It starts with a flame.

The right size depends on how you cook, how often you entertain and the space you have available. The Le Flambeur 60 is the more compact option and ideal for everyday family cooking, while the 90 gives you a larger hearth for entertaining, bigger dishes and cooking several things at once.

We’ll talk through how you intend to use the oven and help you choose the model that genuinely suits you rather than simply recommending the largest one.

The difference is its refractory hearth. Rather than relying on a constant flame to keep producing heat, Le Flambeur absorbs and stores the energy from the fire deep within its refractory mass, then releases it gradually.

That means one firing can take you from 500°C pizza and live-fire cooking through roasting and baking to long, slow cooking as the temperature falls, with usable retained heat for up to 48 hours.

It is less about choosing one cooking method and more about following the heat and making use of every stage.

Allow around one hour to reach approximately 500°C for high-temperature pizza and live-fire cooking.

From there, the refractory hearth does what it was designed to do: it stores that heat and releases it gradually. As the temperature settles, you can move from pizza and searing into roasting, bread, casseroles and much slower cooking.

Not really. Cooking with fire is different from turning a dial on a conventional oven, but that is also a large part of its appeal.

Most people begin to feel confident after three or four cooks. You quickly learn how much wood to add, where to position the fire and how the oven behaves as its temperature changes.

And we don’t simply deliver the oven and leave you with a manual. We install it, light the first fire with you and show you how to use it.

Every new refractory oven contains a small amount of residual moisture. Before Le Flambeur is brought up to full temperature, this needs to be driven out gradually through a series of controlled fires.

At Ephrem this is known as the dérhumage, or curing process.

When we install your oven, we carry out the first controlled fire and begin the curing process with you. We then show you exactly how to continue it over the following days, gradually increasing the temperature so the refractory hearth can dry and expand correctly.

During these first heat cycles, very fine surface cracks can occasionally appear in the refractory material. This is normal as moisture leaves the hearth and the material naturally expands and contracts. Small cracks of this kind do not affect the oven's strength, durability or cooking performance.

After a particularly long period without use, especially following a cold or damp winter, it is also sensible to begin again with a few gentle fires before taking the oven back to full temperature.

Yes. We run live Le Flambeur demonstrations in the UK, often with chefs, so you can see the oven at different temperatures, taste what comes out of it and ask questions while it is actually being used.

If there isn’t a demonstration taking place near you, we also arrange interactive live demonstrations on Microsoft Teams, where you can watch the cooking in real time and speak directly with the chef and our team.

For an oven like this, we think seeing the fire and understanding how the heat behaves is far more useful than simply looking at a specification sheet.

Your oven is normally delivered on a pallet, and easy pallet access is ideal. But because Le Flambeur is assembled on site, restricted access is often much less of a problem than people expect.

We carry trolleys and can unload the shipment component by component where necessary. As a general rule, if the route to the final position is no narrower or lower than a standard doorway, we can usually find a way to get it there.

Assembly itself takes around two hours, but we normally allow half a day for the complete visit. That gives us time to deliver and assemble the oven properly, begin the first curing fire and show you how to operate it.

Delivery, installation, commissioning and this initial handover are included in the price we quote you.

For a normal outdoor installation, Le Flambeur simply needs a firm, level and suitable position capable of supporting the oven safely. We’ll discuss the proposed location with you before delivery. We also recommend avoiding positions directly beneath trees.

Le Flambeur can also be installed indoors or within a more enclosed space. In that situation, smoke evacuation and the flue become an important part of the project.

We can work with a specialist to develop the appropriate specification for your home and arrange the required flue or extraction work. Any specialist extraction or connection work is quoted separately from the standard oven installation.

Yes. Le Flambeur is designed to live outdoors and cope with the British climate.

A protective cover is supplied with the oven, and we recommend using it when Le Flambeur is not in use, particularly through prolonged periods of wet weather.

