Majjie's Blog

I've been writing about range cookers for Majjie's Kitchen Corner, over at Yell.com, and this week it's all about range cookers for serious cooks. Of course, that means you need a serious budget too and the cookers involved tend to be based on commercial models which are very sturdily built but tend not to have lots of features. That makes it even more important that you choose the right model for what you want.

I thought it might be an idea to introduce you to four range cookers that are worth looking at ... for the dedicated cook ... which are all relatively small and will fit into the average sized kitchen. All my choices have a gas hob (which is what most professional chefs would still choose) and a separate grill (because I think it's better to have a dedicated grill compartment for straight grilling).

COOKER No.1: Falcon 1092 Deluxe CT

The Falcon name is well known in commercial kitchens, they've been producing catering equipment for around 75 years and were one of the first, to bring professional build quality to domestic range cookers. Originally part of the Glynwed Group which included Aga, the commercial foodservices side of the business was sold off in 2007 but the domestic Falcon range cookers were retained by the Aga Rangemaster Group who have since developed new models.

The Falcon 1092 Deluxe CT has two ovens – a 62 litre, multifunction oven (7 functions) and a 67 litre fan oven (energy ratings B and A, respectively). It also has a robust slide out separate grill (with different height settings) - which allows you to work at the grill with both hands.
 

The hob is one piece stainless steel, with a 4kW central burner over which is fitted the cooktop (that's what the CT stands for) and it's what I particularly like about this model. It's an enamelled, cast aluminium plate which is hotter in the centre than at the edges, giving very flexible cooking options (similar, in a way, to the hob tops of cast iron, heat storage ranges). You can heat a pan up quickly in the centre and then move it nearer the edge of the cooktop to simmer, or you can use a tiny pan (the minimum pan diameter on the other burners is 120mm). There's also an optional drop on griddle – half smooth and half ribbed which can fit over two of the other burners (there are three 3kW burners and a smaller 1.7kW burner).

As an alternative, there's the Falcon 1092 Deluxe – which is available in dual fuel (where the central burner is 5kW and comes with a wok ring, instead of the cooktop) – or all electric, with an induction hob. Even some professional chefs are being converted to induction hob cooking these days.

The colours available are: black, cream, cranberry, cherry red, ice white, stainless steel and a lovely china blue ... the size is 1092mm wide x 600 deep (660 with the handle) x 912-937mm high. The clearance required at the sides is 5mm with 800mm above (to any cooker hood). The Falcon 1092 Deluxe CT range cooker will cost you somewhere around £3,900 and it comes with a 3 year parts and labour guarantee.

COOKER No.2: Mercury 1200

The original Mercury cookers were developed in the UK by the Lincat Group, in conjunction with design group, Seymour Powell. They were launched in the year 2000 and were very innovative but the company was hit by the recession and sold the Mercury cooker brands to Aga Rangemaster in 2009.

I was in two minds about including a Mercury cooker here because quite a few of the innovative features (and the Thermastone model – a modern heat storage cooker) have gone, since Aga Rangemaster took over production. The specification is now very similar to the Falcon cookers from the same group ... but they've kept the smooth “hi-fi” style control knobs ... and there's no getting away from the fact that a Mercury cooker has very sleek, designer good looks. It also comes in some great colours: snowdrop, ash black, ocean, truffle, purple haze, blueberry, oyster, liquorice and stainless steel.

The Mercury 1200 has big ovens; a 68 litre multifunction oven (with a programmable timer) and a 79 litre fan oven; a separate grill (as for the Falcon cooker above); and the same hob configuration as the dual fuel Falcon 1092 Deluxe (with the 5kW central burner and an optional half ribbed, half smooth griddle).

I particularly like the stainless steel side trims to this cooker - but beware - they extend right back to the wall, there's no recess for pipes at the back. It's 1190mm wide x 638mm deep (700 with the handles) x 910 - 935 mm high ... and it'll cost you around £3,900 - £4,400 with a three year guarantee. 

COOKER No.3: Britannia Dynasty XG 110

Britannia cookers are made in Italy and their good looks are exactly what you might expect as a consequence. They're also very sturdily made, although I'm not sure they have the same commercial provenance as the other cookers here. In fact, that's what's so good about Britannia cookers. They have the sturdy build and the powerful gas rings required by a serious cook ... but they also have the useful features that you get from a domestic cooker.

The Dynasty XG110 has a 53.4 litre multifunction oven (with 9 functions and a programmable timer) and a 43.7 litre fan oven with a rotisserie – both with A energy rating. The ovens aren't huge because this is a 1000mm cooker with posts at either side ... but I love the look of those posts.

