Thank you both so much for your suggestions. I am feeling like I am really leaning toward induction, but I am disappointed as I just read rave reviews on Elux ovens, but awful reviews on their cooktops, and vice versa for Bosch. If I could install a Elux oven under the Bosch cooktop I think Id be very happy, but Im not sure if that can be done. I don't want anyone voiding my warranties because we mixed appliance brands. I could possibly put my oven in my island? Glad to see I have an option to get a very professional gas range if I go that route. I'm not sure yet what the discrepancy is regarding the size of the hood. Would a 20" pass inspection and adequately remove grease & odors or not? If it would, don't know why I'd need bigger? But if it wouldn't, think I better look for more affordable range, if I go that route. What type of hood would I need for an induction cooktop? I believe the requirements are lower? Induction sounds like it would fit me best, especially since I've never used gas I think maybe I just don't know what I'm missing. But I have to figure out how to get a decent oven in an acceptable space.

To amplify on what Kas just said: how big are your "big pots of boiling water for pasta and sauce?" Are we talking tall, skinny stockpots (say 9 or 10 inch diameter) or fatter, 13" or 14" kettles that also can be used for water-bath canning? How many 15" skillets will you need to use at the same time with how many of the large stockpots? Will the sauces made in your big stockpots be needing perfectly even heat across the base of the pan (e.g.,as with a very thick ragu/gravy) or will the consistencies be liquid enough that you would be okay cooking them on, say, an 8" coil burner? Rule of thumb is that induction cooktops are assumed to heat fairly evenly out to about 1" larger in pot-base-diameter than the burner size. (And note that it is the diameter of the pot's base that matters for induction heating, not the usually larger nominal width across the top. If you just want to separate one big stockpot from one big skillet, then you need to avoid having the big burner centered in the cooktop. AFAIK, Wolf's CI365 and Electrolux/Frigidaire models are the only currently available 36" induction cooktops which put a large burner at one end leaving you enough space to put another big pot at the other end, albeit over a 7" or 8" diameter burner which might top out at 2500 watts or might boost up to about 3000 watts. That includes the Elux cited by Kas. A row of single or double-burner drop in Cookteks could be interesting but likely a budget buster and also potentially problematic for evenly heating the bases of those 15" skillets. If cast iron, those skillets will likely have a 13" or 14" base. If steel based, then likely to have a 12" to 13" base. The Cooktek drop-in (and countertop) units have 8.5" induction coils. In terms of the Wolf being able to "handle" a 15" skillet, are you asking about evenness of heating across the base? IIRC, the Wolf CI365 has a 10" burner which potentially would be better than the Cookteks but still would not heat evenly all the way to the edges. The outer ring won't be cold but maybe 150°F less hot than the rest of the pan. Depends on the pan construction. Could be more. That basically means you have to stir your stir-frying and sautes. YMMV on whether that would be a big deal. If you live near a Wolf dealer, I'd suggest you take your 15" skillet to the Wolf showroom for a demo to see how well or not-so-well the heat spreads. The Electrolux Icon has, I believe, an 11" diameter large burner, so theoretically better unless Electrolux has "rounded" up the size of the burner for the spec sheets.. Maybe somebody here will have had experience with very big skillets and the Elux "big" burner? Maybe you could find a demo? Alternatively, I suppose you could get a 30" Bosch 500 (with an 11" big burner) or one the new GE models with the 11" burner on one end, and combine it with a single 3500 watt Cooktek drop-in burner next to it for somewhat higher speed boiling for a large stockpot.

I saw the newest Wolf induction cooktop and I was impressed with its versatility. Specifically, I am speaking of model CI365T/S. I really like the burner layout with the four burners that can be bridged on one side and a larger oval burner on the other side. It offers what seems to be the most flexible layout. There are other induction cooktops with "flexible" zones but they are in a layout that is less versatile, most commonly with a large round hob in the center and the flexible zones on either side. My building does not have gas so when I upgrade, I will be looking at induction. As of now, I think the Wolf is my favorite but I am a year or two out and something new may change my thinking.

