I made the dough using my whole wheat recipe, which uses 1 cup of semolina flour for three pizzas (I have dough for the third still in the fridge and will use it tonight), and this gives it a chewy texture, but it was still thin and crisp. On Saturday, we adjusted the choke on the burners so that the low setting is as low as possible for all burners plus the oven, but last night was the first time I baked. I turned the oven all the way up, but the highest temperature I got (according to the oven thermometer I just bought) is 475 degrees. I consider this marginally acceptable for pizza. I did parbake the pizzas at 350 degrees for five minutes with a small amount of fresh mozzarella on them and then added the toppings. The first one has tomato slices (which I sprinkled with dried oregano, even though I also have fresh oregano), basil, and more fresh mozzarella (no salt - the cheese has plenty of salt). After it was done, I added a small amount of Parmesan. The pizza took 15 minutes to get done, and I used the convection setting and checked it every five minutes. I don't think it should have taken that long, but Kevin loved the results. I liked it, but I thought it came out better when cooked on the BGE. Still, it cooked very evenly and came out crisp, which is what I wanted. There is no char on it, but I will not be able to get that with this oven - I will need to use the grill for that. I did use a pizza stone, which I think is 15-1/2" deep - I will measure it later, but it seemed to take up almost the full depth of the rack. The second pizza has pasta sauce, basil, thinly sliced mushrooms, mozzarella, and Provolone cheese, and it also took 15 minutes to get done. I kept the pizzas fairly simple so that I could get them in the oven quickly. We have not eaten any of the second one yet, but the first one I cut into eight pieces; Kevin had four, and I had three. My pizza screens are 15-3/4" to 16" diameter and just barely fit in the oven, but they fit. The oven racks are 16" deep, which I knew before we got the range, and I am okay with that. I did not want the range protruding any further into the kitchen than necessary. One slight drawback - the oven puts out warm air in the front, meaning that it would be somewhat uncomfortable to use the cook-top while baking. It did not heat up the kitchen significantly, however - less so than cooking on the top. I was very glad that I did not add any salt to the tomatoes, as the pizza came out salty enough just from the cheese. I did add cayenne, however, but no black pepper.

What did you decide? We also like the new size of oven, and the other tweeks they have done to improve. My rep was telling me that the convection works a bit differently due to how they heat (steady vs high/low like US ranges) and that you have to really get the stove to full preheat for steady temps (he said that is true on all the pro ranges). What did you do?

