The Camp Chef Italia Artisan is a well-built gas pizza oven that includes everything you need to start cooking — stone, peel, and built-in ignition — at a fair price. The double-walled design retains heat well, and the 900°F max delivers solid results. It's the oven for Camp Chef fans and backyard cooks who want a reliable, no-surprises experience.
Best for: backyard and camping cooks who want a reliable, all-inclusive gas oven from a trusted outdoor brand
Key Takeaways
Camp Chef has been making outdoor cooking equipment since 1990. They're not a pizza startup — they're an established brand with decades of manufacturing experience. The Italia Artisan reflects that maturity: it's a well-engineered, no-surprises gas pizza oven that does exactly what it promises.
The value proposition starts with what's in the box. While Ooni ships the Koda 12 and Koda 16 with nothing but the oven (peel, cover, and thermometer are all extra), Camp Chef includes a cordierite pizza stone and a pizza peel. Your true ready-to-cook cost with the Italia is $399. With an Ooni Koda 16, it's $430+ after a peel. That matters.
The double-walled construction is the technical highlight. Two layers of steel with an air gap between them create an insulation effect that single-walled ovens (including most Oonis) can't match. The oven retains heat better between pies, handles windy conditions more gracefully, and preheats more evenly. It's a meaningful engineering advantage.
The 900°F max is 50°F below Ooni's spec, and in practice, that means Neapolitan pies take 90-120 seconds instead of 60-90 seconds. It's a noticeable difference for Neapolitan purists, and a completely irrelevant one for NY-style, pan pizza, and most home cooks. The micro-adjust valve provides finer flame control than Ooni's basic dial, which is a genuine usability advantage for maintaining consistent temperature.
Camp Chef Italia Artisan Review
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| Cooking Surface | 13" × 20" cordierite stone |
| Dimensions | 24" × 16" × 15" |
| Weight | 47 lbs |
| Max Temperature | 900°F / 480°C |
| Heat-Up Time | ~20-25 min |
| Fuel Type | Propane gas only |
| BTU | 17,000 |
| Ignition | Built-in push-button ignition with micro-adjust valve |
| Construction | Double-walled stainless steel |
| Included | Cordierite pizza stone, pizza peel |
At 900°F, Neapolitan pizzas cook in 90-120 seconds with good char and puff — slightly slower than Ooni's 60-90 second spec, but the results are very good. The double-walled construction means less temperature drop when you open the oven, so the recovery between pizzas is faster than you'd expect from the lower max temp.
The micro-adjust valve is a genuine performance advantage. Instead of Ooni's "low-medium-high" range, you get precise control that lets you dial in specific temperatures for different pizza styles. NY-style at exactly 650°F? Set it and hold it. That kind of precision is valuable for consistent results.
The rectangular stone is an interesting design choice — wider than it is deep, which means you can technically fit two small pizzas or work with wider flatbreads. In practice, most people use it for standard round pizzas, but the extra width provides margin for imperfect launches.
Wind resistance is noticeably better than single-walled ovens. The double-wall insulation shields the cooking chamber from temperature fluctuations in breezy conditions, which matters if you cook in an open backyard or on camping trips.
Double-walled stainless steel is the headline. It's heavier than Ooni's single-wall carbon steel (47 lbs vs 40 lbs for the Koda 16), but the two-layer construction provides tangible benefits: better insulation, more wind resistance, and a more substantial feel.
Camp Chef's build quality reflects their 30+ years of outdoor cooking equipment manufacturing. The ignition system is reliable, the valve mechanism is smooth and precise, and the overall construction feels engineered for years of outdoor use. The stainless steel resists corrosion better than Ooni's carbon steel, though a cover is still recommended for prolonged outdoor exposure.
The included pizza stone is standard cordierite, and the included peel is functional aluminum. Both are adequate — not premium, but certainly better than having to buy them separately for $60-80.
Out-of-box setup is minimal: attach legs, place stone, connect gas. The built-in push-button ignition works reliably (unlike some competitors' piezo starters that fail in cold weather). The micro-adjust valve is intuitive and provides satisfying fine control.
The cooking experience is straightforward gas-oven simplicity: ignite, wait 20-25 minutes, cook. The double-wall design means the exterior stays slightly cooler than single-walled ovens, which is a minor safety benefit.
At 47 lbs, it's manageable but not truly portable. It's a backyard fixture that can be moved with effort for camping trips in the car. The included stone and peel mean you're cooking within 30 minutes of opening the box.
Cleanup is standard gas-oven minimal. No ash, no soot. Burn off residue at temperature and wipe the exterior.
What We Love
What Could Be Better
“I've been buying Camp Chef equipment for years and the Italia fits right in with their quality. The included peel was a nice surprise — my Ooni-owning neighbor spent $80 on his separately.”
— Camp Chef community forum
“The double-walled design is legit. I cook on a windy hillside and this oven holds temperature way better than my friend's Ooni Koda. It's the difference between consistent pizza and fighting the wind all night.”
— Amazon verified purchaser
“If you're deciding between this and an Ooni, the Camp Chef includes everything you need to start. The Ooni will nickel-and-dime you on accessories. Performance is close enough that the all-inclusive package won here.”
— Outdoor cooking comparison blog
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Pick a recipe and fire it up — we have 17 tested recipes across 5 pizza styles.