As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of hands-on experience at my own kitchen, Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I’ve tested a wide variety of outdoor pizza ovens under real cooking conditions. In this article, I’ll compare two standout models I personally used: the Camp Chef Italia and the DeliVita. I’ve evaluated them on several key factors—quality and materials, temperature control, shape, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and most importantly, I ran a real pizza cooking test to see how fast and how well they bake a Margherita pizza. If you’re curious about the full methodology I use to test pizza ovens, I break it all down in a separate article.
The Camp Chef Italia is a gas-powered oven designed to deliver reliable heat and a classic pizza crust experience, all in a portable, user-friendly format.
The DeliVita, on the other hand, is a premium, hand-crafted wood-fired oven made in the UK, with a distinctive design and traditional cooking method that’s perfect for those seeking authenticity.
I tested both the Camp Chef Italia and the DeliVita and shared a detailed comparison in this article.
Disclosure: This article contains referral links that help keep my blog alive. If you decide to purchase one of these ovens through my links, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you—and I truly appreciate your support.
Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: Quality and Materials
| The Camp Chef Italia pizza oven features a stainless steel body and a double-layer ceiling, which adds strength and improves heat retention during long cooking sessions. While the metal is thinner than premium models, the oven still feels solid and reliable. |
The DeliVita wood-fired oven is handmade in the UK using a clay interior and a fiberglass outer shell. It’s highly weather-resistant and stylish, but the ceramic base can feel delicate under heavy or frequent use.
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Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: Temperature Control
| With its built-in thermometer and Micro-Adjust Valves, the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven gives you precise control over heat. It recovers temperature quickly after opening the door, making it easier to cook multiple pizzas. |
The DeliVita pizza oven requires manual temperature management using wood fuel. You’ll need an infrared thermometer to check internal heat, and it takes practice to keep temperatures consistent while cooking.
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Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: Shape
| The Camp Chef Italia pizza oven uses a dome-shaped ceiling that mimics traditional Italian ovens. This helps circulate hot air evenly and delivers balanced cooking results. |
The DeliVita wood-fired oven also uses a dome shape with a clay-lined interior, promoting excellent airflow and even baking — a hallmark of authentic Neapolitan pizza ovens.
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Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: First-Time Usage Impressions
| Setting up the Camp Chef Italia was quick and easy. With only a few steps needed for assembly and a fast propane connection, it was cooking-ready in under 30 minutes. |
The DeliVita oven came pre-assembled, which was convenient. However, the long-handled peel and wood-fired technique can be challenging to manage at first, especially for beginners.
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Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: Power Source
| The Camp Chef Italia pizza oven runs on propane, making it much cleaner and easier to manage. No ash, no mess — just turn the dial and you’re cooking. |
The DeliVita wood-fired oven runs entirely on real wood. While this creates amazing smoky flavor, it involves more prep and cleanup, and requires more skill to use efficiently.
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Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: Size
| Weighing 47 lbs, the Camp Chef Italia oven is relatively portable and compact. While it’s a bit tight for rotating large 12-inch pizzas, it’s great for backyard setups. |
The DeliVita oven weighs about 66 lbs and is also considered portable. It comfortably fits 12-inch pizzas and works well for patios and small outdoor spaces.
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Camp Chef Italia VS DeliVita: Ease of Cleaning
| Cleaning the Camp Chef Italia Artisan Pizza Oven is simple. Run it on high heat for 15 minutes, scrape the residue, and wipe the exterior. It’s straightforward and fast. |
The DeliVita wood-fired oven needs to cool down before brushing out the ash. Cleaning takes a bit more time due to wood residue, but included tools with long handles help with reach.
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Pizza Cooking Test: Camp Chef Italia vs DeliVita
The Camp Chef Italia pizza oven took around 35 to 40 minutes to reach close to its peak heat of 700°F (370°C), slightly longer than advertised but expected given outdoor conditions. Once fully preheated, I slid in a Margherita pizza using homemade dough.
The pizza took about 7 to 9 minutes to cook through. The crust developed a beautiful golden brown color with small char bubbles around the edges. Cheese melted evenly, the sauce retained a rich tomato flavor, and the bottom had that perfect balance of crispness without being dry. The overall taste was balanced, classic, and very satisfying, especially for a gas-powered oven.
The DeliVita wood-fired oven reached its optimal temperature of around 500–550°F (260–290°C) in about 25 minutes, which was impressive for a wood-fired model. I prepped the same style Margherita pizza for this test.
Cooking time was significantly faster — the pizza was done in just under 2 minutes. The edges puffed up beautifully with a nice leopard spotting, and the crust had that unmistakable wood-fired smoky aroma. However, I had to rotate it quickly and carefully to avoid burnt spots. The flavor was rich and rustic, with a delicious contrast between soft cheese and crisp, slightly charred edges.
How We Tested
As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I approached this comparison from a professional kitchen perspective. I tested both the Camp Chef Italia and the DeliVita Wood-Fired Oven in the same outdoor setup to ensure fairness. Each oven was preheated fully, and I used an infrared thermometer to monitor how quickly they reached cooking temperature and how well they maintained it throughout the process.
To keep things consistent, I prepared identical Margherita pizzas using my go-to restaurant dough recipe. I paid close attention to how each oven handled the bake, from how fast the crust browned to how evenly the cheese melted. I also noted how quickly the ovens recovered heat between pizzas, as this matters when cooking multiple pies in a row. Throughout the process, I considered ease of use—how intuitive the controls felt, how comfortable it was to handle the pizzas, and how each oven fit into a real cooking flow.
These practical tests gave me a clear sense of how both ovens perform under real cooking conditions—not just in theory but in the rhythm of an actual kitchen. While both the Camp Chef Italia and DeliVita brought solid results, some differences in performance, convenience, and control ultimately gave Camp Chef Italia a slight edge in my experience.
Conclusion
In the end, whether you choose the Camp Chef Italia or the DeliVita really comes down to your personal cooking style and what matters most to you—speed, convenience, portability, or that traditional wood-fired charm. Both ovens have their strengths, and I’ve had great results with each. If you found this comparison helpful and decide to purchase one, I’d truly appreciate you using my referral links. It won’t cost you anything extra, but it helps support this blog and the time I put into these in-depth reviews. Here’s the Camp Chef Italia referral link, and here’s the DeliVita referral link. Thank you!
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