melis, we have our prep sink on the corner cabinet of the island and like it that way. It allows someone to use the prep sink to wash their hands without getting in the way of someone doing prep. Occasionally when multiple people were over cooking together, we have had someone working in the usual prep spot and someone else prepping on the side of the island with both sharing the sink. I've never missed having space on the other side of it. I put the cutting board next to the sink with bowls or pots to receive the prepped food on the other side of the board and produce yet to be prepared on the counter behind the board. It keeps everything compactly together in reach of me standing in front of the board. With your kitchen layout, I can see how a prep sink would be useful there rather than taking stuff out of the fridge, walking across to the sink to rinse it off and then back to the island to prep. Without a prep sink, in that layout, I'd probably do most prep between the sink and the range using the island just for things like rolling dough. loading cookie trays, placing cooling racks. Unlike others here, our family prefers table height seating. We do have a couple of bar stools at the island where people occasionally hang out keeping the cook company, but we prefer sitting in chairs where our feet touch the ground for meals. Without space for both bar seating and table seating, I'd choose table height seating. To find out for yourself what would work for you, you might try putting a plate or bowl on your current counter to represent the sink and going through the motions of preparing food with it there. Mock-ups are a great tool. I think a microwave drawer under a wall oven would look fine in the general case. Is there one that goes well enough with the Gaggenau oven? Their ovens have a different look.

Ah! Sorry about that. I kept scrolling back to your questions and options and misread about the Advantium. I still think a real hood with a real vent would be better in the secondary kitchen, but that might be cramped enough to warrant the pretend vent. I'm being a bit harsh here, I know, but you're not in a beggars can't be choosers situation. You don't need something fancy for the catering kitchen, just something with a good fan and light. I'd say a minimum of 600 cfm with easily removed and dishwasher cleanable filters. The Advantium is 300 cfm. The rule is a more powerful hood will pull better on a lower setting than a less powerful hood on a higher setting. If it were just the occasional grilled cheese, so it smells a little, but when you're doing that kind of formal entertaining, that's when you least want the process of the cooking to interfere with your party. The caterers at my party in December only used the 24" induction and had the 1200 cfm hood on. Good thing since they were frying latkes! Imagine if it were fish! You're the one with the experience, however. If it's not going to be an issue, go for the OTR. My comment in the previous post was entirely due to my error reading your plan. Yes, timing is oven dependent, and there's nothing to do with new recipes other than check. One of the reasons I insisted on Gaggenau ovens as the first and foremost item in my kitchen is that, in my mother's Gaggenau, every tray of borekes (filo pastries) from first to last, year after year, takes 11 minutes. In mine it also takes 11 minutes, even though I don't think the temperature range is quite as small. That kind of precision might not be top on your list, however--we all have different priorities, and the Bosch might be fine for you. There was a list of temperature spreads on the net back when I was looking. We also had a member (engineer type) who did more precise testing of Miele, Gaggenau and some others. The actual temperature range doesn't matter as much as the consistency of the cooking, however. It's just a clue as to what's going on inside. The main reason I brought it up is that my gut reaction was that you could possibly be disappointed after using the older Mieles, which had such a great reputation (as I said, I don't remember about the older Wolfs). OTOH, the Bosch might be just as precise, or good enough that you wouldn't know the difference. I don't have any good info on that other than its placement in the BSH hierarchy.

You can never have enough ovens. We have a 30" oven in addition to a 24" CSO and a 24" SpeedOven (incidentally, this is a wonderful combination). And still, there has been at least one meal, when I had to add a fourth improvised oven by using the gas grill on the deck. I also had to use a portable warming chest, and had to prepare a careful schedule for when to use which appliance. But then, I was cooking multiple courses for a gathering of more than 100 guests. Realistically though, 99% of the time, the combination of those two ovens should be enough. You might just have to do a little bit of planning on the rare occasions that you make huge amounts of food. But if budget is flexible, adding the SpeedOven wouldn't hurt. It's a good oven in its own right, and it can always serve as a great overflow option, when things get really tight. Is it mandatory? No, not at all? Will you enjoy having bought it? Yes, probably. It's a convenient luxury, if you regularly cook a lot.

I don't think there is a real concern. Mixing and matching of appliances is generally not a big problem. Having said that, what is wrong with the Miele SpeedOven? We have one and it works just fine. I don't see what Wolf could do differently that would make me prefer that brand for that particular appliance.