Anyone know about La Cornue oven/stove tops?

saw these in an article, then in a couple stores, scoured their website–anybody actually own one of these? Check out: www.lacornueusa.com

You’d need to sell more Romanee Conti to buy one…

My sister in law is the sole distributor for them in the US. Definitely lust worthy artisanal ranges. I flirt with the idea of getting one of the Chateau series with a French top/plaque. If you’d like more info, PM me.

They are gorgeous. Not anywhere within my range, but certainly alluring. I would check to see how much heat they throw consistently. Something in my mind thinks they “run” even when you aren’t cooking.

A friend of mine has one, don’t know what model. Bought it second hand in France and had it shipped. IIRC they have electric start and I think they have auto gas shut off if the flame gets extinguished. For 50k I’d expect a little bit of sophistication.

The BTU’s are in the same range 22k as other equipment. I think you are paying for the aesthetic and also if IIRC the ovens are supposed to be amazing from a even heat perspective. YMMV.

You will need to sell all of your Romanee Conti to buy one.
Expensive and supposedly the best.

not $50k, about $8-10k.

for the low end ones yes. The double oven dual fuel with french tops start in the 40s: 36-46++ to be exact.

http://www.lacornueusa.com/product/grand-palais-180/specs

They are really beautiful; if I had disposable income i’d buy one.

Merrill,

The Aga stove, popular with the stately home set in England, is lit all the time, or used to be before recent changes intended to make them more conservative in their energy use.

Just an aside, Gene, what kind of stoves do you favor. I’m in the market.

There is one in Napa Valley that cost $140k…

damn. Forget that.

I think this might be what I am thinking of, thank you. I am recalling a walk around dinner at St. Helena’s Culinary Institute, and they are wall to wall in their instruction/preparation kitchen with a heavy hitter make. And I think I recall them saying those babies were “working” all the time. Gorgeous equipment in a dream kitchen.

Depends on how much you want to spend. I bought a Bluestar because it is very powerful (22k BTU burners), holds commercial sized pans, decent convection fan and is relatively inexpensive compared to other options. Other than electronic ignition it has no electronics so there are fewer failure points. They changed the rear exhaust hood slightly a few years ago so I was able to get a floor model at a substantial savings. The Bluestar has a star shaped open burner configuration for even heating across the bottom of the pan. Many of the closed burner configs leave a cold spot in the center.

Another good one is the Capital Culinarian. It has the same power as Bluestar but has a more refined finish than the Bluestar. More bells and whistles too like self cleaning.

BTU’s are what you want to look for. Many of the more popular brands like Viking top out at 15k BTU.

Gene, I am literally debating the entry level La Cornue (the double oven, not the single) vs a BlueStar at the moment. Which Bluestar do you have? I am looking at the 48" and it has two doors but I can’t tell if its a second oven, a warmer, or storage. We plan to hit a local retailer this weekend to look at them. I am also debating cooktop configuerations. French top vs. extra burners vs. grill…

It’s been a while since I looked into this so my apologies if this is out of date. But the Cornue Fe (or whatever) that you see in W-S is NOT the same as the models from France. In fact, it’s not even made in France. It’s made with a licensiing agreement with Cornue, and to some extent to their specs and with their look, but it’s not the same. The “real deals” cost a great, great deal more money. If you ever have a chance to play with the one and then the other, the differences become obvious.

A Blue Star 48 will have two ovens. The oven sizes are basically the same as you’ll find on a Viking or Wolf. The second oven is quite narrow.

I have a BlueStar 48" double griddle/four burner cook top and two gas wall ovens. Bought 'em in May 2013. There are some things that are made well on these, but a lot of things are pretty piss poor.

The simplicity and lack of bells and whistles is refreshing. Restaurant style in that regard. The double griddle is great and the burner intensity is great. But their wiring is ridiculous (stuff grounds and shorts all the time). Gas ovens do not get up to the temp they say they are. And when you stack the ovens as they advertise you can, you can’t reach the top oven in any kind of safe way…just thoughtlessly designed and advertised. Lots of sharp edges. Areas where cheap stainless steel grade is used when it should be better. Trim on the cooktop vent burns from the heat of the griddle, so it is perpetually stained.

I had a GE Monogram range and wall oven before this. Yes, the burner BTU’s weren’t as high, but the range was made like a brick shit house. The Blue Star stuff, not so much, despite the beautiful website.

actually, both the viking and the wolf have a narrower oven than the blue star and will not hold commercial sized sheet pans. Both the viking and the wolf also have burners with less BTUS: 15k versus 22k

you should call customer service. i have no issues with mine at all. oven maintains perfect temperature. I don’t get any burning on the vent but on the surrounding cooktop trim that happens. Do yourself a favor and buy some of this: