Sustainable development: With more than 80,000 ovens sold in France and abroad since its creation, our manufacture is committed to long-term development. Our reputation precedes us: sturdiness, reliability and performance are what our customers say about our products. So, we thank the old and commit to the new. Here is a rundown of our know-how – what gets you talking about us – and our current and future values:
The craft
Our ovens are hand built by workmen who pay particular attention to the quality and accuracy of their craft. Each of our departments oversee production on a 3-hectare site in Haute-Provence.
The manufacture: Mickaël and William make an exclusive recipe for refractory concrete, and pour each part into moulds specifically designed by a boilermaker. The concrete is vibrated to release any air bubbles then removed from the mould after it has set. The finishing touches are done by hand before it is assembled on a pallet
The iron workshop: Jean-Baptiste supervises the equipment design for our professional ovens. He does the finishing touches (painting) and makes the metal parts and accessories: doors, hoods, outer casings and load-bearing structures.
The warehouse: Sébastien handles pallet packaging and shipping of orders. We ship all over France, Belgium and across Europe.
A trade standard
Technicality: the height and shape of the vaults have been specially designed for uniform temperature and optimal baking.
Robustness: the mass and design of our ovens make them perfectly inert. Unlike metal ovens, that are sometimes aesthetic but rarely efficient, Ephrem ovens maintain higher temperatures for longer: the guarantee of real baking in a wood-fired oven.
Performance: the great thermal inertia of our fixed domestic and professional ovens helps them consume less wood and maintain a very long baking cycle. The result: many batches for one single cook. Our baker ovens have an exceptionally thick floor and unparalleled energy performance, with high efficiency and low wood consumption.
The materials
Every part of our ovens is made from refractory concrete and French, natural and high-quality raw materials. On top of everything else is the high degree of refractoriness which keeps the materials inert: the heat from burning the wood is stored and then slowly released throughout the baking cycle
Pozzolan: all our domestic ovens are made entirely from Pozzolan – a volcanic soil extracted in Ardèche. This versatile natural material is also known as “lava stone” and has remarkable refractory qualities to yield very high-performance concrete.
Chamotte: professional ovens and baker ovens are renowned for their exceptional inertia. They are made entirely from chamotte, a clay with optimal refractory properties.
Terracotta: for professional or intensive use, we use refractory terracotta slabs with proven mechanical and thermal resistance.
Customer support
Installation: our teams assemble and disassemble our ovens. We also support our customers with collaborative projects. We install our professional rotating ovens in your establishment, food truck or with partner teams.
Assistance: for professionals or individuals, our technical assistance is fully available to help you set up your oven. We also provide videos and tutorials on our website and social networks. Click here to find out more!
Monitoring: Nadine has been advising our customers for over 30 years and handles order management and procurement with Annie. Sylvain manages market development and advises professionals about acquiring their future work tool. Adrien develops the right tools to communicate better with customers and retailers.
The development department
The design: we are beginning a new chapter and brand image designed by Virginie. Our wood-fired ovens will soon have new outer casings with contemporary accessories for domestic ovens and more modern decoration for professional ones. We can also handle tailor-made projects for specific requests.
R&D: real teamwork. We are considering the uses of tomorrow and modernising our current technical heritage with our new apprentice, Jules. Sourcing, technology monitoring and developing new features are now an integral part of what we do
Values
Sharing: wood-fired ovens have brought people together for millennia, and baking is done in the company of others. As such, conviviality and passing on knowledge are cornerstones of our approach. We are creating The Office – a new collaborative space with the support of the European Leader programme. It is a rural culinary workshop dedicated to baking with wood-fired ovens, rediscovering different types of bread and gourmet pizzas. It is a shared space for exchanging ideas and meeting new people
Well-being: many people have been learning new trades lately. This shows how much we need a better and healthier life style. Ephrem is fully on board and, as such, started a training and team-coaching programme in 2020, and signed up to the RSE04 programme in 2021. The key to this is new habits, better organisation and adequate renovation
Environment: this is the starting point and what prompted us to get back to working in our local area and laying the foundations for a more global project: creating a third place that is dedicated to low-tech innovation. The 1.5-hectare of unused farm land will soon be transformed into an area dedicated to permaculture to supply both the team and culinary workshops. Come discover this new ecosystem led by Gabriel!
Global design: aesthetics are just as important as ethics. Preserving the basics, ensuring the sustainability of nearly fifty-year-old know-how and modernising style is what we aim for. And we want to apply it everywhere for perfect harmony: a wood-fired oven should be showcased; it gets people on board and is a refined way of getting them back to their roots. It renews the long term through heating cycles and large feasts.
They share their experience
Inspiration from Ephrem
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Reconstruction of a Swiss communal ovenReconstruction of the old communal oven in the village of Montegreco in the Valle di Blenio in Switzerland. Destroyed in 1927, it was restored by the Fondazione Montegreco with an Ephrem oven 🔥
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Le Combiné Essentiel of our manufactureSylvain Pesce, head of the company, grilling for a team meal at the factory. The Combiné Essentiel shown here and all our domestic ovens can be seen in our showroom all year round!
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Le Gastronome by Mr Pierini
Experience the installation of the Ephrem domestic wood-fired oven by Mr. Pierini, flawlessly integrated into a pozzolan wall – the material used to make our ovens.
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The cladding doesn’t make the ovenOur ovens can be adapted to suit a variety of embelishments. Inspiration: the home of the ceramist Kelli Cain. Credits: Pia Ulin, Martha Stewart Living
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L’Authentique PizzaioloOur L’Authentique Pizzaiolo domestic wood-fired oven beneath the magnificent stone cladding inspired by the borie style.
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Le GastronomeHere are some photos showcasing the assembly of an Ephrem domestic wood-fired oven, Le Gastronome, all the way in Romania.
