wasn't a lifestyle purchase then.

It wasn't an outdoor kitchen accessory, as it is today.

It was part of putting everyday life back together.

Heat. Food. Bread. Family. Community. A vital quintet.

Behind this lay the specialist knowledge of both materials and manufacturing that the Valoriani family had acquired.

The photograph is a reminder that genuine manufacturing heritage isn't simply about being able to put an old date on a company timeline.

It's about knowledge accumulated through generations and what that knowledge has facilitated and created.

There is a direct line between this story and the Valoriani pizza ovens of today: an understanding of refractory materials, heat and oven construction, handed from one generation to the next.

So perhaps there's another question worth asking when choosing a pizza oven:

Who really understands what your oven is made from and why it needs to be made that way and over what period of time have they acquired their knowledge.

Heritage matters. It's the cornerstone of oven longevity.

Where the magic happens!This is the factory in Reggello, tucked away in the stunning Tuscan hills.Importantly, also be...
23/08/2026

Where the magic happens!

This is the factory in Reggello, tucked away in the stunning Tuscan hills.

Importantly, also besides a quarry with exceptional raw material for the creation of refractory clay products. Like the wood-fired (pizza) ovens that are produced here.

You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear, as they say. The artisans at Valoriani don't. They start with the finest 'ingredients' for their ovens and build on that.

This is why these ovens are head and shoulders above others. Why they are still operating perfectly after 20 years of use.

Isn't it time you owned an oven of this quality?

It's all about the base ...Well, that's one part of a DIY self-build pizza oven that really does matter, if your oven ki...
18/08/2026

It's all about the base ...

Well, that's one part of a DIY self-build pizza oven that really does matter, if your oven kit is from .

That's because our Valoriani self-build ovens use components built to last 15 or 20 years or more by the artisans at the Tuscany-based Valoriani factory.

Fancy building your own outdoor oven, maybe in time for Halloween and Bonfire Night, or to cook your Christmas dinner in the garden and make truly special memories?

Ring us on 07743 847647 and find out more about building your own pizza oven in the full podcast.

How about an outdoor project that could give you your own outdoor oven by Bonfire Night?You could be rustling up pizza,...
16/08/2026

How about an outdoor project that could give you your own outdoor oven by Bonfire Night?

You could be rustling up pizza, hotpot, a curry or a stew, chicken delights, jacket potatoes and delicious woodfired sausages - in fact, virtually anything you want to cook.

A Valoriani oven kit will give you a first-class 'pizza' oven that will be your versatile outdoor cooking ally for decades, thanks to the quality of the artisan manufacturing that goes into the component parts.

Want to know more? Need to know if you've got the skills to do it? Want to check if anyone will provide advice? Just call us on 07743 847647.

15/08/2026

Ferragosto is a long-established Italian festivity, taking place today, so we wish our pizza oven creators - the supreme artisans at Valoriani - a wonderful Ferragosto celebration this evening, along with all other Italian families.

Next year, in case you would like to create your own Ferragosto experience, we have put together some pointers -

On , what could be more delicious than oysters cooked in a woodfired oven, if you are a shellfish lover? Maybe with a...
05/08/2026

On , what could be more delicious than oysters cooked in a woodfired oven, if you are a shellfish lover? Maybe with a garlic herb butter or cheese, and full of that slightly smoky flavour that makes the taste buds pop.

Here are some hints of how to cook these and make the most of a fully versatile oven like a Valoriani - far more than just a pizza oven.

Address

Unit 3 & 4, Old Brewery Trading Estate, Mona Place, Croft St
Preston
PR18XA

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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