ADVICE Twin bronze mosaic, wood fired ovens installed at Eataly, Liverpool Street, London.
SAFE extraction Despite over a year of disruption, the wood fired pizza market is still booming, report Chimflue (www.chimflue.co.uk), who have been busy installing systems nationwide and further, and in all kinds of locations and situations from historic buildings, zoos and skyscrapers to country parks and local pizzerias, but always emphasising the vital importance of a good extraction system.
FACTORING IN One common factor to any new, or existing, restaurant considering a woodfired pizza oven installation, is that the extract system should be factored in as early as possible, the company advise. This is to ensure that a safe, suitable and reliable design can be achieved within the available space, taking into account any site-specific requirements. It is important to consider the location of the restaurant in relation to any adjoining buildings or office space/accommodation directly above the restaurant itself, they point out. An essential part of the process is to establish at an early stage what the local requirements are for the installation of your wood-fired oven and flue system. If you are within a smoke control zone, for example, you will need to install a DEFRAapproved oven — this is essentially an oven which has been tested and approved by DEFRA (a full list of these can be found on the company’s web site). You must also ensure you have a dedicated twin wall insulated flue system installed when specifying a wood-fired pizza oven, they add. At Chimflue, the systems they provide come in three standard finishes - stainless steel, matt black and copper. When the system is visible in or outside the restaurant, they are often asked to
powder-coat the flue in various colours, or in some cases hand paint the flue itself so it blends in with the existing structure, meaning you can still get creative where the system runs through your restaurant, or assist in blending to the existing finish when running externally. In addition to having the correct flue system to run your oven efficiently and safely, a chimney fan could improve this, helping with the reliable running of your pizza oven. In most restaurants you will find that the flue system will need to run horizontally at some point when making its way towards the riser, they report. And in addition to this, it is not uncommon to find general extract systems and kitchen canopies within the same space of the flue. “A correct chimney draught is crucial in making the perfect pizza,” explains Exodraft’s John Dyson. “The pizza oven needs a constant high airflow/chimney draught ensuring the oven gets up to temperature quickly and maintains the high oven temperature during service. The chimney draught can also be affected by outside sources like kitchen extract and restaurant ventilation, potentially giving an unpleasant smoky environment. Exodraft fans can enable the chimney and oven to work in harmony so as to ensure that the oven gives perfectly cooked pizza time after time.”
FILTRATION In addition to DEFRA approval, you may find that your local planning department and/or environmental health officer (EHO) may want you to install filtration to the extract system to reduce odour and smoke, as well as consider the visual appearance of the system, Chimflue advise. Chimflue is the UK importer for SMOKI a water-based filtration system specifically designed and manufactured in Italy for use with pizza ovens. A SMOKI unit requires a permanent mains water, drainage and electrical connection, and again provision of these services will potentially need to be taken into account with your plans. Such a system passes all smoke from the oven through three layers of fine water mist within the unit, removing a large proportion of particulate from the smoke. As a by-product, this process also reduces the odour produced from the flue’s termination and is often specified as a requirement by local planning officers and EHOs. One of the most important issues to keep in mind after the oven starts operating, Chimflue add, is regular planned maintenance of the flue system, fan and filtration unit where installed because this will be key to ensure the longevity of the system, as well as making sure it remains safe and suitable for use.
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