Dear Gardenwebbers, I haven't posted in a while but have been following every single word you have all typed-I've turning into a stove stalker ROFLOL! Of all the threads I've read over the past year regarding stoves, this is the only one whose posters have actually taken the time to break down the decision-making into the critical components. Not just reviews or opinion, but usage, wear, cost, BTUs, options,even the way the stove sticks out from the walls and integrates into the space. Well done!!You have no idea how helpful you've been! I still haven't made a decision, but I'm inching closer. Like a few of you, I took a step back and asked what I really needed/had to have. One of you rightly pointed out that deciding whether one is a stove top or oven cooker could help out. My ovens are super important to me, and have been the big sticking point in my choices (more on that in a minute) but I do most of my cooking on the stovetop.I REALLY want a coup de feu.If I pick the two burner one coup combination offered by Molteni or Gullo, I'll have to really up my cooking game and plan a bit more ahead (you have to allow the plaque to come to temperature to really use it effectively. So I was concerned I wouldn't have enough "regular" burners.But then, like you all advised, I took a step back and paid attention to what I was really doing "most" days-turns out I'm usually only turning on two burners anyway. When i move to more burners, that's when I could use a million more, so the coup definitely could work out then. I'm still kind of intimidated by it-the Molteni and the others I'm considering are very powerful, but I think that's just lack of self confidence. Burner strength/BTU's were very important to me as well. I currently have an old Wolf Gourmet line-they were better made than the current offering, heavier and more powerful.The max burner is 18K, but it loses power when the other ones are turned on, and then I can't get that nice carmelized sear on the food. I love the oven though. It's gas with a broiler and a (very noisy) convection fan, and sticky racks. Don't love the noise and the stick, but the size is pretty good, and it works well. All the units I'm considering are more powerful, but some more than others.Like everyone has noted, the ovens seem to be what pose the most dilemmas. I worry about cleanability. My current stove is a PITA to clean.The Rorgue has a neat water bath under the burners to rinse out spills-cool!It's also the least expensive of my three choices (So far. Am waiting on the cost of the UL listing fee, plus I have to add in taxes and VAT) but I can have every little gadget I had lusted for(of course, I'm now really rethinking everything). But it's the least pretty/french range looking of the batch. It does come in colors though. I'm nervous that if i select a range with two ovens that I won't be able to use them for what I occasionally need-larger sheets and pans, so I'm really leaning towards one gas oven in the range, and a Miele Masterchef 30" in the wall, which is 6" bigger than my current oven (I have a few pans that I really have to grease up the sides of the oven to squeeze in). I'm going to a Gaggenau cooking demo at Purcell-Murray this weekend and check out their ovens too. Anybody have some feedback on those? I'm also considering getting a smaller range and adding in two induction burners into the counter for quickie cooking for the kids (I have five). I could have had them built into a bespoke range, but the electric components have to be kept far away from a high heat source, which screwed up the size of the unit massively Our quotes from the contractors are coming-scary! I just wanted to thank everyone for all the input-every single comment has been so helpful. Oh, on a side note, there's a ROCKIN' Morice stove for sale that I found on the internet. It's not the right color for em (it's blue and silver) but maybe it would work out for you. It's got 3/4 burners (one is a single grate but with two burners under it-is that one or two?LOL) and a coup de feu. The oven is electric. I've (hopefully!) included the link. Parts are still available for the Morices. If it had been a different color, I would have jumped on it-great price. well, I'll be continuing to follow everybody's stove progress, and hope to have a stove too. Soon... Here is a link that might be useful: Sea Sales Morice cooker

Welcome to the strange world of infrared broiling! ;) I've had my Bluestar with a similar dinky broiler for about a year now. I've been an avid cook for 30+ years, and this is baffling me too. What I've learned from experiment, is I really can't broil successfully more food than fits under the silly little 8.5"x11" burner, which amounts to maybe one big steaks or salmon filet. For my old signature garlic bread or croutons, I need to put it down on almost the lowest rack to keep from burning to black charcoal :( It also cycles off annoyingly if the door is closed, basically leaving whatever is under it partially cooked until it cycles back on again. So when I do broil, I leave the door open. Fortunately, where I live, we can BBQ outside year round so broiling is not a high priority for me. Sorry I'm not much help, but misery loves company, no?

