As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at my own kitchen—Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston—I’ve had the chance to test many outdoor pizza ovens. In this comparison, I’ll walk you through my hands-on experience with the Blackstone Pizza Oven and the Deco Chef Pizza Oven, both of which I’ve used extensively in my setup.
I evaluated both ovens across several important categories: quality and materials, temperature control, shape, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and finally, I conducted a real pizza cooking test to see how long it takes each oven to turn out a perfect Margherita. If you’re curious about my testing process in more detail, feel free to check out the separate article I wrote about how I test pizza ovens professionally.
The Blackstone Pizza Oven is known for its power and rotating stone design, which makes it ideal for fast, consistent results in high-heat settings.
The Deco Chef Pizza Oven, on the other hand, is a compact, affordable option that offers wood-fired versatility with a surprisingly strong performance for its price range.
In this write-up, I’ve compared the Blackstone Pizza Oven and the Deco Chef Pizza Oven in detail, using my testing data.
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Winner
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Loser
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Our Rating:
4.5
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Our Rating:
3.2
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Pros:
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Pros:
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Cons:
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Cons:
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- Durable construction with a stainless-steel cooking chamber and a heavy-Duty cast iron rotating tray
- Capable of reaching 900°F
- Unique design
- Heavier and bulkier
- Took longer to assemble
- Powered by a single, high-pressure propane burner
- Requires more effort to clean
- Made of stainless steel with decent quality
- Half-circle dome design
- Straightforward assembly
- Lightweight and portable
- Cleaning is manageable
- Lacks premium finishing
- Maintaining a consistent temperature above 550°F can be challenging
- Exclusively powered by hardwood pellets
And just a quick heads-up: I’ll be including referral links throughout this article. If you choose to purchase through them, I earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you—which really helps keep this blog alive and allows me to keep testing more ovens for you.
Blackstone VS Deco Chef: Quality and Materials
| The Blackstone Pizza Oven is built with durable stainless steel and a cast iron rotating tray. Its double-wall insulation adds to the longevity and heat efficiency. It feels premium and heavy-duty — ideal for restaurant-grade use. |
The Deco Chef Pizza Oven uses stainless steel with a rust-resistant finish. It’s solid for its price range and lightweight, though not quite as heavy-duty as the Blackstone. Great for casual outdoor cooking.
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Blackstone VS Deco Chef: Temperature Control
| Blackstone reaches up to 900+°F quickly and maintains consistent heat with its powerful 60,000 BTU propane burner. You get strong control over the cooking environment. |
Deco Chef maxes out around 950°F but maintaining consistent heat with hardwood pellets can be tricky. Flame control is more manual and requires attention.
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Blackstone VS Deco Chef: Shape
| The Blackstone Pizza Oven has a thoughtful design where the burner is placed away from the pizza stone, avoiding direct flame contact. Combined with the rotating stone, it promotes even cooking. |
The Deco Chef Pizza Oven has a traditional half-dome shape. It works well for small to medium pizzas but doesn’t have a rotating stone, so heat distribution can be uneven without frequent turning.
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Blackstone VS Deco Chef: First-Time Usage Impressions
| Despite a small learning curve with ignition, the Blackstone Pizza Oven impressed with its fast preheat, user-friendly build, and consistent results. Felt like a serious tool from the start. |
Deco Chef was easy to assemble and included helpful accessories. A fun experience overall, but the learning curve for pellet feeding and heat management was a bit steeper.
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Blackstone VS Deco Chef: Power Source
| Runs on propane and delivers powerful heat fast. The Blackstone Pizza Oven’s propane burner ensures fewer interruptions and consistent flame. |
Runs on hardwood pellets. While it adds a smoky flavor, the need for frequent refueling and flame adjustments can interrupt the cooking process.
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Blackstone VS Deco Chef: Size
| Large and heavy-duty. Ideal for restaurants or stationary backyard setups. The cart adds mobility, but it’s not designed for portability. |
Compact and lightweight, making the Deco Chef Pizza Oven a good choice for patios, tailgates, or camping. It’s more portable than Blackstone.
