Hi ChunkyMonkey, Well, looks DO count, but if you couldn't cook on it you wouldn't want it. This stove cooks! I wrote a long blurb in part 37 after 2 years of use (just search for my name to get to it) I have no regrets. We did, initially, also look at wolf, etc. I think they are probably fine stoves. A few things locked in the Lacanche for us. 1) simple to repair. We have friends with Vikings and they seem to have problems. 2) Well, they are gorgeous. We wanted something that was not stainless. 3) I really believe this stove will be the last stove I ever buy and I'm not sure I could believe that about a wolf. Here is a link that might be useful: Lacanche Part 37

"What would you say is the biggest difference between the gas or electric for the main oven" There are some very specific differences. Most people like their food to be browned because it adds flavor to what you are cooking. In order for food to be brown, the Maillard reaction must take place. In order for this to happen, need to evaporate water. I would look at what happens in either oven. In a gas oven, there is moisture released in the combustion of gas but because there is much more ventilation in a gas oven, it and the moisture from what you are cooking are ventilated out so you have superficial drying of your food which promotes browning. This will also add more heat to your kitchen. An electric oven is more of a closed system so will hold on to the humidity more. You can increase the superficial evaporation in an electric oven by increasing the heat or using the fan. In reading some marketing materials, Wolf and Capital, come to mind, they will state that gas is "moist heat". In the past that was the belief. That would be true of the flame but does not take into consideration the oven as a whole and the effect it has on what you are cooking. They also seem to think that the external moisture from the "moist heat" produces moist meat when it would have nothing to do with it. It is a function of the internal temperature. There are certain irreversible physiological changes to meat as the temperature rises which dictate the amount of moisture in meat fibers. Some also attribute crispiness to the moistness but again is is drying that produces that. On on the other hand, an electric oven can hold on to moisture which can be a benefit in baking because it promotes starch gelatinization. It can affect the amount of rise, browning and crust formation. This is why bread bakers add moisture at the beginning of baking and/ or use a cloche in a gas oven. The cloche is then removed or moisture allowed to escape and the drier environment promotes browning.

My brand new, still with the paper stickers on it , wolf 60 inch df is a useles proptronic stove to me. The installers came, and did a really good job of getting that big thing in here without a scratch or a slip or anything. It was all hooked up while they were here and they demonstrated to me how it works. Then they left. The next morning I came into the kitchen and smelled gas. I called the general contractor who had the gas checked, and it was coming rom inside the stove. We waited and waited for the service man for several days. He came out last week and determined indeed the leak was within the walls of the stove top. The part has been orderd and still has not come in. I have a lovely prop...but no stove. I am not impressed with the service as of this minute Several calls to the salesman has still not produced a part. I have never used this range yet. Any one have this issue?

Gas vs electric ovens. The nature of the heat in these ovens is different. Some people think it is significant while others don't. You will read on many websites and cookbooks that gas is moist heat, because the combustion reaction liberates water and so there are some who follow the gas= moist heat/electric=dry heat idea. If you look at only the heat source that would be right, but an oven is a lot more complex than that. To see what goes on, you have to look past the initial combustion reaction and notice what specific effects bakers and cooks consistently observe. Those effects are what we really care about. Whether you think a gas oven is moist or dry, most observations of these effects on both sides tend to be consistent. From there you can look at what we understand about the science behind these things and draw your own conclusion about the moisture level in ovens. Because gas does liberate water and other substances as a byproducts of combustion, gas ovens require a much bigger vent to remove these byproducts. It is observed that much more heat and moisture are released into the kitchen. You have more air flow. More airflow gives faster heat transfer. The implications for cooking are- It is much more difficult to keep added moisture in a gas oven. This primarily effects bread bakers who want to steam at the beginning. There are lots of devices to do this or you can use a cloche. Cooks report better browning with with gas. Read about the Maillard reaction or anything about promoting browning and crispiness and you will find that you need drying. More airflow increases the rate of heat transfer, leading to faster evaporation of water. Browning is promoted when superficial moisture is removed(drying). A convection fan increases air movement even more. The chemical reaction for browning cannot take place until water is evaporated. As long as water is there, it is cooling as it evaporates and keeps the temperature of the surface below what is necessary for the browning reaction to take place. This is also why you need high heat for stirfry, otherwise your food stews and doesn't brown. .Bakers often notice recipes for cakes that worked well in an electric oven, seemed to set prematurely in a gas oven. If you have always baked with gas, you might have selected over time recipes that work well with gas. Also if you use cake mixes, these are engineered and I'm pretty sure they have pixie dust in them to work in a lot of diverse situations. Electric ovens hold onto what moisture is lost from food while it is cooking. More moisture promotes starch gelatinization which gives a cake a little bit more rise before it sets. I like the browning on cakes( caramelized sugar) so I turn convection on and leave the door open briefly, enough to let moisture out. Another onservation you will hear is that the "moist heat of a gas oven" keeps a roast moist. You roast may be more moist but the moisture retained is a directly related to the end temperature of the meat. The website amazing ribs has great articles about the science of meat cookery. Because the outside Browns more quickly, the roast appears done before the inside overcooks. Aside from that electric ovens are more feature rich, with more control of direction of heat, fan speed and direction and may have tighter control of temperature. You have control of humidity in a combi steam oven. The down side is that it is all controlled by a computer board which can be damaged by heat and it can be tough sorting out all of the features and what they mean brand to brand. I don't think any one burner or oven is best for all cooks. It does seem from what you say about the way you cook, BS RNB would be a good fit for you. i currently have a Wolf DF which I would not recommend but it is because of the chipping blue liner that plagues Wolf electric ovens. I have really liked the burners and mine top at 15K BTUs. The simmer is really low and I use that a lot. The flare on high heat works because I mostly use high heat on big frying pans. I also have an Electrolux wall oven which I love but has had a few issues with blue enamel. Service lately has also been spotty. If I were I were buying now though I would go with a BS RNB rangetop, a combi steam oven and possibly another 30" wall oven or two. Most people that have BS with an open burner tray think they are easy to clean. Here is a video by one of our long time ago posters. https://youtu.be/3K2DR2ub1sA There the are a few who do not like the idea of seasoned cast iron for a burner tray and want to keep things pristine. Not a choice for that person.