This is an apples and canteloupes comparison. However both are great looking.

Berta is a value range with electric ignition if it's gas and 1 powerful 15K burner plus smaller ones. The stovetop is excellent and the oven is very, very steady but mine (gas, 30") requires an oven thermometer. The oven settings range is 275-500.

Blue Star is a power range -- burners have higher bts (18K or 22K not sure which) and I believe they are all the same though not sure whether or not that's optional. Their special star configuration (Bertazzoni's biggest burner is similar in shape) gives very even heat.

The BS oven is much larger -- it may also be automatic ignition but perhaps someone will verify that -- which would mean no clicking to light. Check the oven temperature spread as well -- there are many happy BS folks here.

However, there are some notorious service and quality control issues with BS so it's best to read the many threads on that on the appliance forum. Also other happy owners.

People will go on about the open vs closed burners. I don't feel that affects performance -- it impacts cleaning which is a different consideration.

Many happy Berta owners as well but, again, I do not feel these are equivalent really and the price points should be quite different as well.

Thanks rococogurl. Have you had any problems with your Berta? There are a few terrible reviews here, albeit a few years old, that make me a tad hesitant. I don't need a big, industrial, power range - just a reliable, even cooking unit with a few burner options and the Bluestar and Berta look to do that without the hefty Viking, Wolf, Thermador price tag.

Aside from that - how do you like your knobs? When do you know your oven is preheated - do you have to keep opening the door and checking?

rococogurl - a few clarifications:

Blue Star is a power range -- burners have higher bts (18K or 22K not sure which) and I believe they are all the same though not sure whether or not that's optional.
The high btu on the BS RNB is 22k. They are not all the same - on my 36" the front left and front right are 22 - 3 other ones are 15k, and the back left is a simmer.

The BS oven is much larger -- it may also be automatic ignition but perhaps someone will verify that.
Correct - it is auto ignite.

scoutyyy...My wife and I bought a 36" BS and had it delivered in Dec. So far I have had nothing but awesome things to say about it. First of all, i LOVE the way it looks. We got a dark blue color on the front, and the cast iron grates on top kick ass. It can sear, stir fry, and come to a boil in no time fast. It has the sturdiness that makes it seem this one will last a long time.

The oven is massive - it's wider than most others I looked at which allows 2 large backing dishes side by side.

What else do you want to know?

I have used a 48" blue star range for the past year. The newer blue stars fix some of the older problems like sticking oven doors and igniter problems. I have two 22,000 BTU burners, one simmer and three 15,000 or 18,000 burners. You can select whatever burners you want in whatever place but there is a small up charge. I also have the grill.

I'd love my Blue Star but I've had a few problems. The first issue is that the BS was delivered as a propane unit and not natural gas. I should have sent it back then. Instead Trevor from Eurostove immediately came and swapped out the orifices on the stovetop so that all my burners could be used. He did not have the equipment or expertise to fix the ovens. I called BS and they sent out a repairman. He did not have the right part and had to come back later. At the second visit he broke another part. He came back a few days or weeks later to fix my ovens. Still not working. Trevor and I made BS send a more competent repair company to fix my range. A few more visits and things seem to be working okay (I had other problems going on like not enough gas coming into my house to fire up the range. The gas company had to replace my 1904 gas line from the street to my house. I also had to get a bigger gas meter - we also installed a gas heater for our new pool during this time.) My large oven seems to run a bit low. I'm having a formal dinner party this Saturday and using both ovens. I will see how well the temperatures are. The big oven I use maybe every two weeks. For our family I usually use the smaller one. The ovens are huge.

We're a family of four that loves cooking on the BS.

Do you want to be a serious cook, or just look like you are a serious cook?

Berta will do a fine job with basic cooking, but if you want to actually stir fry or put a nice sear on a piece of meat, you'll need higher BTUs that she offers. If you go with a higher BTU range like a Blue Star or a Capital, you'll also have to upgrade your ventilation, so it's a more expensive choice regardless. But your performance in the kitchen can be at a higher level with better tools. Even if you don't think you'll be interested in becoming more a adventurous cook, you'll have the possibility in front of you with a higher BTU range.

See the following thread from last year for a lighter take on the difference between Bertazzoni and Blue Star. Are you a Julia Child or a Giada De Laurentis?

I've been using my Bertazzoni for a couple months, and it's been completely adequate. Delightful, even. (15K Btu's isn't 22K, but it's not insignificant, either). The decision was made based on my knowledge of my cooking style, but also most particularly on the fact that venting a more powerful range would have been ever so much more expensive. Code in my area requires a make-up air system for any hood over 300cfm, and that incoming air would have to be heated. My kitchen budget couldn't stretch that far. Venting requirements, as noted above, should be considered at the same time of the range choice.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bertazzoni vs. Blue Star

I would hope I'm more of a Giada - altho have lots of love for Julia! I did see that thread!

Didn't know about the venting - that is a major fact. I don't wok/stir fry and my DH is the griller (outside) when it comes to most meats - so I think maybe I should steer towards the Berta. Also - not quite sure I need one oven that large (BS) and the probs. that Bostonpam had make me pause on the BS. I live in a rural area (unlike Boston, which I assume is where you live Pam) and can't imagine getting repairmen here in any timely fashion once, let alone several times. Thanks so much for that info. Pam.