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Blackstone VS Deco Chef: Ease of Cleaning
| Easy to clean thanks to the open design and removable stone. Just brush off residue once cooled. Sturdy materials handle regular use well. |
Cleaning is fairly straightforward with removable parts and stainless steel finish. However, ash and soot buildup from pellets requires more frequent attention.
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Pizza Cooking Test
To truly test both ovens, I used the same dough and fresh ingredients to cook a classic Margherita pizza in each. The goal was to measure heating time, cooking speed, and overall flavor.
The Blackstone Pizza Oven heated up impressively fast. It reached the ideal cooking temperature of over 900°F in just about 10 minutes. Once hot, I placed the pizza on the rotating stone, and in just 70 seconds, the Margherita pizza came out beautifully baked. The crust had a light char and crisp texture, the cheese was melted perfectly, and the bottom was evenly cooked without burning. It tasted like something straight from a high-end wood-fired pizzeria — smoky, rich, and balanced.
The Deco Chef Pizza Oven took slightly longer to heat up — about 15 to 20 minutes to reach around 900°F, depending on pellet fueling. I had to monitor the flames more closely and add pellets periodically. Once the oven was ready, the pizza took around 60 to 90 seconds to cook. The result was tasty: the cheese bubbled nicely, and the crust developed a pleasant crispness. However, I noticed that the bottom was a bit uneven in color, requiring some rotation during cooking. While delicious, the taste had a milder wood-fired note compared to the Blackstone, likely due to pellet variation.
Overall, both ovens delivered great results, but the Blackstone Pizza Oven’s speed, consistency, and even bake made it the standout in this test.
How We Tested
As a restaurant chef with over a decade of experience at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I approached this test with the same standards I apply in a professional kitchen. I set up both the Blackstone Pizza Oven and the Deco Chef Pizza Oven side by side in my outdoor cooking space to ensure consistency in testing conditions.
I used the exact same homemade Margherita dough, sauce, and fresh mozzarella for both ovens. Each oven was given a full preheat cycle as per the manufacturer’s instructions — around 10 minutes for the Blackstone and 15–20 minutes for the Deco Chef. I monitored temperatures using an infrared thermometer and watched how each oven retained heat and distributed it across the stone.
For the cooking test, I made multiple pizzas in each oven back-to-back to evaluate not just the first bake, but also how well each oven handled repeat cooking under pressure. I paid attention to how evenly the crust browned, how melted and bubbly the cheese got, and whether the base was crisp without burning.
Ease of use, burner control, fuel management, and real-world cooking experience were all factored into the test — not just the final taste. In short, this test aimed to recreate a small-scale restaurant setting right in my backyard to see how each oven holds up under serious pizza-making conditions.
Final Thoughts
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Winner
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Loser
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Our Rating:
4.5
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Our Rating:
3.2
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Pros:
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Pros:
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|
Cons:
|
Cons:
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- Durable construction with a stainless-steel cooking chamber and a heavy-Duty cast iron rotating tray
- Capable of reaching 900°F
- Unique design
- Heavier and bulkier
- Took longer to assemble
- Powered by a single, high-pressure propane burner
- Requires more effort to clean
- Made of stainless steel with decent quality
- Half-circle dome design
- Straightforward assembly
- Lightweight and portable
- Cleaning is manageable
- Lacks premium finishing
- Maintaining a consistent temperature above 550°F can be challenging
- Exclusively powered by hardwood pellets
Ultimately, choosing between the Blackstone Pizza Oven and the Deco Chef Pizza Oven comes down to your needs and preferences. If you value powerful heat output, a rotating stone for even cooking, and rock-solid durability, the Blackstone may be the better fit—especially for those serious about high-performance outdoor pizza making. On the other hand, the Deco Chef offers great value, portability, and versatility for beginners or casual backyard chefs.
Whichever oven you decide to go with, I’d really appreciate it if you used my referral links to make your purchase. It won’t cost you anything extra, but it helps me keep this blog running and continue testing gear for you:
Thanks for your support and enjoy every slice!