High end gas ranges?

[mzilliox]

Hello V saloners. Its time to think about a kitchen remodel and the remodel will be built around a gas(propane) range of my dreams. We have a farm house and wanta farm/country style kitchen to match.
So far we have considered the following ranges:
La Conche (my fave, but its French Made, shipping costs, etc etc)
Heartland (American made, sold locally, cool looks, matching fridge and dishwasher)
Ilve (interesting choices, nice aesthetics)
La Cornue (more French, more money)

We do not like stainless steel looks. Wolf ranges are too modern and industrial, we want warm and inviting.

Any experience with any of these? any other choices worth considering? there's got to be more out there for cooks who like their kitchen to look good as well.

thanks V salon!

[alexstar]

Lacanche... be still my heart.

My uncle recently re-did his kitchen and replaced his Wolf range with a Bertazzoni. More on the modern side of things but it's a thing of beauty. We did Thanksgiving at his house and the Bertazzoni performed wonderfully.

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[ericpmoss]

I'd love to try one of the new AGAs (Heartland carries them, I believe), but they're even pricier.

[UnfilteredDregs]

I want a gas cooktop that's easy to clean... I have a Wolf at the moment but, with the way I cook it has carbon scoring all over it like it was caught in a stormtrooper crossfire...

[kingpin75s]

Cannot offer a lot of insight on your list as I went with the Wolf 12 years ago. However I did look at the AGA ranges mentioned above for a French style stove and was impressed.

What you are looking at may may or may not have as many configuration options but I was really happy to settle on a double griddle with 4 burners for a 48" double oven option. All of the time I had spent in kitchens made me think about what a workhorse the griddle in in the kitchen and I have been very happy to have that 2 zone big griddle workspace.

The real reason I wanted to comment though is to take a look at Vent-a-Hood when you are looking at ranges for venting if that is in play as well. I think their Excalibur Series of hoods (which I have in stainless - and they make painted versions) are a great fit style-wise with traditional ranges and the technology and minimal maintenance of a Vent-a-Hood cannot be beat IMHO. 12 years, no service calls ever (knock on wood) and rarely needs to be cleaned. A truly elegant solution in both form and function.

Good luck. Kitchen projects are fun!

[rwsaunders]

I want a gas cooktop that's easy to clean... I have a Wolf at the moment but, with the way I cook it has carbon scoring all over it like it was caught in a stormtrooper crossfire...

Your concerns were similar to ours when we selected appliances back in 1999. For reasons of cleaning and appearance, we selected a black baked enamel surface over stainless for our gas cooktop...five burner Thermador. No issues regarding cleaning whatsoever and it's been a workhorse for a family of five. We were also advised to use top mounted burner controls vs front mount with small kids in the house. In retrospect I'm not sure that this mattered but it did at that time.

[bbattle]

Can't go wrong with the Lacanche or Ilve; the Heartlands don't get hot enough at 8.5k BTU but they look like old woodstoves.

here's a place that restores antique gas ranges to sell. Vintage Classical Styled Retro Antique Gas Stoves 40"

I have a Thermador cooktop that's easy to clean, gets plenty hot at 18k BTU but does have a bit of stainless on the front. The Thermador also has ultra-low simmer on two of the burners. Flames cut off and on to keep the heat low.

[ericpmoss]

BTU counting brings up a noob question. Are high-BTU home-kitchen burners a "response" to the advent of stainless cookware? I'm vegetarian, so searing isn't in my list of needs, but with my copper gear, it seems like I never need to crank it to get oil smoking.

[mzilliox]

BTU counting brings up a noob question. Are high-BTU home-kitchen burners a "response" to the advent of stainless cookware? I'm vegetarian, so searing isn't in my list of needs, but with my copper gear, it seems like I never need to crank it to get oil smoking.

Its more about having full control of all methods and techniques available. for instance, a high power burner can fire a proper wok, sear meat, burn off alcohol easily, boil pasta water very fast, put a french plate over the top for searing, simmering, making pancakes, crepes, bacon, etc. Its like having a 12-30 cassette on my all rounder bike. i don't use the 30 often, but its nice to have in those special occasions.

that being said, ive never actually had one, so i 'm only dreaming. i cook on an electric stove right now, bummer

[j44ke]

Watch the heat output. Friends have one that makes the kitchen an uncomfortable place in the summer, and it's a fully insulated home-use model, not a restaurant commercial model. In the winter, it makes the kitchen a popular place of course. They have a big old turn of the century house that has been fully modernized, and I am convinced some sort of zone system AC would cure the issue, but the stove went in a few years after the AC install so right now they are sort of living with it. Anyway, not to say don't do it, just be aware of possible need for heat management. I wish I knew what brand it was they got, but it looks like one of those old-style models you mention, not a Wolff/Viking/Thermador/similar.