The boss

Kristian Tapaninaho, founder and joint CEO of Ooni

Originally from Finland, I invented the world’s first portable wood-fired oven and with it the category of the modern pizza oven. Through the spark of this initial idea, we’ve gone on to develop a range of innovative products and I lead a world-class team building the future of Ooni. The little time I have outside work is usually spent hill running with the family dog or wall climbing with my two boys.

The business

Ooni was founded by myself and my wife Darina Garland in 2012 and we are based in Broxburn, near Edinburgh in Scotland. We create exceptional food experiences and shared moments. The heart of our business is fantastic cooking products, but also our accessories. There is nothing more satisfying or rewarding than being a business that brings families together.

The influence

My first barbecue experiences go back to the 1980s and my grandparents' backyard where we’d cook with a Lucifer grill. This was a small charcoal grill introduced to the Finnish market in the early 1970s.

The equipment

I do 99% of my outdoor cooking with an Ooni. Much of it with charcoal and wood but now with the introduction of our first electric pizza oven, Volt 12, I do a lot of my pizza cooking with that too. I also have a PK Grill, which I occasionally use to slow smoke very thick cuts of ribeye.

The meal

I call it Kando’s – as in Kristian’s Nando’s – which I cook for our two boys, Oskari and Otto. We get some boneless chicken thighs and make a slightly spicy marinade from olive oil, chilli flakes, smoked paprika and lime, as well as a few other spices. It’s super easy and always a crowd pleaser.

The next big thing

Outside of what we’ve done in the pizza oven world, I’m not seeing a lot of innovation. Perhaps we might see something around a technology-enabled return to the roots of charcoal and more old-school ways of cooking.