It might be pricey, but it is beautiful, caters for a crowd and cooks more than just pies – will Gozney's slick new pizza oven convince me to upgrade?

If there's one thing I'm proud to have learnt this summer, it's how to make pizza. After a lot of experimenting, however, I've realized that investing in one of the best pizza ovens will make life a lot easier. Since I'm determined to perfect my pizza-making process, I was intrigued to hear about the launch of the new Dome Gen 2 series from Gozney: a collection that promises to bring restaurant-grade cooking to your backyard. So, what makes it so good?

Both ovens in the Dome Gen 2 series series are built for pizza recipes that feed a crowd (perfect if you've got a large family); in fact, they're Gozney's biggest and most versatile designs yet, with up to 90 percent more cooking space than previous models. The Dome Gen 2 is large enough to fit two 10-inch pizzas, for example, while the Dome Gen 2 XL can cook up to three 10-inch pizzas (or one 18-inch pizza). That's a game-changer if you're used to serving up one pie at a time with a standard pizza oven.

With that though, size and space will obviously be a major consideration – you'll need a decicated outdoor space to keep and use it, which won't suit smaller backyards.

The Gozney Dome S1 review and original Gozney Dome review scored top marks from our testers, so we're curious to see how the Dome Gen 2 series shapes up. It launches on 15 October, so there's still a bit of time to save up if you want to treat yourself. And you might be grateful for it: with a starting price of $2,299.99, you'll want to have done your research before you take the plunge.

You do get a lot of bang for your buck though. While the Dome Gen 2 series is designed to fit multiple pizzas – a big plus for group gatherings – it can also cook full meals. Yes, really. This is largely thanks to an impressive hybrid fuel system, which allows you to cook with wood, gas or charcoal, depending on your flavor preferences. As someone who loves charcoal-fired pizza but can't resist the convenience of cooking with gas, this has certainly got me thinking.

I'm also intrigued to see how simple the Dome Gen 2 series is to actually operate. According to Gozney, a built-in digital sensor tracks both time and temperature, with twin meat probes and touch control for seamless use – so I'm hoping that I won't spend any more time agonizing over how to use a pizza oven correctly.

Finally, there's Gozney's signature lateral burner, which offers incremental flame adjustment to ensure even heating and increased precision. It's no surprise to find out that the Dome Gen 2 series was developed in collaboration with three award-winning chefs – including artisanal pizza expert Chris Bianco – so it gets the chef's seal of approval.

Homemade pizza has been my go-to for outdoor evening party ideas this summer, but I'm not ready to give it up once the seasons change. I'll be making sure I know exactly how to use my pizza oven in winter so I can keep the pizza parties going for months to come. I'm excited to find out whether Gozney's Dome Gen 2 series will live up to its promises of cooking restaurant-quality pies and to see how it fares on other dishes with that handy gas option, too. Will it convince me to part with my cash? That remains to be seen, but we'll update you as soon as we can get our hands on it.

Shop more pizza ovens

While we're thrilled about the upcoming release of Gozney's Dome Gen 2 series here at Homes & Gardens, and, if you're interested to find out more about the latest pizza oven tech, we've also been eyeing up Ooni's Vault 2 pizza oven, which features 'pizza intelligence'. So, I don't think pizza is going anywhere this fall.