Brand New Kitchen (all star appliances)

16 years ago

Long story short, I'm going to be renovating the kitchen at a new house I'm moving into this fall.

We've decided to go with the All-Star approach to the kitchen.

Sub-Zero fridge, Viking Oven, Miele dishwasher, and Broan Hood and an advantium (240).

Granite counter top, and a whole lot of cabinets.

Last things to figure out, what kind of convection toaster oven should we get? Deep fat fryer? should it be built in, or stand alone, what's the best ones? I do do a lot of frying, but I can also go a few weeks without, so its a mixed bag.

What about warming drawers? good idea or bad?

What else should I add? I'm also going to be adding an outdoor kitchen area later on, for BBQing and stuff, I haven't done the research yet on what the best bbq stuff is, or the best outdoor kitchen set up is. Smoker? etc.

I would really appreciate any feedback and ideas, and am open to any suggestions?

p.s. I'm also thinking of adding a meat slicer, not sure if thats a good idea or not. I'm pretty big on different kinds of cold cuts and stuff.

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Comments (5)

capecodcook
16 years ago
Sounds like the typical trophy kitchen. Enjoy. BTW you might want to think about adding a range-it would help with resale value.
User
16 years ago
sonny, by 'oven', do you mean an electric wall oven? or a range that includes cook top burners and an oven below? Electric or gas, or gas on top and electric in the oven (dual fuel).. Or perhaps you mean a wall oven, and you will have a separate rangetop or cooktop. There are new magnetic cooktops (called "induction")that are pretty neat.

Toaster ovens are just small counter-top ovens. They generally don't work great for toast, I think most folks have better luck with just a regular toaster. But if you are getting a toaster/oven, get one that isn't very tall- this keeps the electric elements closer to the toast. The big toaster ovens just dry out the bread. Might start a separate topic just on this, but tell us what you're looking for it to do for you.

As far as indoor/ outdoor cooking, it would help to know what part of the country you'll be living in.

I can only help with gas cooking ranges. If you're thinking about Viking, I can recommend 5 other better brands. (my favorite is Bluestar)..

As far as refrigerators go, I think Sub-zeros are well respected, but there are others depending on the size, and whether it will be built-in, etc. Thermador and Liebhorr are a couple brands people seem to like.
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berryberry
16 years ago
I guess it depends on how you define all-star and what your needs are. if you are looking for name bling (or as someone above mentioned - the trophy kitchen) those are all good choices. However, in terms of performance and value there are definitely better choices (many of them ) than the Viking and possibly the Sub-Zero
cookin_jim
16 years ago
Viking, surprisingly, given their price point, is rated very poorly for customer service.
I agree with other posters, having just gone through this myself, there are much better values in pro-style appliances. A neighbor bought a Thermidor 48" range 3yrs ago...they are on their 3rd one, and it is now having problems. Don't let the big design centers and magazines, both of which are funded by the high end companies fool you into thinking they're the only game in town.

Jim
debbie_d
16 years ago
How much cooking do you do? In other words, how many nights a week do you cook dinner (and for how many)? Do you do much entertaining? How many guests would you typically be cooking for?

The reason I am asking is to help us understand whether the purpose of your kitchen is to have good cooking tools that will make cooking more pleasurable and convenient, or if what you are doing is decorating your kitchen much the way you would decorate any other public area of your home. Knowing this can help people know whether to suggest lesser known brands, or whether that meat slicer may be overkill. For example, if you are cooking for a family of four and hardly ever entertain, you probably would rarely purchase a enough meat or cheese at one time to be able to justify a big countertop slicer; you would purchase small quantities that could be sliced at the store. The same thing goes for the warming draws. If you cook only a few days a week and the meal is simple, there would be no call for that sort of thing. However if you often prepare more elaborate multi-course meals, a warming draw could be a big help.

Brand New Kitchen (all star appliances)

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capecodcook

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