ABOUT MAINE OVEN CRAFT:

Meet the Makers

Three Generations Over Half a Century

Made with Intention. Rooted in Tradition.

Whether it lives in a backyard, a brewery, or on wheels, a Maine Oven is more than a wood-fired pizza oven—it’s built to create connection. It anchors a space, sparks conversation, and transforms how people gather.

Handcrafted in Skowhegan, Maine, each oven begins with a Le Panyol core made from rare Terre Blanche clay—trusted by chefs and artisans for its unmatched performance. From there, we design and finish every detail by hand.

Your Wood Fired Oven Experts

Behind every oven is a team of builders, designers, and problem-solvers who care deeply about their craft. We’re not a factory—we’re a family of artisans with decades of experience.

  • Scott Barden Co-Owner, Designer & Oven Builder

    Scott Barden

    Co-Owner, Designer & Oven Builder

  • Cheryl Barden Kemper Founder & Co-Owner

    Cheryl Barden Kemper

    Founder & Co-Owner

  • Garrett Veinotte Shop Manager

    Garrett Veinotte

    Shop Manager

  • Cory Starke

    Cory Starke

    Oven Builder/Welder

  • Alexander West

    Alexander West

    Oven Craftsman Apprentice

  • Jessica Dillon

    Jessica Dillon

    Executive Administrative Assistant

A Family Tradition, Evolved

Maine Oven Craft is the next chapter in a story that started nearly 50 years ago. Under the name Maine Wood Heat, our family earned a national reputation for hand-built Finnish-style masonry heaters — work defined by patience, precision, and a refusal to cut corners. That foundation never changed. We simply followed the craft to its next expression: wood-fired ovens built with the same dedication, and the same hands.

1970’s

Albie and Cheryl (Kemper) Barden founded Maine Wood Heat.

A large stone church building with a clock tower under a partly cloudy sky, several parked cars in the foreground.

2005

Scott Barden joined full-time, focusing on evolving the business from nomadic installations to an in-house artisan manufacturing model—designing and building under one roof in Skowhegan, Maine.

A metal sign for Maine Wood Heat with symbols representing fire, heat, wind, and air, framed by a decorative border. Wood-Fired Ovens.

2000

We expanded into wood-fired ovens and began our exclusive partnership with Fayol SA, makers of the renowned Le Panyol oven cores from Larnage, France.

Three people, two adults and a child, sitting on a forklift outdoors with green trees in the background. The adults are smiling, and the child has a neutral expression. All are wearing brown t-shirts with a Maine Wood Heat logo. Scott Barden is owner
A person welding on a large, circular, copper-colored custom wood-fried oven in a workshop, wearing protective gloves and a helmet with an American flag and bald eagle design.