We arrived at Mugnaini's and were met by Susie Dymoke, Culinary Director
and Andrea Mugnaini, Owner/Manager. Upon entering the basically one room,
showroom/culinary classroom, we were enticed by the aroma of freshly baked
bread and burning wood. We were astounded to see the wood burning ovens
lined along the wall - some still burning from the class that had just left
and some ovens that were further along the burning process.
We followed Susie into the office area and she told us the unique story of
how the ovens Mugnaini imports came into being. Before World War II, every
village in Italy had a communal wood burning oven where villagers would
bring dough to bake. Many of these ovens were destroyed during the
war. The government commissioned Sylvio Valoriani to design an oven
suitable for a single family. These ovens are still in production and are
imported by Mugnaini. We then proceeded to the area behind the oven wall
to learn how they are built and about different models.
Susie realized our heads were spinning by this time so we proceeded back to
the front and over to the tables. She asked us if she could cook for
us. Well, who could pass up a deal like that after we had been drooling
for the last 30 min or so? She made individual pizzas for us with the most
astonishing toppings on top of the most flavorful dough that I have ever
had. It tasted wonderful ... sure wish we had gotten a copy of the dough
recipe to make here in my oven!! I KNOW it wouldn't turn out like the wood
burning oven flavor but would definitely be more flavorful then my poor
wimpy pizza dough :( What surprised both Jeff and I was that the pizzas
took only 3 1/2 - 4 min for each to bake. While we greedily stuffed
ourselves she explained that the oven isn't just for breads but it is "one"
kitchen appliance that can take the place of "all" of your kitchen
appliances. We learned you can grill, slow cook, braise etc all on this
single piece of equipment, actually do everything you do now with all your
present kitchen appliances. 'Course one has to learn to cook all over
again and plan meals according to how hot the oven is in the cooling down
process. It takes 3 - 4 days to completely cool down. So the first day you
do things like roast, grill, bake cookies and wonderful hearth breads. The
next day you could braise things and start slow cooking. Menus and recipes
ran through my head. In my mind I was almost at the market and Jeff was
starting the fire ... sigh ... back to reality. Then one of us asked about
classes - they have quite a variety of classes including Kurtis Bagley and
Hugh Carpenter among other chefs. Craig Ponsford had just taught a bread
class recently. We had the pleasure of taking a class by Kurtis a long
time ago and we remembered what an excellent instructor he is. We realized
the quality of instructors they have as support. People fly from all over
the country to take classes. Some menu items that are prepared for classes
in the ovens are baked egg dish with cannelini bean & cherry tomato ragout,
clay pot Vietnamese glass noodles with beef, roast pork tenderloin with
dried tropical fruits, stretched cracker bread and classic pita bread ...
are just a few that caught my eye as I scanned the class listings.
We spotted the products room and of course I 'had' to go shopping. After
purchasing some "needed" pots etc we sat down and asked about
prices. Susie explained everything to us very clearly. Since it was my
birthday I really wanted/"needed" this piece of equipment. We finally left
trying to figure out where to put it "when" we purchase it.
If you would like to see this incredible wood burning oven go to
www.mugnaini.com and I bet at the end you will be figuring out where to put
it when you purchase it. OR better yet ... if you live in the Bay Area or
are coming this way for vacation or on a business trip really try to
schedule a bit of time to come over and see these amazing ladies and their
fabulous ovens. You won't be sorry you came by.
Reggie & Jeff