The professional Le Flambeur Pro range goes even further, using more resistant steel and paint finishes for particularly demanding environments.

We keep only very limited stock in the UK. Most Le Flambeur ovens are therefore made to order in Provence to your chosen specification and colour.

A typical lead time is around four months, although this can vary from approximately two to five months depending on the model, finish and manufacturing schedule. We’ll give you the most accurate lead time possible when you order.

Your Le Flambeur is covered by a five-year warranty from installation and commissioning, once we have carried out the first fire.

Ephrem manufactures the components of the oven, so replacement parts remain available should they ever be required. And because installation and commissioning are carried out by our own team, you have someone who knows both the oven and your particular installation if you need support later.

Ideally, before the final layout is fixed. Bringing us in early means we can advise on the right oven, positioning, access, structural requirements, clearances and, where relevant, flue or extraction requirements before they become difficult or expensive to change.

We work directly with architects, landscape designers, developers, kitchen designers, contractors and M&E teams. If a project raises a particularly technical question that our UK team cannot answer, we can also arrange a video meeting directly with the Ephrem team in Provence.

We can provide everything required to specify Le Flambeur into a project, including dimensioned drawings, elevations, technical sheets, installation information, CAD/DWG and BIM/Revit files, together with colour and material information.

We can also review your drawings, proposed location and access before an order is placed.

For projects around London and the Home Counties, we can arrange a site visit where useful. Further afield, we can usually achieve the same thing through drawings, photographs and a live video or FaceTime site walk-through.

Absolutely. Le Flambeur does not have to be treated as a standalone object.

It can be supplied without its stand or legs and incorporated into bespoke masonry, cabinetry or an outdoor-kitchen scheme, provided the appropriate technical requirements are respected.

We enjoy working on projects where the oven becomes part of the architecture rather than simply being added to it afterwards, and we can work with your design and construction teams throughout the process.

Yes. Alongside Ephrem's standard finishes, bespoke RAL colours and project-specific finishes are possible.

We particularly welcome bespoke projects where the oven needs to respond to the architecture, landscaping, joinery or wider material palette.

A custom finish will increase the price slightly and normally adds approximately two to three months to the manufacturing lead time. We will confirm both before the specification is finalised.

Le Flambeur is only one way of working with Ephrem.

Ephrem has been manufacturing traditional refractory masonry ovens and kit ovens since 1975, so for a completely bespoke architectural project we can also supply the refractory oven itself for your team to design around.

That can range from one of Ephrem's masonry oven kits to supplying the refractory dome and components for a fully custom-built installation.

If you have an idea, speak to us. We would rather explore what is possible with you than limit the project to a standard configuration.

Once the model and installation are established, we can provide project-specific dimensions, weights, loading requirements and required clearances for your drawings.

Le Flambeur is very well insulated, with the refractory oven contained within its steel casing, so the exterior remains safe in normal use. We will nevertheless provide the required clearances for the particular installation rather than asking your team to work from assumptions.

For delivery, pallet access is ideal but not essential. The oven is assembled on site and can be moved in components where access is restricted. In most cases, if the route is no narrower or lower than a standard doorway, we can find a practical way to reach the installation position.

Yes.

A covered terrace, pergola or open-sided outdoor room can usually use Le Flambeur's existing flue arrangement, subject to the specifics of the space.

For a genuinely indoor or enclosed installation, a correctly designed flue and smoke-extraction system will be required. We can coordinate this with a specialist and provide the oven information they need to design the installation correctly.

For these projects, we create the specification around the property rather than trying to apply a one-size-fits-all solution.

For most projects, our team handles delivery, assembly and commissioning of the oven.

Assembly itself takes around two hours, but we normally allow at least half a day so the oven can be positioned correctly, checked and the first controlled curing fire started.

This begins the curing process, known at Ephrem as the dérhumage, which gradually removes residual moisture from the refractory hearth before the oven is brought up to full temperature.

