It's a poor craftsman that blames his tools.

But sometimes, the right equipment makes ALL the difference in the world.

I got the chance to cook on an awesome piece of equipment this weekend:
The Fontana Gusto Wood Fired Oven

Not mine, since this thing has a price entry point of about five grand... plus shipping. Since it is 800 pounds, shipping probably costs a pretty penny. Here is the one I was working on:


Yeah, this thing is pretty wicked. Well, if you can ever call an oven "wicked". Anyway, we put it together from it's shipping crate from Italy, plugged in the power for convection and light, and loaded up with some old crappy wood.

In no time, the stone was getting hot enough to make Pizza:


I made up a dough recipe, threw together some ingredients...


This was the start of a white pizza- olive oil, mozzarella, and added some basil at the end. It turned out awesome.

Here is a pie that my wife made. Mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, lemon vinaigrette and shaved Parmesan cheese. This was a truly excellent pizza.


I have grilled Pizza on stones on the grill, direct on the grill grates, and on stones in the oven. NOTHING came close to using this purpose built tool for the task.

I am going to research some flatbread recipes and stock up on some bread to keep around the house.