And while my kitchen is not tiny - it is not huge (20'x10')and I do want the 48" (I'm forever moving lots of pots & pans around)so perhaps the Berta would not swallow up the room like the BS might.

Last question for Berta owners - to preheat do you just turn on, and then periodically open the door and check store bought gauge?

scout -- I have had 0 issues with my Berta. Again, it's a 30" all gas. I have the Pro and the knobs are knobs -- not something I focus on.

All of the range choices have their distinct pros and cons and share of positive and negative reports -- that includes BS, Wolf, Viking, Culinarian, etc. All of them.

As for the Berta oven, the oven dial is not finely calibrated. A gas Berta oven requires an oven thermometer. I have a $12 Taylor mercury thermometer. I adjust the oven to that. It preheats as quickly as any of them but I do need to adjust it sometimes. Once adjusted, it's rock steady, the lighting is excellent and the fan is relatively quiet. Again, the oven also has electric ignition -- that means you open the door a bit, turn the knob on all the way, then it clicks until it lights. Mine lights right away.

I don't agree with live wire oak that the 15K double Berta burner won't stir fry. The range comes with a stir fry ring and that's a powerful burner.

Whether it's powerful enough to stir-fry to someone's particular standard is a determination that really can't be settled since people may not agree. I have worked in a Chinese restaurant and I'm not sure any home range will satisfy me on stirfry. It may be great for someone else.

I do use that 15K burner for boiling 6 quarts of water for pasta and for sauteeing with a 12-inch skillet and it's plenty powerful for either of those tasks, which it handles beautifully.

What I was trying to say is that the Blue Star is more akin to a Viking or Wolf range than it is to a Berta IMO, which I consider to be a good, basic stove for its price point.

I don't think having a BS or any other range makes anyone a better cook though I know some believe it does. A good range certainly can give you better control. However, I learned to cook at James Beard's Cooking school -- he had Corning smoothop electric there. Nuff said. If you can cook you can cook. But it is nice to have a great range.

What it comes down to is what's the best choice for you -- and the burners are one component and the oven is the other. As many have pointed out, upgrading ventilation also becomes an issue with high powered output ranges. Additionally, it's wise to have some type of fireproof material such as tile or SS behind them which might be a factor.

Thanks for all for clarifying the BS burner btus.

Thanks rococogurl. My range would be all gas as well and there will be a fireproof tumbled marble subway backsplash along with a pot filler (my splurge since I scrimped in other areas).

I had a Wolf in a former house and have to say there was nothing about it to make me want to go out and buy another one, even if it wasn't almost double the price (Wolf lovers - don't slay me). I've also had a Kitchenaid which I consider good and basic, nothing to write home about - so I was hoping to go up a few levels performance-wise.

Our DD has a 48" Wolf dual fuel in the house where they were living temporarily. I used it when we babysat for the weekend. Can't say I personally found my Berta top wanting after using those.

It had electric ovens with an electronic dial. I liked those a lot but I do prefer electric ovens to gas. I wouldn't love cleaning it, however.

They also have a Viking a-g in their loft and I don't like that range at all. My Berta's big burner is faster than any of those.

I don't envy you. This is a tough decision. Test drives are best. If you can find a Berta and/or BS hooked up somewhere in your vicinity, that's ideal. The only other factor would be upgraded ventilation that should be used with a BS whereas it wouldn't be needed for the Berta.

36" Berta Heritage 6-burner all-gas here. We've had it for just over a year and not a single problem. (Fingers crossed.) I did pay a little extra to buy through a local dealer vs. online, because it seemed to me that some of the issues people had were installation-related and I wanted the installer to be experienced.

As Rococogurl says, you just use an oven thermometer. Mine hangs off one of the racks and I can see it through the window, so NO, you do NOT have to ever open the door to check the temperature.

I stirfry frequently and the 15K burner works very well for me. I'd be too chicken to do the big-fire WHOOSH kind of stirfrying in my home. But there are definitely stirfy purists on GW who do that and insist it is the only way. For me, the 15K is a HUGE improvement over the wimpy burners I used for years...maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

Love the heavy feel of the steel knobs. I did not want plastic knobs--they slowly melted on my last gas range.

I own a 36 inch bert range which I love! If the center burner doesn't have enough kick I'm not sure what kind of cooking is being done. My friend who is a chef came over to the house the other night to make me dinner and he was raving about the power for a home unit. I feel like I can get a steak searing on it no problem. The one thing that has been pointed out is that there is no way externally to tell if the oven is up to temp. Also the "fan failure" light seems strange, it should have been replaced with a light that goes off when the oven it heated.

I have gotten lots of compliments from friends on the way it looks since it's an "unusual" brand. I know a couple other people in the area have put them though. People often ask how much it cost thinking I'm going to say 10,000 bucks. I'm very pleased with the fact that it looks like a million bucks but only cost 3,200. A free hood offering is a very good deal. I would have gotten the bertazzoni hood since I liked the way it looked and operated but my plans were for a 42 inch hood over the 36 inch range and bertazzoni doesn't make a 42 inch hood.

Good luck with your decision, there are happy owners in both courts, as well as unhappy ones. But I'm putting my weight behind the bertazzoni maybe I'm bias :P