You have a lot of decisions to make. :-)). Just some brief comments....except on the griddle. Gas Burners What works well for one person might not work at all for another. What type of cooking do you do? Any high heat applications like stir frying? What type of cookware do you use? This could have an impact on the type of burners you choose. There are big differences between Wolf/Monogram’s dual stacked, capped, sealed ring burners and BlueStar uncapped, open tray star burners. The size of your range may be dictated by the size of your kitchen. Search some of the posts by Kasecki to find out about ventilation. I cook for up to 60 and I have a 36” range, 6 burners, plus a couple of induction plates, an Instapot, a small Nesco cooker, a couple of hot plates and I simmer in my oven a lot of the time. I have the Wolf DF which has the burners that are on the Wolf AG range now. I would definitely consider the BS star on my next range. Griddles You can get a griddle in three ways. They each have benefits and vary tremendously in the ways they are made. Built in Griddles These mostly have the benefit of a thermostat so that you can turn the knob on to certain setting and you will get an easily reproducible temperature. There will be a constant variation in that temperature as the burner cycles, maybe +/- 25°F-50°F depending on the thermostat. It is very difficult to find out what those numbers are. They also have a little more stability, compared to an add on griddle. There are a lot of differences in how these are put together. Cooking surface- Wolf and BlueStar have rolled steel, but BS’s is half the thickness of Wolf. This seasons like cast iron and becomes nonstick If you let it. Wolf being thicker will heat more evenly over time but takes longer to heat and turn up or down. Steel heats unevenly so you have areas that are hotter. Wolf refers to this in their manual. Monogram has an aluminum base clad in stainless. The aluminum is to provide more even heating as it has much better heat transfer properties but there was a thread not long ago about how difficult the stainless on it was to clean. There are some griddles that are all aluminum because it conducts heat so well. Some have a surface that is removable to clean. Some have a chromium finish which is sold as making it easy to clean but reviews say it is hard to clean. Heat source- Blue star gas a burner like this. Wolf attempts to have a heat source that provides more even heat so they use an infrared burner. Some built ins use an electric element with an aluminum plate, which might provide the most even heating depending on the thickness of the aluminum. Look at the amount of BTUs. Wolf is about 15K but a few go up to 18K. Add on or overlay griddles You can buy these from a restaurant supply very inexpensively. Some of the advantages with an overlay. -flexibility of using the griddle or the burner. You can take the griddle off to clean and put it away if you want to. -You can get whatever metal you want. Steel will season easily but tend to have zones of hotter and cooler temperatures. Some people like that because they can cook on one part and hold on another. You can adjust the front and back burners to different levels of heat. There are aluminum griddles and some have a nonstick surface. These are great when you need even heat like for grilled sandwiches or pancakes There are 2 burner and 4 burner sizes or you can just use 2 -2 burner griddles if you need more space. I have the bare aluminum griddles because I tend to grill a lot of sandwiches. They do season over time If you don’t scrub the seasoning off. I also have a nonstick one. I thought I would buy a steel 4 burner but when I got to the store, I could hardly lift it. The aluminum weighs less. These se are my faves and I have the 15”x23” in bare aluminum. You can transfer these to the oven too. http://royalindustriesinc.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=4_22_48 A lot of posters like these too. https://www.dvorsons.com/ChefKing/Griddles.htm You can position the griddle wherever you want to on the range top. Sometimes I turn it so it covers two burners on the front. -The 2 burner overlays like the Royal Industries and Chef King in the 15”x23” have almost 50% more cooking area than the 2 burner built ins. It is easy to calculate the usable area of each. -You can have a lot more heat. Even with Wolf’s 15K BTU burners, which is on the low end, you would have 30K BTUs compared to the usual 15-18K. It can go up from there. There is yet another choice, the countertop Griddle. These are usually thermostatically controlled and work pretty well but vary in quality. Of course they are not as “cheffy”. They are usually made of aluminum though. These comments were made above. ”Burner top griddles are fine for some people but they are not even heat across the surface” This depends a lot on what metal the griddle is made of and it’s thickness. Rather than whether it is built in or not. Any that are aluminum have better heat transfer properties of the cooking surface. As mentioned above, you have your choice with an add on. “ nor do they maintain even heat over time.” If you consider how the heat is applied to the griddle, the overlay receives a constant inflow and has a pretty constant loss of heat once you adjust it and it comes to equilibrium. The thermostatically controlled griddle has a swing like an oven, so I would disagree with that. You do have to adjust the heat in the beginning but it is like cooking with a pan. Not sure if it is even significant in cooking unless you had too big of a swing with the thermostat. I’ve seen some electric skillets like that. Steam oven- Do you mean a dedicated steam oven or a combi oven that fully functions as a convection oven and also as a steam oven? Have you looked at Miele? We have a poste here “M” that can speak to the combi ovens, also called CSOs(Convection Steam Ovens) Wall oven- This is a whole discussion by itself. What are you thinking here? Gas range oven- If you do cook for large groups, it would be a good thing to have an oven that holds a full sized commercial tray. Even if you don’t use the full size, it is nice to be able to use twok half sheets side by side.. Wolf is not big enough for that even in the 36” oven. BS, Monogram and some others are.