Pizza boss to raise some extra dough with new mobile oven

But weighed down by a one-tonne fully functioning log-fired oven, it is possibly the most elaborate.

The van is the creation of Tony Crolla, the owner of La Favorita on Leith Walk, who is preparing to hit the streets offering pizza and pasta cooked in the onboard oven.

The 40-year-old will officially launch the "bright Ferrari red" van at this weekend's Taste of Edinburgh festival, before attending a number of outdoor events across Scotland over the summer months, including T in the Park and the Oasis gig at Murrayfield.

Mr Crolla, who said he spent 90,000 on the van and equipment after spotting a gap in the market for "quality food on the go", added: "Whenever you go to an outdoor event there are dozens of burger vans all selling exactly the same thing, and the irony is they are always busy because there is no other choice for the consumer.

"I realised there must be many other people like me that don't want to forego good quality and taste just because they are at an event."

The log-fired oven is made of stone and cost Mr Crolla 6,500. It is identical to the log-fired oven used to cook food in his restaurant.

Mr Crolla said: "Everything is as pure as it would be in the restaurant. It's natural cooking so you get the aromas of the smoke and the flavour of the wood emanates to the pizza as well."

The van, which will also appear at the RockNess festival and the Edinburgh Fringe, weighs 3.5 tonnes and is 21 feet long.

As well as the oven, it boasts a chiller room, drinks cabinets, three sinks, a marble pizza counter, running hot water and two computerised tills. Importantly, the van also has a chimney to release smoke from cooking.

Mr Crolla made a trip to Italy to design the van with the help of his Italian supplier, Mam, which is based in Modena. It was then built by a metal works company called Allson in Preston.

The oven is secured to the floor of the van and can cook around 12 14-inch pizzas at any one time.

Spare logs are kept in a compartment underneath the oven and added throughout the day when the oven starts to cool.

The van will serve food at the Taste of Edinburgh festival, which takes place from Friday to Sunday.

"It should be good and hopefully the weather will be nice – that's what it's all down to," said Mr Crolla.

"We've had a very good response to the van so far."