Pizza is a no-brainer, right? Who can say no to pizza? Well, we can’t, so the Pizza Forno machine (apparently the island’s first pizza vending machine) in the Centre for Business and Access at the Interurban campus caught our eye. You can’t miss it: it’s literally right in front of your face when you go in that building from one of the entrances, and it’s pretty big. I’ve seen many people standing there, wondering if it was worth their money. Wonder no more: we took the plunge and tested the Pizza Forno pizza machine for you.
First of all, what do they promise? Well, they promise various Italian-style pizzas ranging from barbecue chicken to vegetarian (all made in Camosun’s Chargers Cafe) ready to eat in less than three minutes. Sounds like a big promise.
Well, the pepperoni pizza took about 3:32, but, let’s not be super picky here. It comes out pretty hot and the cheese is nicely melted but not burned—that’s a big plus for me.
The price varies depending on which topping you choose. I went a few times, and paid between $11 and almost $14, which is a regular price for a pizza (you can also get the pizza unbaked for slightly cheaper if you’re heading home). It’s not cheap but it’s not super expensive. You can probably find a cheaper deal at a big chain pizza place but then you would have to wait more than four minutes, that’s for sure. You can pay for your Pizza Forno pizza by credit card or Apple Pay or Google Pay on your phone. The payment works smooth and without any issues.
But how does it taste? It’s good. I mean, this isn’t Pizzeria Prima Strada, but it’s a thin-crust pizza and it has taste. Even though the dough felt a bit more like soft focaccia to me, the overall composition of ingredients does work just fine.
The pepperoni pizza is a real classic and it absolutely tasted like that. The pepperoni was a little spicy and the mozzarella on there actually tasted like real cheese, so let’s hope it actually is. The vegetarian pizza—in my case, goat’s cheese and honey—also tasted quite good, although I wish they wouldn’t put so much oregano on it. But maybe that’s just my personal taste. (There was no oregano on the pepperoni pizza, by the way.)
I reheated single slices later—once in a pan, another time in the microwave. Both worked fine and the pizza was still enjoyable.
The only bad thing I really have to say is that the machine is mostly empty in the evening, as the pizza sells out. It would be nice if it was still fully stocked going into the evening so students who have late classes could get some dinner.
The plastic knives are also something I wish they would reconsider, even though they are made from biodegradable plastic. Maybe the pizza crust could be pre-cut before it’s stocked in the machine.
These are tiny things, but they could make a difference. Still, this machine delivers good pizza for students, and we’re happy with what we got through it.