On more complex residential or commercial projects, installation requirements can be priced individually and coordinated with the wider construction programme.

Most Le Flambeur ovens supplied in the UK are made to order in Provence.

For a standard specification, we normally work on approximately four months, although actual lead times can vary from around two to five months depending on the model and manufacturing schedule.

Bespoke colours or more individual specifications will generally add around two to three months.

For projects with a fixed completion, opening or handover date, we strongly recommend involving us early so the oven can be incorporated into the programme rather than ordered at the end of it.

Yes. We want to build long-term relationships with designers and specifiers rather than simply supply an oven at the end of a project.

Designers, architects, developers and other project partners can benefit from preferential project pricing compared with our standard Home retail pricing, with the exact commercial arrangement agreed according to the project.

Alongside pricing, we provide technical support throughout specification, coordination with contractors and specialists, access to Ephrem's team in France where required, and support through delivery and installation.

For commercial projects, we can also advise whether Le Flambeur or Le Flambeur Pro is the appropriate specification according to the setting and expected intensity of use.

It comes down to the scale of your operation, the way you intend to cook and the volume you need to achieve during service.

The 90 Pro is a remarkably capable oven with a 90cm cooking hearth and is well suited to restaurants, terraces, hotels and venues where Le Flambeur forms an important part of the kitchen without necessarily carrying the entire service.

The 120 Pro gives you considerably more working space and makes sense for larger restaurants, busy terraces, hotels and venues expecting higher throughput or several dishes cooking simultaneously.

We’ll look at your menu, covers and intended use with you before recommending one.

Ephrem rates the 90 Pro at up to 40 x 33cm pizzas per hour, with two pizzas cooking at a time. It can also accommodate approximately 2–3 x 30cm dishes at once or around 8kg of bread per batch.

The larger 120 Pro is rated at up to 60 x 33cm pizzas per hour, with five cooking simultaneously, approximately 4–5 x 30cm dishes at once or around 15kg of bread per batch.

Naturally, real capacity depends on the size of your pizzas, loaves, roasting dishes and what else is cooking at the same time. We would rather help you plan realistic service around your menu than simply quote maximum numbers.

Allow approximately one hour from cold to high-temperature service.

A 90 Pro typically uses around 6–8kg of wood for a heating cycle, while the 120 Pro uses approximately 10kg. The important difference is what happens afterwards: the refractory mass stores the energy from that relatively small initial firing and continues giving it back long after the flames have subsided.

That can make the economics particularly interesting compared with an appliance that needs an ongoing supply of gas throughout service.

Using our current illustrative figures, a 90 Pro fired once on 300 trading days, at around 7kg of kiln-dried hardwood per firing, would use roughly £950 of wood in a year. By comparison, a similarly productive 18kW commercial gas pizza oven operating for eight hours a day would cost around £2,100 a year at recent average business gas prices if operating at its rated input.

That is an indicative difference of around £1,200 a year, or approximately 55%, before making any additional use of Le Flambeur's retained heat the following day. Actual costs will of course depend on your wood supplier, gas contract, operating hours and how each oven is used. Recent UK bulk hardwood examples are around £0.45/kg, while Ofgem reports an average non-domestic gas price of 4.93p/kWh in its latest comparable business data.

Yes, and learning to plan around the falling-temperature curve is one of the most interesting parts of using a true refractory oven.

You might begin at very high temperature with pizza, flatbreads and live-fire cooking, move into roasting as the oven settles, then use the stored heat for bread, casseroles and long, slow-cooked dishes. There can still be useful heat the following morning and well into the next day.

The refractory mass can retain cooking heat for close to 48 hours after the final firing.

There is a learning curve. The trick is not simply learning how to make a bigger fire. In fact, one of the most common mistakes is loading too much wood. The real skill is understanding how much energy the hearth needs and then planning dishes around the temperatures you already have.

Not at all.

