I researched for awhile and went with the GE Cafe double wall oven. Since we had no decent wall oven before that ( our horrid one died) I immediately starting cooking up a storm. Everything came out perfectly.

i was impressed by the accurate oven temperatures and glowing reviews by customers at many online sites. I used an oven thermometer recommended by a restaurant baker and when the GE Cafe was set to any temperature, from 300 to 450 and up, it matched the thermometer perfectly. While I’m not a fan of Consumer Reports reviews, the Cafe oven does get high marks there. ...for what it’s worth.

It does have knobs ( a feature I wanted) instead of a touch sensor pad. The temperature settings increase by 25 degree increments. As an example, you could adjust 350 to 375 but not to 360 ..which is fine by me.

The broiler setting is very intense and the highest rack position is too close to the heat coils for my preference. I don’t plan to broil anything on the top rack position but would use it to add a final outer crisping or browning to a dish. And k even if the top rack is rarely used, that still leaves 5 other rack levels.

Im a relatively new user but there are others here who’ve had the oven awhile. One of them, Boschboy , ( who did buy a Cafe oven in spite of his name, lol) was very helpful and informative and likes the oven very much. . Maybe he’ll pop up here and add some feedback.

Have you considered the Bosch?

Yes, definitely considered Bosch for our cooking appliances; however I really like the chunky handles of Wolf, GE Café, or Monogram. Thank you!

Thanks J Corn for your opinion about the GE Café and resource to check with …. I am glad the Café is working for you. Did you go for the French door style or standard oven? I am intrigued by the precision cooking features as I have three teenagers that need to learn how to cook something other than chicken nuggets.

We went with Monogram over Wolf for our oven b/c our electrical circuit couldn't support the increased amp rating of the Wolf.

I went with the French door option and I love being able to open both doors with one hand. I don’t worry about anything dripping on the open oven door. Our last double oven had vents in the lower oven door and a spill from an overflowing dish on the top oven went into the vents and was trapped between the glass on the door. I‘d have had to take apart the door to thoroughly clean it.

i do feel there’s less chance to get burned hands and arms when putting a dish into an oven with a French door but others here have felt there wasn’t a significant difference. The doors open nice and wide.

When our wall oven broke we used a Cuisinart large toaster oven for nearly a year. It preheats quicker than standard wall ovens and saves energy, too. We’ll still use it for things like chicken nuggets and some other convenience foods, especially when we’re rushed.

But the toaster oven doesn’t have even enough temperatures for cookies and cakes ...or even roasts, let alone a Thanksgiving turkey.

Thank you!

I bought the Wolf M series wall ovens (2 singles). I knew about the potential for the blue enamel to chip but I really liked the usability of it and I don't plan to use the self-cleaning feature (which seems to be the culprit when chipping occurs in any brand). So far, after 7 months, I am very happy with its performance.

Spills as J Corn mentioned is why I prefer the drop down oven door. It is a barrier to prevent sloshing liquids from falling on your feet or legs or any kids or pets that might dart through. It also gives you a resting place to put pans when rotating. I’m short and don’t have any trouble reaching the racks but my oven was set a optimal height for me. No trouble cleaning it, which I do by hand.

”I knew about the potential for the blue enamel to chip but I really liked the usability of it and I don't plan to use the self-cleaning feature (which seems to be the culprit when chipping occurs in any brand).”

Chipping does seem to show up on most brands after self clean but if you go back and read the posts on this forum about Wolf, it has happened in normal use too, without running the self clean.

Thank you wekick! I agree … the traditional drop down oven door works for me too, even though I have never used a French door wall oven. We do however have the French door refrigerator in our current home and the door is left ajar on occasion. Thanks for the info. on the chipping of the Wolf interior.

I think the bottom line is that there is no perfection. Both french doors and traditional drop down doors have their pros and cons. The french door has been great,y preferred by a friend in a wheelchair. She wheels the chair right up to the door to remove baked foods . There’s no drop down door blocking her access. The oven is placed at a good level for her and is a single oven.

As for using a drop down oven door to hold a hot pan while rotating another, I would not feel comfortable doing this. While many oven doors might handle the weight , some do not. I once put a heavy pan on a door and sprung the door. We lived in a rental home once where the same thing had happened, before we rented the home. .

Its absolutely trur that a traditional oven door may prevent burns from food spilling over a casserole dish and dripping onto the floor ...or feet. The door would catch the drips. But I’ve burned myself many times on drop down doors. i Haven’t yet burned myself on a French door but we haven’t had the oven all that long. ,

“The french door has been greatly preferred by a friend in a wheelchair. She wheels the chair right up to the door to remove baked foods .”

This is a more complex issue. She may need to be closer to the oven but she also needs a thermal barrier for this and possibly other cooking tasks. Hopefully she was able to have an occupational therapist help her with adaptive measures for her kitchen. This might seem like it is a good idea but if she drops anything there is no getting out of the way and there might not be away to remove what is dropped or spilled in a timely manner. A stay in the burn unit is not pleasant. A friend of mine also in a wheel chair was told by an occupational therapist that she could not even use her oven. It was suggested that a countertop oven might work. So much depends on the individual and other ways the kitchen has been adapted.

“As for using a drop down oven door to hold a hot pan while rotating another, I would not feel comfortable doing this. While many oven doors might handle the weight , some do not. I once put a heavy pan on a door and sprung the door. “

I’m not switching anything heavy, but I do switch a whole lot of cookie sheets.

My background is working in critical care and on an ambulance so much of my life is dealing with unexpected events. We have a business and part of it is providing safe room environments, but not in kitchens. We try to work with evidence based concepts but we don’t always have the statistics we need and it is that way with ovens. You can remove a certain percentage of injuries with a drop down door with spills. One door being less likely to burn over another might depend on the person using it and their build. I agree that that there are pros and cons and some people don’t care about the safety aspect of it. I always bring it up as an additional consideration that many do not think of. The idea is to make an informed choice.

If I were wanting a French door oven, I think I would put a pull out cutting board underneath it with some sort of shallow well to hold liquids. It would be adjustable as to how far it comes out and would provide the two advantages of the drop down door. My cabinet maker put one under one of my countertops to attach my hand grinder and there wasn’t too much to doing it.

The dripping thing is the one main drawback of a French door. It didn’t even dawn on me until I used it for the first time and went to baste something....oops. I do have a drawer directly below it with potholders and such so I will open it when I think I might be dribbling something, otherwise it would be nice if the manufacturers had a built in slide out tray for that purpose (one that is NOT part of the oven cavity or else it will be hot...which kind of defeats one of the beauties of the French door). Regardless of the dripping problem, I really like the oven and find I use it much more than the the Wolf range ovens.