`Beauty, brains and breeding” are not words most people would use to describe kitchen appliances. But then, the deluxe cooktops and ovens shown here aren`t quite what you`ll find at typical department or appliance stores. These status stoves offer power, performance and sleek design features that entice serious cooks (and those who would merely appear serious).
Beautiful brass and enamel bedeck La Cornue, a stove that meets the high standards of top French chefs. Brainy burners with imbedded microchips regulate temperature and safety controls in Gaggenau appliances imported from West Germany. And breeding is a hallmark of the AGA stove: the British-made 1,250-pound behemoth can be found in the kitchens of Princess Diana, David Ogilvy, John Updike, Paul McCartney and Frank Lloyd Wright`s Falling Water house.
”People gasp when they walk into my kitchen and see my AGA for the first time,” says Jeanmarie King of Chicago. ”They are stunned by the sheer size and beauty of it.” AGA stoves come in a rainbow of colors in shiny enamel:
basic black, blue, brown, green, red, cream and white finishes.
Whether kitchen designs call for high-tech white, basic black, or country estate glamor, there`s a range to complete the look. Designer Colleen Strenning of Wilmette`s Urban Designs, Inc., explains, ”The new appliances offer aesthetics to match just about every decorating plan.”
Michael de Giulio, Chicago kitchen designer, says, ”European manufacturers set the trend toward clean lines in design, with function and performance to match.” Market leaders include West German manufacturers such as Miele and Gaggenau, who developed progessive designs in the early 1980s. In the last two years, American manufacturers played catch-up, introducing similar high-tech designs, often at more reasonable prices. ”Dacor and Thermador are introducing more innovative appliances now,” says De Giulio.
Two categories long dominated the market for ranges: domestic and commercial. In the last 18 months, a hybrid evolved: the commercial range adapted for home use. Jane Spinks, sales manager at Diversey Store Fixtures, Chicago, says, ”Now, restaurant stoves, such as Garland and Wolf, are specifically designed for installation in private homes.”
Color and design are not the only choices. Cooktops (also called
”hobs”) use gas, electric, or halogen heat, while ovens offer microwave and microwave convection technology in addition to standard gas and electric. Moreover, custom cooktop configurations (four-burners, five-burners, six- burners, griddles, fryers, broilers and built-in woks) match favorite cooking methods. Hobs may be installed in cooking islands, freeing kitchen designers from the routine placement of ranges against walls.
”Good design features include knobs you can grasp easily, read quickly, with safety devices for children,” Strenning says. Flat cooktops make it easy to slide pots to neighboring burners, or off the heat source, without lifting. Sealed gas burners simplify cleanup, preventing spills from seeping below the stovetop.
Safety features for gas hobs include electronic ignitions that sense when burners blow out, and automatically re-kindle the flame. Sterling goes a step further and offers an optional lid to cover its hob; when raised, the lid acts as a backsplash to prevent splatters. If the lid accidentally drops down when a burner is lit, the gas automatically shuts off.
Built-in ovens at eye-level keep small children from bumping into open doors. Better insulation keeps doors from getting hot. Ovens can be conventional, microwave convection or microwave, with new designs on the drawing boards.
According to Restaurants & Institutions equipment editor Rob Townsend,
”Manufacturers are now developing ovens that combine all three cooking methods in a single unit.” Miele already offers a combination conventional/
convection oven with broiler.
”Bakers like the convection ovens, since the circulating heat produces lighter, flakier pastry,” says Strenning.
Roger Short, showroom director for the Irv Wolfson Co. in the Merchandise Mart, acknowledges the popularity of convection cooking. He says ”Close to 50 percent of the ovens we sell are convection ovens, while three years ago we sold only just two or three per year.”
Just because an oven uses conventional heat doesn`t mean it has conventional capacity. Several manufacturers, such as Viking, make oversized ovens with commercial capacity (28 to 36 inches wide), large enough to accommodate a small lamb or two big turkeys. However, don`t count on installing one brand of cooktop above a different manufacturer`s ovens: it may not fit.
”Unfortunately, size specifications are not consistent across manufacturing lines, limiting the combinations for built-ins,” Strenning says.
Status stoves are at least 30 percent more powerful than standard stoves. British thermal units (BTUs) measure the power of heat produced by an appliance. Normal stoves have burners with 6,000 to 9,000 BTUs, while heavy-duty stoves have burners with 12,000 to 20,000 BTUs. The higher the BTU rating, the faster the cook may saute foods. Some manufacturers, such as Dacor, offer special low-intensity burners (550 to 1,650 BTUs) for making sauces or melting chocolate without scorching.
”I`m a serious cook,” says Janet Rosing, owner of Cheesecakes by J.R.,
”so when we redesigned our home, I wanted high-performance equipment for the kitchen.”
Rosing visited Diversey Store Fixtures, a source for commercial cooking equipment. She chose a six-burner stove with a hot plate, griddle and pull-out broiler. Her built-in ovens include a convection oven and two conventional ovens, plus warming drawer.
