Range cookers advice
Posted by: Rasher on 09 January 2006
Guys
I need advice (Garyi might be able to help here).
I am a keen cook at home and do most of it everyday and have dinner parties often for buddies, so crashing about with the cooker is my domain. I've had a Beaumatic range cooker for a few years; gas burners, single wide electric oven, 900mm width. There are some things I cook where I turn the oven up to maximum, like pizzas (fan off) or when I start and finish roast potatoes. I've had on a couple of occasions recently the wiring burn out on the spade terminals to the temperature control, so I figure that this cooker isn't robust enough for what I do to it. I go through a cooker element about once a year as well. Does anyone know a better quality range cooker that might replace my existing one? I need 6 gas burners on the top and I like the large single oven & grill. No clocks or timers needed - I'm analogue when it comes to cooking.
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by Stephen Tate
hi,
Cannon make excellent cookers.
Check out the professional range on their website.
regards
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by CPeter
Like you I'm the cook in the house and I highly recommend a La Canche cooker. They come in different configurations and widths.
We’ve got one now for almost 10 years and it is pretty indestructible. We’ve had problems once (thermostat failure) but this was swiftly rectified by their service department.
If we ever move and we can’t take it, we’ll definitely buy a new one.
rgds,
Peter
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by Aiken Drum
Have a look at the SMEG range. I am also the head chef at home, and for the last 5 years have found our investment in a SMEG cooker to have paid off. They aren't the cheapest around, but they are high quality.
Brad
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by Jono 13
For the most analogue and fuss-free cooker it has to be a two oven aga. I bought my wife one late 2004 and it just gets better, like a certain hi-fi range I could mention.
Not the cheapest solution, but always ready, always consistant, multi-function, and brings a kitchen to life. Also nearly all cooking is done in the ovens so the kitchen doesn't need an extractor fan.
The only proviso I can think of is you really need to buy the matching aluminium pans.
We could not go back to a "normal" cooker now.
Jono
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by Rasher
quote:
Originally posted by Jono 13:
..has to be a two oven aga........ like a certain hi-fi range I could mention. Jono
What.. Rega?
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by Simon Douglass
Rasher
We had an Aga for 9years:my wife really liked it,but since our move 2-3yrs ago,we decided not to get another one and now have a basic La Canche[Cluny].No regrets at all.Gas and electric ovens[latter with grill], x5 gas burners on hob.Basic on/off gas oven goes up to 310deg.C.Simmering plate for centre burner on hob gives even more flexibility. We miss the heat of the Aga in the winter[but not the summer], but [I] don't miss the running costs [£500 per year, 2001 gas prices] and[she]does not miss losing all the heat at the crucial final stages of cooking a large meal.
Warning: La Canche cookers need extremely good air extraction [HiFi equiv. of good stands and mains supply] and don't be put off by the pretty appearance[ proverbial wolf in sheep's clothing]
Oh and a damn sight cheaper than agas.
Simon
Posted on: 09 January 2006 by nicnaim
Rasher,
I would support the choice of Lacanche. They are serious cookers but unfortunately they come with with prices like the latest Naim equipment.
Whilst I love the cooker I cannot say that I have had Peter's good experience with service. The importers, Fourneaux De France, seem to be utterly incompetent as far as customer service is concerned. I will not bore you with the details.
The only thing I would change is to have fewer of the large 3 & 4 KW burners and have at least one more 1.5 kw for simmering. The big ones are very powerful, especially the 5 kw which is great for wok cooking.
Picture of my Chalonnais attached.
Regards
Nic.
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by Edo Engel
One of my clients makes hand-made kitchens and the Lacanche has always been one of his preferred cookers. For his own kitchen, he really wants an Aga Six-Four, though.
I have a Smeg hob, and as beautiful as it is, quality is above average and not at all comparable to the more up-market cookers.
Cheers,
Edo
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by Rasher
Now that looks pretty serious to me, so I checked out what was going. The Chateau 140 would suit me, but at £5k is maybe too much. An Aga just wouldn't be right for me either, but thanks guys for the suggestions. We will hopefully be moving house this year if we can find the right place, so there is a chance that we leave whatever we have behind if there isn't space at the next place (until it's sorted). Maybe if the house is right I could treat myself to a Lacanche, but it isn't what I'm after right now.
The Cannon looks reasonable, but seems to only give me 5 burners.
I appreciate the response, thanks.
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by count.d
The Lacanche are poorly designed, poorly made and the customer service is pretty garbage. They are designed to look nice, but are not a durable chef's cooker. I won't buy another. When the Lacanche monkeys came round to change a panel, I ended up getting my own tools and fixed it myself, while they watched. Useless!
If you're into the price range of an Aga, consider the Viking range. These are proper units made to last.
