Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven – 12” gas, low-cost (kitchen review)

12/08/2024
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven is a portable LPG gas pizza oven that reaches 500° and cooks 12” pizzas in 60 seconds. It is about half the price you may expect to pay for a ‘brand-name’ pizza oven.

CyberShack loves pizza, and we have reviewed portable ovens before, so we know what to look for. Things like at least 4kw heat output (for 500°), 15–20-minute fast heat (oven and Cordierite stone), and a deep and wide oven opening. We also look for build quality and materials like stainless steel and powder coating—will it last? After all, it is really for outdoor use.

We can report that the Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven meets all our high standards and cooks pizza as well as the best. Of course, the best have a few extra bells and whistles, but this is very good for pizza lovers on a budget.

We review pizza ovens on:

Assembly: This is fully assembled – Pass+
Pre-heating time: Most take about 20 minutes to reach 500° for the oven and stone – Pass+
Cooking time: At 400-500°C – 60 seconds should give a nice Neapolitan crust and slightly browned underside (not burnt) – Pass+
Ease of Use: Is the opening large enough to fit a standard 12” pizza on a large paddle? – Pass+
Build: It needs to be durable and made mainly from stainless steel – Pass+
Cleaning: Easy to clean – Pass+
Storage: Does it have a cover, and do legs fold down? – Pass+
Fuel efficiency: We cannot measure that, but pre-heat time indicates it is about average.
Extras: Does it have a front door, smoke flu, multi-fuel capability, thermometer, etc? This is a basic no-frills model.

AUSTRALIAN REVIEW: Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven

Website	Gourmet Kitchen is a brand of Décor Innovations
Price (RRP 12/8/24)	$599 but varies and seen as low as $350
From	Myer Temple and Webster Kitchen Warehouse DI Home Woolworths Market MyDeal
Warranty	Three years
Made in	China
Company	Gourmet Kitchen (Est 2013) is a well-known brand of Everyday cookware and the Chef-series cast iron casserole dishes.
More	CyberShack Pizza news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

We are also tightening up on grading. From now on, Pass, for example, means meeting expectations for the price bracket. We consider a Pass mark to be 70+/100 with extra points added for class-leading and excellence.

First Impression – Basic, but it has all you need

The Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven comes fully assembled in a large box replete with a cover (necessary for outdoor use and storage) and an elementary manual about the hardware. What is missing is a manual about making pizzas – something more expensive brands have. But hey, this is a value item. We will talk about the necessary accessories later.

It is cleverly designed with strategic angles on the outer hood to focus heat inside the open-faced oven.

It is 31.4cm H x 40cm W x 64.6cm D x 13.2kg (with the folding legs open). It has a gas burner with the LCC27 fitting, so your old LPG tank with a POL fitting will not work. Just go to a gas exchange and swap the bottle for a new model that fits the old and new fittings. All gas-powered pizza ovens can only be used outdoors in non-windy conditions.

Pizza is easy and cheap.

Pizza is dough, sauce, cheese and toppings. Once you learn a few basics this oven can turn out pizzas as good as any other.

While we are on the lower-cost theme, look at this table using supermarket ingredients (we used Woolworth’s pricing, but Coles has equivalents),

Item	Price	Pack	Servings	Price per serving
Woolworths Thin Crust bases	$3.00	2	1	$1.50
Woolworths La Gina Tomato Passata	$2.20	680	60	$0.19
Woolworths Shredded Mozzarella	$7.70	500	50	$0.77

Pizza Base				$2.46

Optional Toppings
Woolworths Cherry Bocconcini	$4.80	220	40	$0.87
Primo Pepperoni	$3.95	80	4	$0.20
Woolworths Pitted Kalamata Olives	$3.00	345	20	$0.17
Woolworths Sundried Tomato Halved	$4.50	500	20	$0.18

Pepperoni, Olives and Sundried tomato				$1.42

So, for $3.88, you can have a Pepperoni with the works, which beats the hell out of store-bought or delivered pizza. I like to add some shredded parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.

Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven — (L) Pepperoni, Bocconcini, Kalamata Olives, sun-dried tomatoes Mozzarella and Parmesan (L) Prosciutto instead.