Unusual status stoves include the AGA. Designed by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, the AGA is built of cast iron and powered by a continuous gas line. It is a continuous cooking/heat storage unit with convection and radiant heat ovens. It can bake, broil, roast, steam, simmer, grill, toast, stew and boil foods, though it only offers two extra-large burners. In fact, most cooking is done inside the AGA`s ovens (it comes in a 950-pound two-oven version as well as the bulky 1,250-pound four-oven version).
Normal stoves weigh around 200 pounds, while the AGA and commercial ranges tip the scales at 950 pounds or more and come with a base price of $9,000. Also, homeowners often need to reinforce flooring and install special gas lines and backsplashes against walls to accommodate the larger models, so they`re hardly the stove for casual cooks.
The AGA and large-scale stoves produce more heat than do their regular domestic counterparts, causing several problems. Flimsy cookware can burn quickly, making it a necessity to use costly commercial-grade cookware. Also, air conditioning bills may increase as a result of higher heat.
”Ventilation is a common problem for apartment and condo dwellers,”
says Short. ”Codes call for vents that open directly to an exterior wall, and that`s not always easy.”
Problems notwithstanding, what motivates the buyer of the status stove?
Streamlined looks, professional-grade performance and luxury features rarely found in regular ranges attract buyers to the ”Rolls roasts.”
Following are short reviews of major manufacturers` offerings according to category: domestic, commercial and commercial designs adapted for homes. Prices range from reasonable (Modern Maid`s cooktops start around $400) to astronomical (more than $16,000 for some imported cooktop/oven combinations). Domestic
Amana, Inc., Amana, Iowa 52204; 800-843-0304. Built-in cooktops, ovens, and freestanding ranges. Offers modular system of electric, halogen, sealed glass ceran cooktops, griddles, grills. Downdraft or hood ventilating systems. In black and white.
Dacor, 950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena, Calif. 91109; 818-799-1000. Built-in cooktops, ovens and ranges. Offers gas, electric, halogen, sealed glass ceran cooktops, griddles, grills, ovens with rotisserie and built-in wok/
canning units. Low BTU burner for sauces. In almond, black and white.
Gaggenau, 425 University Ave., Norwood, Mass. 02062; 617-255-1766. Imported from West Germany hobs and ovens. Offers gas, electric, halogen, sealed glass ceran cooktops, deep fryers, griddles, grills, ovens with rotisserie and built-in hob ventilating units. In black, silvered glass and white.
Miele Appliances Inc., 22 D,E,F World`s Fair Dr., Somerset, N.J. 08873;
201-560-0899. West Germany-made hobs and ovens. Offers gas, electric, halogen, sealed glass ceran cooktops, deep fryers, griddles, grills, hoods, and built- in hob ventilating units. In black, stainless steel and white.
Modern Maid, 403 N. Main St., Topton, Pa. 19562-1499; Manufacturer of standard ranges also offers custom built-in hobs: gas, electric, ceramic glass cooktops, griddles, grills in black and white.
Sterling Domestic Appliances, Unit 20, 89 Access Rd., Norwood, Mass. 02062; 617-255-9909. U.S. subsidiary of British company; makes gas, electric, glass-sealed gas and halogen cooktops, plus combination gas convection oven/
broiler. In almond, black and white.
Thermador, 5119 District Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90040; 213-562-1133. American manufacturer of standard ranges also offers custom built-in hobs:
gas, electric, ceramic glass cooktops, griddles, grills and warming drawers in almond, black, stainless steel and white.
Commercial
Comstock-Castle Stove Co., Quincy, Ill. 62301; 217-223-5070 or 800-252-7860. Rugged restaurant ranges; two-, four- and six-burners, single or double ovens, griddle and broiler available. Stainless steel.
Franklin Chef, 910 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, Ill. 60062; 708-564-1125. Up to 10 high-speed burners with simmer settings; broiler, griddle, single or double ovens; conventional or convection.
La Cornue, USA Corp., P.O. Box 330532, Miami, Fla. 33233-0532;
305-442-7059. New import from France; designed for professional use; soon to have American Gas Association approval. Gas/electric ranges; custom cooktops: burners, barbecue grills, griddles. Built-in ovens (gas/electric/convection combination) available, too.
Commercial designs adapted to home use
Garland, Inc., 185 E. South St., Freeland, Pa. 18224; 717-636-1000. Introduced in late 1989, the home version of the Garland offers two-, four-and six-burner configurations with optional griddle and broiler, single or double ovens. Black with stainless steel doors.
Viking Co., P.O. Drawer 956, Greenwood, Miss. 38930; 601-455-1200. Gas ranges with optional griddle. Electronic burner ignitions. Cooktops also available. In almond, black, blue, green, stainless steel and white.
Wolf Range Co., 19600 S. Alameda St., Compton Calif. 90221; 213-637-3737. Gas ranges with optional broiler/griddle. Electronic burner ignitions. Cooktops also available. Black or stainless steel.
In a class of its own
AGA Cookers, RFD 1, Box 477, Stowe, Vt. 05672; 802-253-9727. Continuous-fired gas (or coal) cookers with two or four ovens, two extra-large cooking surfaces. Cooks by radiant heat. Baking oven maintains a temperature of 350 degrees Farenheit; simmering oven, 250 degrees; warming oven, 150 degrees;
roasting oven, 475 degrees.