I'm still not quite ready to write a full review of my Bluestar RCS 36" gas range but I will do my best to put my cursory thoughts together for the moment. At this time I would give this range 4 out of 5 stars. I am completely happy that I passed on the Bertazzoni. Beware of the loud cooling fans on the Bertazzoni and Fisher Paykel. There are computer chips inside of them that heat up and fail. It's the biggest reason why I passed on these two ranges though there were also design decisions that did not make sense. (Who uses a hob rail?) There are no computer chips inside of the Bluestar. It is analog simplicity at it's finest. I have not put the Bluestar through all of it's paces because of the hot summer and I don't have air conditioning in my pre-war apartment. Once fall approaches I will be using the Bluestar quite a bit more and will have a more thorough opinion. After the first few weeks with the Bluestar I had quite a scare. I was using a new top recommended oven thermometer from America's Test Kitchen. The oven temp on the thermometer was more than 50º off from what was on the dial. I called Bluestar and they sent a technician to my apartment within a few days. Luke, the tech, was very kind and knowledgeable and he tested the oven temp with a much more accurate and complex digital thermometer. It turned out that the oven temperature was completely accurate and my $20 oven thermometer was inaccurate. He explained to me that this happens frequently with new Bluestar owners. Trust the oven. I was holding on to the oven thermometer like a band-aide and just because it was analog it did not mean that it was accurate. Now that I know that I had a perfectly functioning stove I could move on to cooking without any worries. Let me tell you, one of the major reasons why I chose to purchase the Bluestar was because of the 1850º infrared ceramic broiler. What I didn't expect was how life changing it would be. I mean, wow, it's a stunning piece of tech. The flame is so hot, it's blue. Because it's an instant heat I do not have to wait for it to warm up before use. Even in the hot summer I could grill a steak in just a few minutes with incredible char without heating up my kitchen. My Thermapen MK4 ensures my meat is cooked perfectly. My favorite recipe so far is chicken tandoori. One of the reasons why I initially wanted the Bertazzoni and Fisher Paykel was because of their true 24 inch cabinet deep profiles. Both stoves are slim and elegant. Their grates are light, thin, and easy to remove for cleaning. The Bluestar, on the other hand, is a more industrial, restaurant style stove. I was apprehensive about putting it in my small NYC kitchen. It took me awhile to adjust to the larger footprint of the Bluestar but I am now quite happy with it's size but I'm still adjusting to it's more blunt kind of styling. Now on to why, so far, I am knocking one star off of this stove. My opinion is entirely subjective, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Look at the photo below. You see how deep that front bull-nose is? I just can't quite get used to it. Granted, I have been using a rental grade stove beforehand for 20 years so I am still adjusting. My roommate, however, adjusted almost immediately to the added depth. Because of the deep, flat stainless steel area it is begging to get scratched. Yes, just three months in I do have a small micro-scratch. I brought up my concerns to Luke who came to check on my oven temperature problem. He agreed with me that scratches are going to happen and I just have to let go of this concern. Wait for several years and in the future there are ways to polish out the scratches and he would be happy to help me with how to do so when the time comes. But still, why does the bullnose have to be so deep? Luke explained to me that the wiring for the stove was all tucked densely behind the bullnose, which I gathered. But what I didn't see was that on the underside overhang of the bullnose there are air vents that help dissipate heat when cooking. These vents omit the need for the cooling fans that are in the Bertazzoni and Fisher Paykel. Hmm, again, brilliant simplicity. My question now is why can't Bluestar design a shallower bullnose while still keeping the space for the wires and the vents? Checking other stoves, like Wolf and Viking, they too have thick bullnoses but none of them are as deep as Bluestar's. I guess it's just the new world order of stove design to have these thick bullnoses. Checking the stoves out at the steakhouse I work at they too have thick bullnoses. I just need to give myself more time to adjust. Now on to those thick grates. I did not want them. Another reason why I initially chose the Bertazzoni and Fisher Paykel. But what I like about the Bluestar is that there is one grate for each of the 6 burners. Each grate, though heavy duty, is lighter than expected and easy to remove for cleaning. Other stoves have one continuous grate over two burners which makes them quite a bit heavier to remove. As you can see in the photo below I had a powder-coated stainless steel cover made for the middle two grates so I would I have more room for cooking equipment. It is easily removable for those times when I need to use all 6 burners. And what about those burners? I was amazed with how quickly I could boil a huge pot of water for pasta. I love the fact that all of the burners have high output btu's except for the far left back burner for low simmering. If you have read my other threads some of you may know how anal retentive I am about burners with incredible low simmering capabilities. I still have not tested the low simmering capabilities enough to come to any conclusive opinions but so far I am happy. I am considering getting a diffuser for this stove because the burners are so wide in diameter that the flames burn the sides of narrower objects like my moka pot. I will follow up later on the burner capabilities when the weather cools and I have more time to use them extensively. Let me tell you this though. I am so glad I chose the sealed burner range over the open burner range. Yes, I know that the open burners on Bluestar ranges are legendary. The open burners are superior in performance to the sealed burners but I can't believe how easy to clean the sealed burners are. I barely have to take a wet soapy sponge to the surface to clean up spills. I am not a professional chef. I am an avid home cook and I don't need anything more than what I have. The Bluestar sealed burners are exceeding my expectations. A couple of more notes. I have not used the convection oven too much. Again, I need to wait for temperatures to cool. Also, this stove does not have a warming drawer. I thought this would be a problem at first since my small kitchen has very little storage. My solution is that I slide my large sheet pans under my stove. I am surprised with the amount of clearance under my stove for storage. A plus is that I can now mop under my stove. Say goodbye to under-stove dust and debris. With a storage or warming drawer on other stoves cleaning under them would not be possible. Let's just say that I am happy with my Bluestar purchase. I am glad I did not get the Bertazzoni or the Fisher Paykel. An added bonus is that the Bluestar is designed and built in America and, so far, Bluestar support has been excellent. This is a set-it and forget-it kind of stove. Simplicity is what I was after and simplicity is what I got. Thank you, Bluestar.

If purchasing one of these stoves in Canada, or any product from Canadian Appliance Source (CAS), please contact me first. I have a two-year historical service nightmare that has cost us dearly. These stoves have a long history of defective thermostats. They don't work which is a safety concern. They have no one trained that can service the stoves. We thought they would have the stoves serviced, but after 6 months of trying to find someone to service it, they conformed that they are unable to find anyone qualified to service these stoves. Instead, they decided to send us a replacement stove. The replacement stove had the exact same problem. This is when we found out that this has been an ongoing problem that has not been resolved. To add fuel to the fire, each time you receive a replacement stove, YOU will be out of pocket for the hookup fees which cost about $500 per hook up. We are on our third stove. I have documentation from Bertazzoni admitting to these issues but insistent that they are not responsible for hookup fees each time. after paying hookup fees for two replacement stoves that were both arrived defective with the same issue, we have chosen another brand. But I am still out of pocket for the hookup fees of these replacement stoves. We purchased out stove through Canadian Appliance Source. Canadian Appliance Source was aware of the ongoing safety issues with the thermostats when the sold it to us. They also refuse to take responsibility for the additional cost incurred. I have written documentation to support all of this and happy to share to make sure no one else ends up in the same very costly situation. We need to protect ourselves and other consumers from companies that do not take responsibility for their products. They are happy to take your money but once the sales is done, you are on your own. Buyer beware!!!