Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven

Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven -
Wood, Fire, Food and Friends

by Alan Brown

Bateman - Hardcover -  RRP $49.99

From washing dishes in Auckland to becoming a head chef at an exclusive Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK and winning a prestigious award never won before by a New Zealander, this acclaimed kiwi chef finally returned home to follow his passion of cooking with fire.

As everyone Alan Brown talked to either had a wood-fired oven, was building one, or planning to build one this encouraged him to write his first book The Complete Kiwi Pizza Oven.

The Complete Kiwi Pizza Oven has currently sold over 8000 copies and has been reprinted three times and Brown went on to present workshops and master-classes throughout New Zealand based around cooking in a wood-fire oven.

Now Brown brings us Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven which features over 50 pizza oven recipes, all photographed in sumptuous colour by the talented Todd Eyre.

Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven Cookbook is first and foremost a recipe book, that features all sorts of recipes, from simple recipes such as tinned corn baked as bread in a can to more refined recipes such as salmon pithivier. There are recipes with pastry both sweet and savoury and of course an amazing repertoire of pizza recipes.

Brown shows readers how to cook in a variety of ways from slow cooking to char-grilling to roasting with a plethora of vegetarian dishes, seafood dishes, meat dishes as well as salads and desserts. 

 

Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven is inspired by feedback, questions and continuing interest shown by those who have been in contact with Brown or have attended his oven workshops and some of Brown’s very talented chef colleagues also share their culinary secrets.

Most gratifying for Brown is hearing his first book is a go-to cookbook, even for people who don’t own a pizza oven. In honour of them, a feature of Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven is to give exact times and temperatures, rather than a rough guide, so readers can cook in home ovens or stovetops.

Recipes from the Kiwi Pizza Oven Cookbook also features information on cooking at different temperatures, indispensable oven tools and kitchen equipment as well as the Pizza Primer section on successful dough-and pizza-making and a sample oven-planning session to help readers get the hang of entertaining over an extended period.

About the author::

At the age of 14, when Alan’s mum sent him out to earn some pocket money, he walked into a noisy, hot, hectic kitchen and felt like he had come home. Alan started by washing dishes in Auckland in the 1970s, then went on to commis to chef de partie at The Ritz Hotel in London, to head chef at an exclusive Michelin-starred restaurant in the United Kingdom by age 28. After 17 years he returned to New Zealand and began teaching at AUT University. He is now a senior lecturer in the culinary arts. In 2013 he celebrated 20 years of teaching, becoming the recipient of an AUT Vice Chancellor’s Academic Award for Excellent in Teaching. In the same year he was also awarded the prestigious London City and Guilds International Medal for Excellence, in recognition of outstanding performance as a lecturer in the culinary arts, something never before achieved by a New Zealander. He is a national culinary judge and critic for various organisation, and is well respected within the industry as a mentor.