In 1992 Russell Jeavons opened, and cooked at, a unique restaurant in an old cottage in one of South Australia’s prized wine districts. It was famous for the fact that it only opened on one night of the week, on a Friday night but is famous most of all for its fresh, simple food cooked entirely in Russell’s wood-fired brick ovens. The pizzas are renowned and their toppings drip with fine regional ingredients which are combined on classic, thin, wood-oven cooked bases.

The first part of his unique book is a step-by-step guide that takes you through the stages of building an oven, from choosing the site to firing up for your first bake. Part 2 explains how to cook in the oven with invaluable tips for brick oven cooks and includes recipes for sour dough bread, pizza, dukkah, traditional English roasts and some of Russell’s famous desserts.

Not every household can accommodate a brick oven in their garden but it’s something many keen home cooks aspire to. Buy this book and dream or buy this book and build one.