I’m a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at my restaurant, Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston. In this article, I’ll be comparing the Camp Chef Italia and the Stoke pizza oven, as I’ve personally used both extensively in my kitchen. I evaluated each oven across several key factors: quality and materials, temperature control, shape, first-time usage impressions, power source, size, ease of cleaning, and I also conducted a real pizza cooking test to see exactly how long each oven takes to produce a great result. If you’d like to learn more about my detailed testing process, you can check out my separate article where I walk step by step through how I test pizza ovens.
The Camp Chef Italia is a propane-powered pizza oven designed to recreate the performance of a brick oven in a compact, stainless steel build.
The Stoke pizza oven is a versatile and stylish oven known for its high heat output and ability to cook authentic Neapolitan-style pizzas quickly, whether you prefer gas or wood fuel.
In this article, I’ve provided a detailed comparison of the Camp Chef Italia and the Stoke pizza oven based on my hands-on tests.
Finally, please note that I’ll be including referral links throughout this comparison. If you decide to purchase one of these ovens using my links, I’ll earn a small commission at no cost to you—these commissions help keep this blog alive and allow me to continue testing products thoroughly. Thank you for your support!
Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: Quality and Materials
| The Camp Chef Italia is crafted from stainless steel with a double-layered ceiling that improves heat retention. While the metal is thinner than some premium models, it feels sturdy enough for frequent use and has solid rubber-coated feet for stability. |
The Stoke Pizza Oven uses average-quality materials overall. While the fiberglass shell is weather-resistant, users have noted issues like paint burning and rusting over time, so it may not match the long-term durability of the Camp Chef.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: Temperature Control
| Camp Chef Italia has precise micro-adjust valves and a built-in thermometer, making it easier to dial in temperatures consistently. It heats up to around 700–750°F with minimal fuss and recovers heat quickly after opening the door. |
Stoke has more variability in temperature. Although advertised to reach 900°F, it often topped out closer to 700°F in testing, and required more hands-on monitoring to keep temperatures steady.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: Shape
| The Camp Chef Italia features a classic domed ceiling that promotes excellent air circulation, ensuring even cooking across the pizza. |
The Stoke Pizza Oven has a tall wall between the flame and the stone, which can reduce direct heat transfer and make it harder to achieve a perfectly crisp bottom.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: First-Time Usage Impressions
| The Camp Chef Italia gave a great first impression with a smooth assembly under 30 minutes and intuitive controls. Even my first Margherita came out evenly cooked and delicious. |
Stoke was easy to assemble in about 10 minutes and looked modern. However, the first pizza didn’t develop the same golden crust on the bottom as I’d expect, even after experimenting with the fire placement.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: Power Source
| Camp Chef Italia is propane-fueled, which means cleaner operation, less smoke, and very predictable heat without having to tend a fire constantly. |
Stoke uses wood for authentic flavor, and there’s a gas model available. While wood enhances taste, it requires more effort to maintain temperature and produces more smoke.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: Size
| The Camp Chef Italia is compact and stable, with enough room for a 12” pizza or other dishes, though it may be a tight fit for very large pizzas. |
Stoke Pizza Oven is lighter and more portable at around 40 pounds, making it easier to move around. The cooking chamber is also quite compact, limiting batch sizes.
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Camp Chef Italia VS Stoke: Ease of Cleaning
| Camp Chef Italia is straightforward to clean: simply run it at high heat to burn off residue, scrape the stone, and wipe down the exterior. |
Stoke is also simple to clean, thanks to easy disassembly and a smooth interior, but you’ll have more ash and soot to remove after wood-fired sessions.
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Pizza Cooking Test
For this side-by-side test, I prepared identical Margherita pizzas using the same fresh dough, tomato sauce, and mozzarella.
The Camp Chef Italia heated up to about 700°F in just under 40 minutes. Once the stone reached the right temperature, I placed the pizza inside. It baked in roughly 8 minutes, producing a nicely blistered crust with good browning on the bottom. The cheese melted evenly, and the flavor was excellent—slightly crisp on the edges but still chewy in the center.
The Stoke Pizza Oven took longer to preheat, reaching around 700°F after 45 minutes. The pizza cooked a bit faster once inside—about 2 minutes per side after rotating—but the crust didn’t brown as evenly on the bottom. While the top cooked quickly and had nice bubbling, the base was a little pale and less crispy compared to the Camp Chef. The taste was still good overall, especially with the added smokiness from the wood fuel, but it didn’t achieve the same balance of crunch and chew.
In the end, both ovens turned out flavorful Margheritas, but the Camp Chef Italia delivered more consistent texture and reliable results with less effort.
How We Tested
To create a fair comparison between the Camp Chef Italia and the Stoke Wood-Fired Pizza Oven, I prepared several batches of Margherita pizzas using the same dough recipe, sauce, and toppings for consistency. I measured preheat times using an infrared thermometer to confirm the stone temperature before baking. Each oven was tested outdoors on a calm day to avoid wind interference. For every pizza, I tracked the total cooking time, observed how evenly the crust browned, and assessed the final taste and texture. Between bakes, I allowed the ovens to recover heat and recorded how quickly they returned to the target temperature. This hands-on testing process helped me understand not just how fast and hot each oven could get, but how practical they were to use in a busy cooking environment.
Conclusion
In the end, it’s your choice whether you prefer the Camp Chef Italia or the Stoke Pizza Oven. Both have their strengths and can help you create fantastic pizzas at home. If you decide to buy one, I’d highly appreciate it if you use my referral links for purchasing—I’ll make a small commission at no cost to you. Here they are in case you’d like to support my work: referral link for the Camp Chef Italia and referral link for the Stoke. Thank you!