Panzer, I have Gaggenau single convection oven and combi-steam oven, as well as a Gaggenau induction cooktop. Plus a small Wolf gas cooktop. My fridge and freezer are Miele, Advantium speed oven, Monogram warming drawer and DW, Marvel fridge drawers. Modern Aire hood. I don't believe in going for a single brand. I like to chose what suits me best and panel everything that will stand still for it. :) (I.e., everything but the ovens, Advantium and cooktops.) I don't know anything about current pricing. You can call any of the big retailers and get pricing info that may not be published on the 'net. Universal-akb has a good internet sales department who can help you with that. And I think AJMadison also carries all of these. What I want most in an oven is control and accuracy. I also don't want gizmos to decide how the oven works, like rapid preheat, turns off when the door opens, uses preheat mode to regain temperature after you've opened the door and let out some heat, etc. Gaggenau let's you choose to have rapid preheat, but it's an option in the settings. I don't want any stinkin' computer thinking it knows how I want to cook better than I do, with all those features that I listed. That extends to the menu things on the MasterChef. I use them a little on the Advantium because it's so different than other kinds of cooking. So I LOVE my Gaggenau oven because it will do everything I want the way I want it. You can chose any combination of top or bottom heat, some with only the center on, with or without convection, broiler with or without, etc. It also has its own pizza stone with a special electric element which makes excellent crusts. It's only 12" wide, however, so if you want big pizzas/loaves you have to make them oblong. I can slow cook, dehydrate, souffle, multiple level cooking, broil small, roast big, and everything in between. It'll do anything I want, the way I want to do it. The combi-steam is a marvel. It's the perfect toy for the rich and lazy. :) Some people do up a whole kitchen for the cost of the combi- and plumbing. I just saved up. :) One of the best features is "regenerate". If you have a plate of leftovers, like some sliced meat, potatoes, and veg, you can make it up and put it on the rack in regenerate mode and have it come out perfectly heated and with none of it gone all weird or overcooked. I'm constantly learning new things I can do with it. My first tries at rice were horrible, even though it's dead easy on the stove. I'd given up when a friend was asking, so I gave it one more shot when I wasn't actually making a meal (used it later, reheated). Finally got it right. I found a formula, finally. Use 2/3 the amount of water suggested on the package. At least it worked for field picked organic brown rice. :) It's dead easy once you have that. Use the settings on the clue wheel and adjust the timing for the density of the rice. Dump the rice and water in the pan and flatten it out, put it in, set the timer and forget it. That makes it even easier than the boil and set aside method (though that can be programed into an induction cooktop with memory). My latest trick is the pseudo-braise. Choose a slow cooking temperature on 100% steam, perhaps with just a trickle of liquid in the pan if you just want the tender meat without the veg/sauce. Terrific! There are recipes available for the combi-steam, but if you're used to slow cooking, braising, steaming and similar wet techniques, you can kind of moosh what you know together with the temperatures/steam settings/durations from the clue wheel, adjust for density and mass and kind of figure out how to do anything you want. The plumbed is GREAT! I've been sick and really couldn't face cooking. I thought I could at least steam the green beans, which I had bought at a small store where they only had them in a package with the ends already cooked. That was just rinse, dump in pan, stick in combi-, dump in ice bath, dump in dish. The oven was hot and all so I did up the asparagus too. And the artichokes. Dead easy. Very little prep work. Yummy. I'm sorry I don't have better answers for your direct questions, but I can enthusiastically recommend the Gaggenau ovens.

I can try to help on this one. First, you usually never use the convection fan when broiling. Broiling is infrared rays, not convection. For searing a steak. It depends of the thickness. A thin steak can be placed very close, on the top rack, about 2 minutes a side, same with a hamburger. Basically about 1 or 2 inches from the broiler. A thicker steak slightly farther away, and a little more time... unless you want to sear it very close and then move it down. I would guess about 3 or 4 inches or so from the broiler depending. Same with salmon. Other items might be 6 or more inches away. The further away the larger the item can be. It will still get plenty hot. So yes you can broil on a lower rack. And of course a broiler is quick and dry heat, so it can be used to reheat the top surface of some fries. Or to brown something quickly. Most broilers have a thermostat that prevents the oven from getting too hot. And sometimes that is why people will broil with the oven door open, it helps to keep the broiler on longer. Of course, a few broilers will shut off if the door opens, but most will stay on. But trying to get the oven hotter than 500 degrees for pizza?? It might be possible on a gas range. First preheat the gas oven and check your temp. Many ranges will go higher than what's listed on the knob. Second, invest in a pizza stone, or any good oven stone, or a big slab of soapstone. These act as a heat sink and even more so if you place the pizza right on the stone. (you probably know that)... But unless you have a self-cleaning gas oven and can 'break' the lock, I don't think you'll see those 600+ temperatures. You can try preheating and then turning on the broiler, but I don't think it will come on once the oven gets very hot.