When you have a fireplace that spans 12 feet with a built in oven and BBQ it’s an open invitation for good times and great food.
While outdoor pizza ovens are becoming a popular addition to many backyards, the Boyles created their own perfect combo for an entertaining space that really delivers!
In 2011 Francis Boyles, a contractor living on a much-loved family farm outside of Antigonish, decided it was time to do something about the large barn property. The reno was planned with family and community in mind. The Boyles wanted a grand space for family and friends to gather.
“We were sitting around shooting the breeze, my four brothers and I, when we decided we needed a fireplace in the barn,” says Francis Boyle. “One thing led to another and we decided we wanted a pizza oven too.”
Francis Arsenault of Artisan Natural Stone in Antigonish has been working in masonry for more than 30 years. He says that the fireplace built in the Boyles barn was likely the grandest one that he had ever built. Once he started making pizza ovens for customers he says that the idea has caught on like wild fire.
“I was really interested, I did the research and came up with a plan. It’s a huge one, it has a pizza oven, a fire place and a barbecue pit all in one. says Arsenault.
The structure is a perfect scale for the historic barn. It spans approximately 12 feet in width with a fire place, pizza oven and barbecue so that it can be used in the summer or winter for large family gatherings.
It took approximately one month to create and Boyle says it was quite the conversation piece.
“We use it for family gatherings, there are always people around it. And it really takes pizza to a while other level. Once you get the oven to the right temperature, it only takes two and a half to three minutes to cook the pizza. One night we made 60 to 70 pizzas in it.”
The concept was to bring family together, and that’s exactly what it did. Boyles says they get as much enjoyment watching the family together as they do eating the pizza.