Smeg and Cannon are junk, but they are cheap.
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by musfed
We are going te make a new kitchen this year and have decided for Siemens oven (which we bought 2hand on the internet of a guy who never used it) and two Siemens domino burners. One Wok burner and a two pit domino burner. Our wok burner goes from 0.8 all the way up to 6 kw and the double has a 1.5 and a 3 kw burner. A nice range.
I would have loved one of those large stainless cookers but have'nt got the space.
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by Edo Engel
quote:
Originally posted by musfed:
We are going te make a new kitchen this year and have decided for Siemens oven (which we bought 2hand on the internet of a guy who never used it) and two Siemens domino burners. One Wok burner and a two pit domino burner. Our wok burner goes from 0.8 all the way up to 6 kw and the double has a 1.5 and a 3 kw burner. A nice range.
I would have loved one of those large stainless cookers but have'nt got the space.
Obviously, the 5kW (Lacanche) and 6kW (Siemenes) figures are impressive, but I suggest you also look at the smaller figures. Will you have a burner that's suitable for simmering? And if so, can tune it finely enough to be useful?
Cheers,
Edo
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by reductionist
Posted on: 10 January 2006 by nicnaim
quote:
Originally posted by count.d:
The Lacanche are poorly designed, poorly made and the customer service is pretty garbage. They are designed to look nice, but are not a durable chef's cooker. I won't buy another. When the Lacanche monkeys came round to change a panel, I ended up getting my own tools and fixed it myself, while they watched. Useless!
If you're into the price range of an Aga, consider the Viking range. These are proper units made to last.
Smeg and Cannon are junk, but they are cheap.
Count.d
Clearly you have had a similar expereience to me regarding customer service from the UK importer, which is laughable.
I'm interested to hear why you think they are are poorly designed and not durable. Mine gets a fair old hammering and seems to bear up pretty well, but I am not a professional chef.
There is not a lot to go wrong with a cooker that is virtually all stainless steel and cast iron.
My beef with the service department is that they cannot organise a gang bang in a whore house and send the wrong things despite the order being correct. For example, the wrong size cooker hood i.e. a 1000mm wide unit instead of 1500mm (seems an obvious difference to me), wrong door finish, accessories months late etc.
Edo regarding simmering , see my original post. Sometimes less is more.
Regards
Nic
Posted on: 11 January 2006 by count.d
quote:
I'm interested to hear why you think they are are poorly designed and not durable
They look robust, but the actual gauge of the sheet metal is thin. The enameling is brittle. The oven cannot be dismantled for cleaning. The enameling on the oven base has cracked/flaked where the gas burners are.
The hob gas burners don't sit perfectly horizontal (not adjustable), because the whole s/steel top is 2mm out (not adjustable).
The cooker was delivered with the bottom draw dented, wobbly cast iron hobs and the exterior side panel had some enamel cracks at the corner. One of the draw rails recently became faulty, but I fixed that easily.
Posted on: 11 January 2006 by musfed
quote:
Obviously, the 5kW (Lacanche) and 6kW (Siemenes) figures are impressive, but I suggest you also look at the smaller figures. Will you have a burner that's suitable for simmering? And if so, can tune it finely enough to be useful?
Hi Edo,
The Wok burner has a range between 0.8kw and 6 kw. Works through three rings in the burner.
Gr,
Harm-Jan
Posted on: 11 January 2006 by Aiken Drum
quote:
Smeg and Cannon are junk, but they are cheap.
Count.d,
Thank you for putting me straight. I now know what's wrong with our cooker - not only is it junk, but it's cheap to boot!!
I wish I had read your post 5 years ago - I could have saved over two grand and spared myself the angst of being the owner of a junk cooker. How will I explain my appaling error to my wife?
Embarassed, but better informed of Katesbridge.
Posted on: 11 January 2006 by CPeter
Bradley,
Don't worry, Count Dracula's world is in Black and White.
For a good laugh, make some jokes about cats.
Peter
Posted on: 11 January 2006 by nicnaim
[/QUOTE]
Count.d,
Thank you for putting me straight. I now know what's wrong with our cooker - not only is it junk, but it's cheap to boot!!
[/QUOTE]
How do you think I feel? My cooker is expensive but is apparently still shit!!!!!
Count.d has obviously had a far worse eperience than me. Time for Bahaus - Bella Lugosi's Dead me thinks.
Regards
Nic
Posted on: 12 January 2006 by Aiken Drum
Do cats have regional accents? A friend of ours recently moved to Cyprus and has taken their cat. I asked her if she thought a moggy with a strong Belfast accent would be understood by the local Cypriot cats. She looked baffled.
Posted on: 13 January 2006 by Rasher
Posted on: 13 January 2006 by Nime
Transylvanians get a bad press.