Of course, you can use freshly made dough. We have tried using this in the past, but be careful, as it can stick to the Cordierite and make an unholy mess. To do this, sear the fresh dough pizza base first.

You can use Lebanese, Pita, Naan, Turkish, Focaccia, Ciabatta, Roti, Chappati, tortilla, or other flatbreads as bases, but you must experiment with the lower heat as the higher sugar content burns quickly.

Preparation time is a few minutes, oven pre-heat is up to 15-20 minutes, and cooking time is 60 seconds, but you must rotate it 180° at 30 seconds for even cooking. Again, that is the same with any pizza oven.

Results – Pass+

The results were superb. One piece of advice—use a timer and rotate the pizza every 30 seconds. The base is beautifully brown, the mozzarella and bocconcini are melted and browned, and the ingredients (pepperoni, olives, sun-dried tomatoes) are cooked. Our edges were a tad burnt—yes, 60 seconds is enough.

If you make a bad or burnt pizza, it is probably because you have over-loaded the toppings or sauce, the dough base is not uniform thickness, or you have overcooked it. Don’t blame the tools.

Experiment

We have also started experimenting with breakfast pizza – bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, onions, spinach, BBQ sauce (instead of Passata), etc. The best results are to pre-cook the ingredients (except the eggs). As it cooks in 60 seconds, the eggs are very soft, and we found that spreading the egg whisk (yolk and whites) around a little gives the best results.

Dessert pizza is a little more complex, requiring a sweeter (sugar) base, which is prone to burning, so it is best cooked at 250-300°. Our best success so far has been using custard as the sauce, pre-cooked peaches, apricots, cherries, or mango, and after cooking, liberally drizzle with salted caramel, honey, golden syrup, or Nutella. Don’t try to cook chocolate, honeycomb, cookies, marshmallow or other sweets – crush and sprinkle after. Think of things you could cook in a skillet – Tarte Tatin, Apple pie or crumble.

Other uses – limited

As it lacks a front door or smoke flue, it cannot be used as an oven. However, focaccia, naan, roti, and other similar breads can be baked on the stone at lower temperatures (180°).

Accessories – you will need them

Pizza Peel (paddle): The more expensive ones cost up to $100, but Bunnings has a basic Argon 12” Aluminium Pizza Peel for $27.

IR Thermometer: Before cooking, it is essential to ensure the oven and stone are 400-500°. The expensive ones cost up to $100, but eBay has IR Pizza Thermometers starting at $20 (make sure it reaches 500°).

Pizza Cutter: The best pizza cutter is a rolling round cutter. These start as low as $5. Be careful if using a large knife, as cheese is hot and can stick to it.

Gas Bottle: Get a 3.7kg Swap and Go gas bottle. The initial $60 (approx.) price includes the bottle and gas. Each exchange costs <$25.

Pre-heat time- Pass

It can take about 15-20 minutes on full gas, which is the average for pizza ovens.

Gas Use – Pass

We cannot measure this, but using micro-burners seems quite efficient. You should get 10-12 hours of use.

Cordierite stone – Pass

It is removable and washable – make sure it is perfectly dry before the next use.

Maintenance – Pass

Wipe over the stone (no need to ash it unless it is very dirty) and the outside of the oven. Place the cover over it and store it out of direct sunlight.

Build – Pass

It uses a double-skin construction: an inner stainless-steel liner and an outer powder-coated carbon steel shell. As the exterior gets quite hot, it does not appear to have extra insulation.

It should be fine for marine areas. We recommend spraying a White Knight Rust Guard Quick Dry Clear coat on the powder coat (Bunnings).

CyberShack’s view – Gourmet Kitchen Pizza Oven makes great pizza on a budget.

Everyone loves pizza, so why not have a genuine pizza oven? That is where a pizza oven comes in, and you only have to make 30 pizzas to pay for it at this price.

There are no downsides to this product.

Rating

Features: 75 – it is basic but comes with all you need to make great pizza
Value: 85 – The price makes this a no-brainer purchase, but the accessories (which you need for any pizza oven) will soon add up.
Performance: 80 – It matches other pizza ovens’ heating and cooking performance.
Ease of Use: 80—Once you know how it is easy to use and produces great results. A 3-year warranty is excellent.
Design: 80 – Well-made and designed.