Gino D’Acampo Carbonio Pizza Oven review: design, form and function combined for sophisticated pizza baking
Welcome to T3's review of the Gino D’Acampo Carbonio, a stylish new carbon fibre-look gas-fired pizza oven that pulls out all the stops.
Yes, the eponymous Gino oven does indeed bear the name of the popular Italian celebrity TV chef and presenter. Whether you're a fan or not, there’s no denying that the Gino is a sterling contender that should definitely be on your short list of best pizza ovens.
I first spotted this new pizza oven at an NEC Camping and Caravanning show of all places but, in hindsight, that’s just the sort of event that perfectly suits an oven like this because a) it’s light and portable and b) it runs on gas which is the average campsite’s preferred type of cooking fuel.
Let’s face it, most domestic outdoor pizza ovens are hardly stylish. In fact I can only think of two models that have pushed the boat out in the style stakes – the elegant Witt ETNA Rotante I reviewed in April 2023 and the undeniably classy but extraordinarily expensive and enormously heavy Gozney Dome I reviewed in April 2022.
Well, I will stick my neck out and say that, to date, the Gino is probably the best looking domestic pizza oven I’ve so far laid eyes on. But is in any good? No time like the present, so let’s give it a whirl.
Gino D’Acampo Carbonio Pizza Oven: price and availability
The Gino D’Acampo Pizza Oven is available in three liveries – the Carbonio reviewed here (￡359.99), the Vesuvio (￡339.99) and the Modena (￡369.99). In the UK, you can buy it directly from the Gino website and The Pizza Oven Shop or from Amazon, where it’s selling for between ￡303.56 and ￡348.73.
Gino D’Acampo Carbonio Pizza Oven review: design and features
I was lucky enough to see all three current liveries of the Gino in the flesh at the NEC camping show and making a choice of livery was quite tricky because they all looked snazzy, sophisticated and modern. You can choose from the matt black Vesuvio, the similar matt black Moderno with Italian flag racing stripe, or the handsome and understated Special edition Carbonio on review here which replicates the look of carbon fibre to a tee.
Having reviewed many pizza ovens over the years – in a range of different price bands – the Gino occupies a lofty position when it comes to design, features and function. Crucially, fit and finish throughout is exemplary, from the smooth rounded exterior and sturdy fold-out legs to the wide cordierite stone and easy-to-use front-mounted burner control.
At 65 x 35 x 44cm this oven is a perfect size for domestic table-top use and, at just 18kgs, it’s easy to carry a short distance or even further if used with the optional backpack-cum-cover.
Most current pizza ovens come with a stone of about 13 inches in width and there’s normally a small crumb-gathering gap where the stone meets the front of the chassis. By contrast, the Gino’s stone is 35 x 35 x 9mm – a shade under 14 inches – and that extra one inch of meal estate is something you’ll come to appreciate when your pizza base turns out to be a good deal wider than the 12-inch norm. Also, the stone fits the oven like a glove with no gap at all at the front for crumbs and flour to fall between.
Another cool touch is the hole in the body beneath the stone that allows you to pop a finger through it to gently position the stone without having to drop it into place. Incidentally, the stone can be used on either side, but for aesthetics I recommend laying it logo side up so you can see Gino’s rather elegant embossed signature.
Unlike some pizza ovens that place the burner control to the side – or worse, the back – where you have to stretch the arm while burning it in the process, this one has the control placed at the front, smack dab in the centre. To use it, simply press in and turn the dial to the left until it reaches some resistance, then continue until the Piezo ignition kicks in. Now leave it on high for the heating up process. You can easily check overall oven temperature using the handy side-mounted temperature gauge but, for peace of mind, always have a digital laser thermometer to hand.
The Gino Carbonio comes with an extra long two-metre propane pipe and UK regulator but, as per the norm, you will need to fit it yourself. Hint: warm the ends of the pipe with a hairdryer to soften it for much easier fitting.
The Gino oven trades ease of oven access against the ability to heat up quickly and retain that heat throughout the duration of the cook. As a result, the oven’s full-width opening is just 8cm in height and that means it’s a little more cramped for launching and turning pizzas.
However, this smaller oven access is a major bonus in my opinion because, during my early spring test in rainy 11?C weather, the rear of the stone heated to 420?C in an impressive 18 minutes – just 3 minutes shy of what the manual says. This means that, during high summer temperatures, the oven should reach optimum baking temperature in less than 15 minutes and keep the heat in from pizza to pizza. It also means that very little gas is wasted during the start-up process, an issue that affected the large-mouthed Solo Stove Pi Prime I recently reviewed.
Despite this oven’s overall lightness, it is also equipped with excellent insulation which really helped the stone and interior remain piping hot throughout my test. And, crucially, the exterior top and sides of the oven remained ‘touchable’ without having to pay a visit to A&E.
Gino D’Acampo Carbonio Pizza Oven review: performance
Although the Gino Carbonio’s oven opening is more like a letter box, I still found it easy enough to launch a pizza and turn it without too much hassle. As usual, for my test I reached for my favourite brand of pre-made pizza dough balls from Peddling Pizza which you can read about in my handy how to make pizza at home guide. But, such is the weather at the moment, I had to grab a fleeting moment during the day for my test which ultimately didn’t give me the right amount of time to properly prove the dough.
Nevertheless, I still consider my test a howling success, partly because I stuck carefully to Gino D’Acampo’s recommendation to turn the oven off just before launching the pizza and to turn it back on again to the lowest heat setting immediately after turning the pizza for the first time – just after you see the rear of the pizza start to bubble and spit.
So what’s the reason for turning the oven off just before launching a pizza? If the pizza stone is at an optimum baking temperature of between 420? and 450?C, it stands to reason that the whole oven will also be piping hot. Hence, if the gas flame is still raging, the top crust and ingredients will start to burn well before the base has had a chance to brown up. Turning the flame off – for about 30 seconds – will give the base time to crisp up perfectly before the first turn of the pizza. And turning the flame back on again to low immediately after turning the pizza ensures that the ingredients and base are both perfectly cooked. I can vouch that this system worked amazingly well and I shall be using this brilliant technique for every gas oven I review henceforth – and so should you.
Normally I will have a spare pizza dough ball to hand for emergencies but in this instance it all went remarkably smoothly and everything was cooked to perfection. As mentioned above, my only disappointment was with the dough which hadn’t proved for long enough – hence the outer crust was nowhere near as high as normal, as you can see in the accompanying image. You live and learn.
Gino D’Acampo Carbonio Pizza Oven review: accessories
Like Ooni, the Gino website stocks a wide variety of well-designed and presented accessories and you can purchase some of them as a bundle with the oven at check out. I would highly recommend including the Gino 12” Perforated Pizza Peel, the 8” Turning Pizza Peel, the Gino-branded Digital Infrared Thermometer, Gino’s foldable Disc Style Pizza Cutter and, to make preparation a lot easier, a Wooden Serving Board.
If you plan to leave the Gino pizza oven outdoors or want to carry it a long distance, definitely consider Gino’s custom-made Pizza Oven Carry Bag & Cover.
Gino D’Acampo Carbonio Pizza Oven review: verdict
If you’re looking for a pizza oven that screams style, look no further than the Gino D’Acampo Carbonio. Superbly designed throughout with expert fit and finish, this oven is one of the very best we’ve reviewed. It’s not that expensive to buy, it heats up remarkably quickly, doesn’t use too much propane in the process, comes with a larger stone than its competitors and it looks ravishing from any angle. An unequivocal 5-star product in our opinion.