As a restaurant chef with over 10 years of experience at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston, I’ve had the opportunity to test and cook with many outdoor pizza ovens in a real kitchen environment. In this comparison, I’ll share my hands-on experience with the Cru Champion and the Carbon Pizza Oven—two models I’ve personally used in my setup. I compared them across all the key categories: 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 how long each oven takes and how the final pizza turns out. You can also check my separate article where I explain exactly how I test pizza ovens in detail.
The Cru Champion is a wood- and charcoal-fired stainless steel oven made in Portugal, built for durability, large-scale cooking, and authentic smoky flavor.
The Carbon Pizza Oven is a sleek, modern gas-powered oven designed for high-speed performance, combining convenience with serious firepower.
I’ve compared the Cru Champion and the Carbon Pizza Oven in detail in this article, using my own test results.
This article contains referral links. If you decide to buy through them, I may earn a small commission—at no cost to you. Your support helps me keep this blog running and continue testing pizza ovens like these.
Cru Champion VS Carbon: Quality and Materials
| The Cru Champion is crafted in Portugal using dual-walled AISI 304 stainless steel and thick ceramic insulation. It feels like a true heirloom oven—built for long-term durability and consistent, high-heat cooking. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven is made from stainless steel with a weather-resistant finish and features firebrick for even heating. It’s solid, but its build doesn’t quite match the long-term ruggedness of the Cru Champion.
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Cru Champion VS Carbon: Temperature Control
| The Cru Champion reaches 850°F in under 13 minutes and holds its heat with minimal babysitting. Its insulation and dome design help retain steady, radiant heat for long baking sessions. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven uses upper and lower propane burners, reaching 950–1000°F in about 10 minutes. It allows for more precise control, but the dual-burner setup takes a bit of practice to master.
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Cru Champion VS Carbon: Shape
| With a semi-round dome and 24” x 24” cooking surface, the Cru Champion offers excellent airflow and heat circulation—ideal for pizza, roasting, or grilling. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven has a compact rectangular shape with a front opening of just 3.75″. It’s efficient for pizza but limits visibility and accessibility inside.
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Cru Champion VS Carbon: First-Time Usage Impressions
| Setup for the Cru Champion was quick and intuitive, with most components pre-assembled. It gave off a professional-grade feel right from the first bake. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven arrived well-packed and branded nicely. Setup was simple, though attaching the stone and checking gas connections took a bit more care.
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Cru Champion VS Carbon: Power Source
| The Cru Champion runs on wood or charcoal, offering flexibility and delivering that unmistakable smoky flavor. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven runs on propane or natural gas, making it more convenient but lacking the smokiness of a wood-fired oven.
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Cru Champion VS Carbon: Size
| With a 24” x 24” cooking floor and a 17.5” opening, the Cru Champion fits up to two 10” pizzas or one large 18” pie. It’s ideal for gatherings and versatile meals. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven fits a 15” pizza, but the compact height (3.75″ opening) limits larger or taller items. It’s efficient for single-pie sessions but not ideal for batch cooking.
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Cru Champion VS Carbon: Ease of Cleaning
| The Cru Champion is easy to clean with removable firebricks and an open interior. Wiping down soot or sweeping ash takes just a few minutes. |
The Carbon Pizza Oven comes with a cleaning brush and is simple to maintain, though food can stick to the firebrick base if not cleaned quickly after use.
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Pizza Cooking Test: Cru Champion vs Carbon Pizza Oven
The Cru Champion preheated faster than expected, hitting around 850°F in just under 13 minutes. I used a wood fire setup and let the dome absorb heat evenly before shifting the logs to the back. Once the stone was ready, I slid in a Margherita pizza. It cooked in just 96 seconds—beautiful leopard-spotting on the crust, perfectly melted cheese, and that unmistakable wood-fired smokiness that gives the pizza its rustic charm. The crust was crispy yet chewy, with a gentle char and an aromatic, deep flavor only hardwood can deliver.
The Carbon Pizza Oven reached about 740°F in 10 minutes using its lower and upper propane burners. On the first bake, the pizza needed a bit more heat on the bottom, but after letting the stone reach 760°F, the second try nailed it. The Margherita was ready in 80–90 seconds, with a bubbly crust, crisp edges, and golden cheese. It lacked the smoky flavor of the Cru Champion, but made up for it with convenience and consistency. The taste was clean, the bake was even, and the crust had a nice firm base with a soft interior.
How We Tested
To compare the Cru Champion and Carbon Pizza Oven fairly, I used both ovens in my professional outdoor cooking area at Dequte Restaurant LironBoylston. I tested them on separate days using the same dough recipe, sauce, and toppings for a classic Margherita pizza to keep results consistent.
For each oven, I paid close attention to how long it took to preheat, how easy it was to control the heat, and how the pizza turned out in terms of crust texture, overall flavor, and bake consistency. I also factored in how user-friendly each oven felt right out of the box—especially in terms of setup, handling during cooking, and cleanup afterward.
Every observation is based on real hands-on use—not spec sheets—so what you’re reading is what you can expect when you actually cook with these ovens yourself.
Final Thoughts
Both the Cru Champion and Carbon Pizza Oven are excellent options—but they serve slightly different needs. If you’re looking for that authentic wood-fired experience with deep smoky flavor, generous cooking space, and rugged durability, the Cru Champion is hard to beat. On the other hand, if convenience, speed, and precise heat control matter more to you, the Carbon Pizza Oven offers a reliable and compact gas-powered alternative that’s easy to use and delivers solid results.
Ultimately, it’s your choice which oven fits your cooking style best.
If you decide to buy one, I’d truly appreciate it if you used my referral links below. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, but I may earn a small commission—which helps keep this blog alive and allows me to keep testing ovens like these:
Thanks for reading—and enjoy your pizza nights!
Check out our list of the top pizza ovens.