Welcome… Welcome alla Gigi’s Pizzeria..

Back in 2018 my daughter gave me her Webber BBQ, and after some severe modifications, I was able to fit it, into the outdoor entertainment area of Gigi.. I always enjoyed having and using a BBQ since my arrival in Australia.. I loved cooking on BBQ so much that before moving into Gigi, I even had a Footy BBQ to be able to cook for 20 people at a time.. And like most Australian, we did have some great BBQ session…

When I did try the Atkinson diet, I was using it twice a day, so yes, the Webber got a fantastic use for the past 7 years.. But that was then…

As you get old, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, I did found it harder to digest red meat and that goes without thinking about the raising cost of meat today… You can still find good deals on meat, but it is not that simple as going to either your local butcher or to the shopping centre anymore…

Being Italian, I also do tend to eat pizza quite often, and one thing Italian don’t do, is change their religions, especially when it involves food..

We love to try and experiment with food, but there are lines that we simply never cross! If you have ever been to either Italy or an Italian restaurant anywhere in the world, you know what I’m talking about…

We have very strict rules passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years on how to prepare a specific meal and believe it or not Pizza is one of them.. My grandma used to tell us a story about how Pizza came about in Italy.. After the Spanish brought the Tomatoes to Europe it just happens that a lady in Napoli, was carrying in her shopping basket some bread and some tomatoes.. At one point she fell on the ground and the tomato got squashed and mixed up with the bread, making it very spongy. She put the bread back in the basket and run home to see if she could save it by drying it up a bit by putting it next to the fire in the kitchen.. And that’s how the pizza was born..

I can’t say that I have ever found any reference to this story, but it does seem plausible that it could have happened.. Plus we couldn’t ever argue with my grandma, so we decided to let her go with her story… It also helps to know that in Italy we can use the word pizza also to describe when you made a mess of something… Who really knows?!?!

In the pursuit of a good pizza I did tried several solutions, like the ceramic plate, or using charcoal instead of the gas, but in the end it was never the same as the real deal.. Yes they did help a bit, but there are things that a BBQ simply cannot do.. For once, most BBQ will heat up food from the bottom, while a pizza is actually cooked from the top as there is no flame under the pizza.. And this alone, is the main reason why most pizzas base you see are always either burned or crunchy.. Temperature is also the other most important factor in making a real pizza.. A pizza should cook in around 2 minutes top. More than that and it is not the real thing any longer..

Then we have the debate about what wood does to the pizza.. Does it really add to the flavour? In one word, YES! If you think about it for a second, we have been smoked meat for centuries as well, so we all know it does make a difference.. In Italy, we believe that also one particular kind of wood is the best to burn for making pizza as well.. Beech tree is the n.1 followed by Oak at n.2.. Anything else and you have crossed the line.. Other types of wood do and can contain resin that does alter the flavour.. Poplar and Chestnut do tend to crackle, so you don’t want to use them either…

Two weeks ago I found myself contemplating the construction of a Pizza oven, and while some project did seem easy and feasible, they all had missing details for the real Pizza deal.. The one that could have made the cut was the one built with Perlite and a training ball.. Plenty of video on YouTube.. This is just one of them…

The problem with this plan as mentioned in the travelogue, is that you need plenty of space and time for the construction.. It also has a cost involved between the plywood, the perlite, the cement, the chimney and above all, the weight.. I have a weight limitation of 100kg, so what ever I do, in the end it has to be lighter than that..

While at Bunnings in Geraldton, one particular oven got my attention.. I’m not an expert in pizza oven construction whatsoever, but I do believe I know a thing or two about pizzas.. While talking to Paul about building one and the cost involved in that I found myself looking at the Matador Pizza Oven.. It did seem to have all the boxes ticked.. It does reach 400°, it uses wood, not gas, it is insulated therefore it does retain the heat, and it is 85kg.. The question was, would it fit where the BBQ was? Should I really try???

Everyone who knows me, do know that I always like to take the challenge, and so I did purchase one! Back at the bus, we quickly realised that without taking it out of the box it wouldn’t have even fit through the front door.. So we unpacked the lot in the car park and put it on the couch for the time being, until I would find a place where to try the conversion.. The day after, we went to Fig Tree Crossing, and it seemed the perfect place and opportunity to start the removal of the BBQ.. And it just happened that the next day, another traveller in an identical bus brand (Denning), did stop for the night in the area.. We got to talk, and they mentioned having interest in having a BBQ in their bus, and so the deal was made.. I finally had a new home for the BBQ, the gas bottle and all the accessories that I had collected.. In the true spirit of the nomad life I gave it to them for nothing, after explaining to them that once on the road, you learn to share things the same way as people has share things with me before.. It is a great community after all..

Now I had to find the way to install the new pizza oven.. Will it work? Will it fit?? As you can see from the picture, YES it did, with some serious modification to both the oven and the BBQ table, I managed to fit possibly the first Mobile Pizza oven in an RV in the world..

Fitting the oven was easy after cutting the legs and cutting the chimney to the desired length.. Unfortunately I will have to relocate the soundbar as the rear plywood had to be cut off for the oven to fit..

I did collect few little sticks from the ground just to test the temperature, and I was simply amazed on how quickly it gained temperature with just few little sticks of wood.. Here you can see the temperature about to reach 300° after just 5 minutes (not sure about the accuracy of the thermometer. I will double check it).. The oven is fully insulate, but for some silly reason not the front door, the only part where you may burn yourself while operating the handle.. It is made in China, but beside that little issue with the door it is built well.. You can check all the reviews left in the Bunnings website about this particular model.. Before I forget, there is a similar oven (in a much smaller box) for sale at ALDI at $299, but don’t be fooled.. It is not the same oven.. It is much smaller and not the same thickness in material. Furthermore, it is also not insulated, making it seriously useless… My Matador also came in three separate boxes because of its size and weight..

The soon as the Gigi’s Pizzeria will open, I will make a proper review of this oven…

I got to make myself a Pizza peel now and get some ingredient to test it out.. Like most oven it will have to be seasoned before it can be used for cooking, and cooking great pizza will be a learning curve as well.. But I can wait to test my first real pizza..

Here is a final picture of the other bus parked in Fig Tree Crossing where my BBQ ended up.. I’m sure they will enjoy it, as much as I did.. 

Finally, you may wonder why this post was made in the healthy section of the blog.. Well considering that a pizza consist of flour, water, tomato and mozzarella, I would say that it makes it a very healthy meal, don’t you think??

There are also several other healthy food that can be cooked in a wooden oven.. One another thing I would like to try to make is bread..

You know, that bread with that nice crust on top that does smell beautifully..  I can’t wait…