Charlie Oven
The boss
Tara Quick, CEO and co-founder of Charlie Oven
I’m originally from Dublin, Ireland. I’m a foodie at heart and love to cook and have worked a lot in food businesses. Charlie Oven started when I bought a commercial charcoal oven to use at home to bake bread. After making great bread, I cooked fish in the oven, and the taste blew me away. It changed everything. That’s how Charlie Oven got started.
The business
British company Cheeky Charlie Oven produces luxury outdoor charcoal ovens and complementary outdoor kitchen furniture. Outdoor living is a growing trend in the UK, creating an extension of our living spaces.
Our purpose is to change the way people cook outdoors. The Charlie Oven, available in 10 different colours, takes cooking to a whole new dimension of flavour and cooking possibilities, with a huge reduction in the energy required to do it.
Whatever you cook, it makes you feel like a chef at home. Charlie uses sustainable charcoal, a biofuel, and, because of the oven’s design, requires very little fuel. All our products are made in Nottingham. They’re designed for a circular economy and can be refurbished for life... and look fabulous.
The influence
Chefs like Niklas Ekstedt have been a huge influence on me. I remember watching him on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, where he talked about baking a whole celeriac directly on the fire.
I love finding new ways to cook to create flavour. Cooking is my passion and stems from both my grandmothers, who were amazing cooks. Food is the way I express myself to show my love to family and friends.
The equipment
The Cheeky Charlie is my everyday oven. It’s smaller than the original Charlie Oven and I use it a lot during the week. It lights quickly, and it keeps all the mess out of the kitchen. If we have guests coming, or I want to hang a leg of lamb, I like to use the full-size Charlie Oven for the extra height. Even for a weekday lasagne, I cook it in the Charlie Oven.
The meal
Ribeye steaks with a roasted red pepper chimichurri sauce, fondant potatoes, and dirty roasted shallots. This meal is super-easy to cook in the Charlie Oven. I love to use the whole oven when I can. It’s a great way to use the oven: cooking the steak directly over the flame, while using indirect heat at the same time to cook everything else.
The next big thing
In 2023, we expanded our range to include the Cheeky Charlie tabletop oven and launched our new kitchen island units. We have a few new accessories to further increase the functionality of the oven.
In 2024, we’re planning a few new pieces for our outdoor kitchen collection.