Hi Michelea! I'm actually new to appliances, since I just took a job in appliance sales here in Texas. I just got back from a GE Monogram training in Kentucky though, and one of the things they focused on was a feature comparison between their 48" range and a few others, Wolf included. We actually sell both Wolf and Monogram at my store, but not FiveStar. Basically what I've learned from our other salesmen here is that FiveStar will work, but it won't look pretty doing it, and its not worth the price. I'm told they're primarily commercial based, so you'll see them in a lot of restaurants, but because they're not seen by the customers they're not what you'd call "prettied up". As far as the other two though, one of the things it comes down to is the stylistic choice. Is your kitchen a place where company is going to be a lot? It doesn't sound like you'll be doing too much high level cooking, so while all those BTU's sound good and may be nice to have, it probably won't be fully utilized. Wolf is pretty well known for their big red knobs on the front, as well as the flip up screen so that you don't have crouch down to read or play with the controls. They do have the name as well which is usually synonymous with a high quality product. Personally though, I liked what I saw of the Monogram. It has a nice beveled finish on the front which I haven't really seen on any others, and you get more with what you pay for it with all the extras. For example, if you plan on having any large parties, the Monogram can fit a full size caterer's sheet in the oven, which is not something they all can do. Plus it comes with grill/griddle covers, a cutting board, and every grate on the top can be flipped upside down to accommodate a wok. Basically, they have it set up so that they're not bombarding you with extra costs, and their range tends to be cheaper to boot. As far as service goes, I can't really comment on how good/bad any of them are since I really haven't had to deal with it yet. Anyway, hope this helps a little bit! By the way, if you find out any of this is different, feel free to point it out. I'm still learning here, so I wouldn't call myself an expert! ;-)

I am also debating between the DCS and the Bluestar. (30" AG for either) I had a DCS in the house I just sold and found that I often used the simmer feature on several burners simultaneously since I find timing to be my biggest challenge in cooking. It looks like the Bluestar only has one burner with the simmer feature. Is it possible to turn the rest of the burners way down low to "hold" a dish or two while I finish up cooking the others? I found the grates on the 30" DCS unwieldy -- impossible to put in my Bosch mid-level DW. That is one of the great appeals of the Bluestar...easier to keep clean. I found the sealed burners on the DCS to be real gook magnets! Love the idea of pulling all the parts and popping them in the DW. I will be getting a fancier Bosch since I want fully integrated panels...maybe it will take the DCS grates?? Last issue is that my DCS (LPG) did not bake evenly. I had to turn things half way through and the muffins in the back of the oven were always trying to be popovers! That was even using the convection feature. This oven was a pre-Fisher-Paykel model and I kind of hope a newer one will deliver a better baking experience. That is, if I don't go for the Bluestar. Any thoughts on my pros and cons? Thx!!

I considered Five Star while researching my cooking choice for my kitchen remodel. I was set to buy one based upon reading their literature. I called the Five Star company and discussed my questions with one of their people. They referred me to a cooking school in my local area that had Five Star ranges where I was able to see, test drive and discuss the performance with the cooking school staff. The ranges are owned by Five Star and provided to the cooking school for display, "test driving", etc. since they do not have a distributor in the area. The report from the staff was not great. They said the ranges (they have two) all too frequently required burner and oven repairs on both of their ranges. The day I was there, both ranges were waiting for repairs--one oven wasn't heating sufficiently and a total of three burners on the two ranges were not operating. Most of the time they have to use long reach butane lighters get the burners going. Service is difficult to get even though they are in one of five largest cities in the country. Their opinion was the Five Star is impressively marketed but cheaply built and problematic. They said the burner performance stats are impressive in the literature but performance is weak in practice. They said if they were buying for their homes they would spend a little more and get a better built range. And that's just what I did thanks to their advice. Hope this is helpful to you.

I got a DCS duel fuel range with five burners. I usually use the center burner only. It is much easier to clean up and the grease and grime are kept in the stove top and not on the surrounding counters and front floor. I use to clean up everywhere but with doing cooking at center burner; it makes cleaning much simpler and quicker. I do wok cooking mostly!