Big Announcement!!!

Hey All,

I am writing with some very exciting news. We are announcing three new Forno Bravo ovens for homeowners and restaurants -- along with complete UL certification for each of the new ovens, plus the popular Casa2G. This announcement is one of the most important things we have ever done at Forno Bravo. The new ovens include:

Premio2G. A premium residential oven featuring a thick 3" dome, extra thick insulation and an insulated door?commercial baking at home. These ovens are designed for the serious home chef and baker who wants a real Italian pizzeria or bakery experience at home. Available in 100cm/40", 110cm/44" and 120cm/48" sizes.

Professionale. A new line of entry level commercial ovens at a breakthrough price. It features a commercial grade dome, extra thick insulation and a hinged and insulated door. It's perfect for a cafe, bistro or small pizzeria, or a larger restaurant looking to complement other cooking equipment with an Italian oven. Available in 110cm/44" and 120cm/48" sizes.

Modena2G. Our new flagship oven comes with a super-duty 4" oven dome, 2 1/2" firebrick tile cooking floor and 4"-6" 100% ceramic fiber insulation. It sets the new standard for restaurant oven quality and pizza baking throughput. It is the perfect oven for Pizza Napoletana and other artisan pizza. Available in 120cm/48", 140cm/56", 160cm/56"x64? and 180cm/56"x72? sizes.

The new commercial ovens are available as Modular Kits and as Fully Assembled ovens, both with either wood-only, and gas with gas/wood combo. The pricing is very aggressive.

The ovens are listed to the UL737 (wood stove), UL2162 (commercial wood oven), NSF-4 (sanitation), and ANSI-Z83a (gas restaurant cooking equipment), and the commercial ovens are certified for use with both a direct connect UL103 chimney or grease duct vent, and a Type 1 restaurant hood.

The new ovens, along with the Casa2G, Giardino, Primavera and Toscana are made with pride in the USA, using sophisticated casting processes and the highest quality US-made castable available.

We are really excited to be sharing this news with you!

[lwood]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

I see Forno Bravo is coming out with a gas fired option on the new line of ovens. Can you share with us how the gas option performs? Heat up times, operating costs, etc relative to wood. And how does the gas/wood combo work?

[james]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

Hi guys,

The FB burner is very cool. It is a two channel burner that shoots an incredible cone of flame into the dome of the oven, where it charges the dome and bounces heat down into the cooking floor for baking pizza and other food and for recharging the cooking floor itself. The burner works in two modes, a single flame for standard cooking, and a second "booster" flame for heat up and high throughput cooking periods (such as dinner rush).

The burner basically works just like a wood fire. It breathes air the same way, it combusts the same way and the flame works and cooks pretty much like wood. It is a single heat source, and does not require any help -- such as fans or remote infrared burners under the cooking floor. The burner system was developed in Italy specifically for Italian "wood" or dome pizza ovens. It is completely different than the typical burner you see with a lot of little, low flames. The FB burner bakes pizza all night, and the oven never cools down.

With the FB burner, the oven reaches the same temperatures and bakes pizza the same way as it would with wood. Heat up time is not really an issue, because the burner never brings the oven up to temperature from a cold start. Instead, it brings the oven from 500F at noon (or in the afternoon) from the retained heat from the previous day to the 700-800F baking temperature.

The FB burner has a US-made electronic temperature control system, which is easy to set up -- set the target temperature and click go, and it is ANSI-Z83a certified for restaurant use.

The burner actually resides below the oven, and the top of the burner is flush with the cooking floor (which is good for durability), and there is an ash guard that keeps wood and coals away from the burner head. So, you can do gas-only, or gas/wood combo in the same oven.

As you can tell, we're excited. This is a lot better than the options traditionally available to restaurants in North America.

James

[lwood]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

"Heat up time is not really an issue, because the burner never brings the oven up to temperature from a cold start. Instead, it brings the oven from 500F at noon (or in the afternoon) from the retained heat from the previous day to the 700-800F baking temperature."

I don't really understand this statement. Why wouldn't you use the burner from a cold start.

[Les]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

If I understand the thread, James is referring to this oven being used in a commercial environment. They are always pretty much up to temp. More importantly, JAMES - when is the next open house so we can touch it?

Les...

[james]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

Hey Les,

That's right. Commercial ovens basically never completely cool down, the way residential ovens do. For restaurants operating 7 days a week, the oven will never fall below 400-500?F, so bringing it back up to 800?F+ for either lunch or dinner is a breeze.

Spring is coming! We are going to wait a little a longer into the spring next year to host FB Expo -- we need better weather. :-)

I don't know if you remember the business park layout, but FB has taken over the entire building on the left side of the parking lot -- and the front half of the building across the parking lot. Cool.

We are also starting to get serious about a permanent live showroom, and year round cooking classes. More to come on that.

Did the 49ers actually win a game today?
James

[lwood]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

Thanks for the clarification.

That's great news James, am from Santa Cruz and will visit when we are in the states. Interested in the cooking class.

[peterlyn]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

James, will the burner have a propane option/regulator? If so, what would be the difference in performance numbers??

Karen

[petraequipments]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

Thanks for such a nice announcement about Commercial Pizza Ovens.

[james]

Re: Big Announcement!!!

Thanks Petra.

Peter, there is an LP option and the burner performance is very similar.
James