Pizza makes excellent use of the oven at its hottest, but Le Flambeur Pro was designed around the much broader tradition of cooking in a high-mass refractory oven.

Grill and sear with live flame. Roast meat, fish and vegetables. Bake bread. Cook casseroles and stews. Braise and confit slowly as the temperature falls. Smoke with very gentle residual heat.

For a professional kitchen, its real value is not that it performs one technique particularly well. It is that one firing creates a succession of useful cooking environments. Ephrem specifically positions its professional ovens for pizza, bread, grilling, meats, fish and slow-cooked dishes throughout the heating cycle.

Quite a lot, because we don't believe a professional oven should simply arrive on a pallet with an instruction manual.

Our team delivers and installs the oven, starts the first controlled fire and begins the curing process, known at Ephrem as the dérhumage. We then work with your team on fire management, temperature control and, importantly, how to plan cooking around the falling-temperature curve.

We also include two follow-up sessions, ideally at your venue where practical. We can introduce your team to chefs already cooking with Le Flambeur so they can share genuine experience, mistakes to avoid, techniques and ideas.

Further dedicated training can be arranged after those sessions and is chargeable.

We are also developing an Ephrem Club for professional users, creating a community in which chefs can exchange recipes, techniques and experience rather than everyone having to learn in isolation.

Absolutely.

We run live demonstrations in the UK with chefs using Le Flambeur, and serious hospitality prospects are welcome to come and experience the oven properly rather than simply see it sitting cold in a showroom.

Where attending in person isn't practical, we can also arrange an interactive live demonstration on Microsoft Teams, allowing you and your kitchen team to watch, ask questions and speak directly with the chef.

The emphasis is not just on making pizza. We want you to understand the fire, the refractory hearth and how the oven moves through its different cooking temperatures.

Our normal hospitality service includes delivery, assembly, commissioning and the first controlled curing fire, just as it does for our Home customers.

Assembly itself takes around two hours, although we normally allow at least half a day to position the oven, complete the installation properly and begin the handover with your team.

For more complex restaurant, hotel or development projects, installation is assessed and quoted individually.

Outdoor and open-terrace installations can often use Le Flambeur's existing flue arrangement. For an indoor or substantially enclosed installation, a properly designed flue and smoke-extraction solution will be required. We can coordinate this with a specialist and provide all the oven specifications they need.

We can also work around access restrictions and, where practical, trading schedules or closed days.

Professional users receive priority support.

We will troubleshoot by telephone or video where an issue can be resolved quickly, arrange replacement parts where required and provide on-site assistance where practical.

Professional customers also receive priority access to breakdown support and replacement parts ahead of domestic customers, because we understand that an oven forming part of a restaurant service cannot simply wait until it is convenient.

Le Flambeur is covered by a five-year warranty from installation and commissioning, once we have carried out the first fire. Ephrem manufactures the oven components itself, so replacement parts and technical support remain available.

Most UK ovens are made to order in Provence. Normal lead time is around four months, although depending on production and specification this can vary from approximately two to five months. For a new opening, refurbishment or seasonal launch, involve us as early as possible.

We work more closely with a small number of chefs and venues who genuinely want Le Flambeur to become part of the way they cook.

An Ephrem Chef Ambassador partnership normally runs for at least 12 months and can include preferential purchase terms or, in a limited number of cases, placement of an oven on loan.

In return, we are looking for a genuine relationship rather than a one-off endorsement: regular use of Le Flambeur, a visible position for the oven within the venue where possible, selected dishes developed around it and occasional participation in content, demonstrations or Ephrem events.

With agreement, we may also feature the chef's name, image, dishes and venue in our website, social media and communications, and ask Ambassadors to share some of their Le Flambeur cooking with their own audience. Selected venues may occasionally welcome a serious prospective customer to see the oven in use.

The exact commitment and commercial arrangement is agreed individually with each chef and venue. The aim is to build a small group of people who really cook with the oven, rather than a conventional sponsorship programme.