An ode to outdoor cooking

Outdoor cooking is like an echo from the past: no turning knobs, no setting timers, forget adjusting the temperature. Just get back to basics. Feel, observe and evaluate, purely by instinct.

In early spring 2004, designer Dick van Hoff was sitting in his garden with a brazier on one side for warmth and a barbecue on the other for cooking sausages, when a feeling overtook him: this isn't working. An idea began to grow in his head: why not combine the functional with the pleasant? From that thought, the Outdooroven was born: barbecue, outdoor stove and pizza oven in one.

But the Outdooroven is more than a multifunctional design: it is a product that invites you to live outdoors all year round. Unlike a barbecue, the Outdooroven is not designed to be put away at the end of the season. The sturdy oven is meant to be the centrepiece of your garden, a gathering place where you come together, enjoy the warmth with friends and family, where you cook outdoors all year round. It is a social connector, just like the old days.

The beauty of outdoor cooking is that it pulls you out of your routine. Cooking on an open fire forces you to let go of your set habits. No coming home, turning knobs and setting timers, but slowing down, stilling and connecting, with each other and with nature. The interplay of fire, wood and your ingredients invites you to cook by feel. If you want to bake a pizza in the oven compartment, you learn through experience that you need to fire up the oven for 30 minutes before it reaches 350 degrees. If you want to cook a stew, you keep the fire burning steadily for a longer period of time and a high temperature is less important. Cooking outdoors is about letting your senses guide you: the smell of the smoke, the height of the flames, the crackling of the wood in your ears, the feel of the fresh autumn breeze on your skin. And then, of course, in the end, the reward: the flavours of the meal you have prepared.

OUTDOOROVEN XL

The Outdooroven XL, designed by Dick van Hoff, is a complete outdoor kitchen for the true masterchef. This wood oven has a large grill, a pizza stone with lockable door and a lid under which you can smoke and cook meat, fish or vegetables. Gather the ingredients for a tasty dish and make outdoor cooking a real experience. Take a seat at the garden table and taste your prepared food, while still letting the Outdooroven XL fire deliciously. The Outdooroven XL is made of 3mm thick corten steel of the highest quality and will last at least 10 years. The oven space can easily reach 350 degrees hot. To store the Outdooroven XL in a nice and handy way, you can order a wooden base as an addition.

US$3,213.00

OVEN DISH

The Weltevree Oven Dish is more than a dish: it’s three dishes in one. It consists of two parts: a shallow dish and a deep dish and together they function as a casserole dish. The oven dish is completely made of enameled cast iron with a robust, matte look. This material retains heat and is naturally non-stick. It’s suitable for a variety of cooking tasks, but is especially great for slow cooking.

US$137.20

GLOVES

Protective and sturdy: the leather Weltevree Gloves protect your hands from the heat and sparks of the oven while you chop wood, throw the blocks on the fire or do chores around the house or garden. The Gloves also keep your hands warm in the winter. NOTE: These gloves are not fully heat resistant and cannot be used as oven mitts, they are only to assist in stoking a wood fire on the outdoor oven or dutchtub.

US$54.60

PIZZA SHOVEL

The Pizza Shovel helps you take warm dishes and pizzas out of the oven with ease. The enhanced handle offers extra grip and helps to keep it upright without the risk of it tipping over. This way the blade stays clean and ready for use. Place the shovel next to your oven or hang it from a wall.

US$54.60