West Lexham oven, PE32

In early 2021, during the full COVID lockdown, we were contacted by the then Head Chef Adam Bernstein, who was developing a new kitchen building in the grounds of West Lexham Manor a beautiful retreat set in 20 odd acres of Norfolk countryside in the small village of West Lexham, just a few miles north of Swaffham. The building would house a large pizza oven but as is often the case, had to fit into a smallish footprint of 200x150cm. We specified our Four Grand-Mere lateral 1500 brick oven with raised dome that would fit the space perfectly.

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Site of the pizza oven

By the time we arrived on site in late April, Adam had left and new Head Chef Lucy Cheney had taken over with much excitement about cooking in a real commercial pizza oven! Our transverse or lateral ovens are particularly useful in narrow spaces as they are wider than deep and maximise the work space in front while keeping a good surface area for cooking, click here for more details on our commercial oven page. The T1500 has a surface area of 1.23m2 making it comparable to a round oven between 120 and 140cm diameter, so can cook up to 6-8 pizzas if the fire is placed at one end, ideal for busy restaurants with lots of covers.

The oven went together quickly and with rooms on site for us to sleep it meant we could work late if necessary and enjoy the grounds and trips to the seaside in the evenings. The oven is a fantastic addition to the Retreat and set in a stunning oak framed kitchen and large dining area so after classes have finished you can go and eat hearty organic locally sourced food and stroll round the lake and grounds.

 

 

West Lexham, west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

close up of finished oven

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The Norfolk Beauty

west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

final render finished

west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

the flue installed

permaculture cooking, west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

first fire to dry the oven

west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

vermiculite render finished

west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

getting the flue through the roof

west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

finishing off the flue

west lexham manor, wood-fired oven, four grand-mere, FT1500 brick oven, Norfolk, brick oven, holistic retreat,

insulation finished

West Lexham oven, PE32 In early 2021, during the full COVID lockdown, we were contacted by the then Head Chef Adam Bernstein, who was developing a new kitchen building in the grounds of West Lexham Manor a beautiful retreat set in 20 odd acres of Norfolk countryside in the small village of West Lexham, just a […]