There's a separate grill, as well as grills in both ovens, and a cooling fan stops the fascias and knobs from getting too hot. You can also grill with the door closed – unlike some of the other cookers.

 It has a chef top – which fits over a 3.1kW fish burner (which can also be used for a fish kettle) and six further gas rings, one at 4.3kW, three at 2.6kW and one at 1.7kW. It's the sort of hob that lends itself to the cooking of lots of different dishes, rather than huge quantities of just one or two.

I went to a cooking demonstration using this cooker, back in 2010 ... and was very impressed. The chef top, in particular, seemed like a very good idea. It's made from 8mm thick stainless steel and can get up to very high temperatures, especially in the centre. It can be used like a griddle for frying eggs, cooking bacon, making griddle cakes, heating crumpets and the like. It can be used to sear meat and veg before cooking in other ways; to cook steaks and burgers ... or to cook in tepanyaki style. If you're cooking food directly on the chef top, then you should allow it to sear which releases it from the hot surface, or alternatively, you can use Bake-O-Glide liners.

The cooker is 1100mm wide x 600 deep x 910 - 935 mm high - and it requires only 2.5mm clearance either side with the standard 760mm clearance above. It comes in cream, gloss black or stainless steel as standard but, if you're prepared to pay a little extra, you can have it in any colour finish you like, using Britannia's Colourange service. The standard colours will cost you between £4,200 and £4,900 and you'll get a 2 year guarantee.

If you really don't like the solid doors that professional type cookers usually have, then have a look at Britannia's Sigma cookers which you can get in the same configuration but with triple glazed doors. You can also get the Sigma models in a 1200mm wide version (with two 600mm wide multi-function ovens); or 1500mm wide (with a huge 900 wide oven and a full size 600 wide one ... together with a chef top and a fish burner on the hob, so there's no need to swap them over). Those would cost around £5,500 and £9,500 respectively. You can also get the standard Dynasty XG 100 model with an induction hob (for about £5,400).

There's another useful option ... for the standard two oven Britannia models (without a separate grill - so make sure you get the chef top) ... and that's extra high feet - useful for modern thick worktops.

COOKER No.4: Lacanche Macon

Lacanche cookers have been made in Normandy, in France, for over 200 years. They're solidly built, professional cookers with amazing versatility - made from heavy gauge steel, cast iron and solid brass which will last for years. They're superb cooking machines but without some of the mod cons that you get with other brands.

You actually get a choice of hob configurations and oven types (more so for larger models) but for the Macon, I would choose a traditional hob with 4 gas burners and a simmer plate; one 55 litre gas oven and one 55 litre electric convection (fan) oven. You also get a small (25 litre) conventional electric oven with grill. The picture above doesn't show the traditional hob. It looks like this:

I love the solid, cast iron simmer plate of the traditional hob. It sits over a 5kW gas burner and again is a bit like the hob of a traditional heat storage range but with more control and more versatility. The centre plate can be removed - and replaced with a wok ring for wok cooking - or just for faster heating of a large saucepan. Once heated, pans can be moved to the cooler outer edges. It would be great for making jam, using large stock pots or fish kettles (but remember it takes about 15 minutes to warm up).

You can also get an optional griddle plate (either smooth or ribbed – or one of each) to fit over the other gas rings. The smooth one can be used for tepanyaki style cooking ... and the wok ring fits not only into the central recess of the traditional simmer plate but also over any of the other gas rings (4kW, 2 x 3kW and 1.5kW).

Many people love the idea of cooking with a gas oven but there are very few range cookers that give you that option. The powerful burner in the Lacanche gas oven heats up in a very quick 10 minutes and has a temperature range from 150 – 300 degrees C (great for roasts, souffles, pizzas ... or sealing joints before slow roasting). The electric oven starts at a more gentle 50 degrees C with a maximum temperature of 260 degrees. You also have the option of replacing one of the ovens with a conventional static electric oven, or of having two conventional electric ovens. The electric ovens are B rated for energy use.

There are no timers or programmers with a Lacanche cooker and the ovens (unlike the ovens of the other cookers listed here) have no catalytic or stay clean liners (although they do have 8-layer anti-acid enamel sides). The cooker is 1000mm wide x 650mm deep (720mm with the ventilation backstrip) x 900mm high. It requires a 50mm clearance either side, although you can use an infill strip recessed to the oven doors (the cooker is designed to sit proud of the adjacent units). It also requires 850 – 900mm clearance above the hob.

The Macon will cost you around £4,600 to £4,800 ... with accessories costing extra. It comes with a three year guarantee and in a choice of 20 enamel colours.

There are also some other interesting Lacanche models. The Volnay/Vougeot is still 1000mm wide but comes with a large 74 litre oven which can have both conventional static and convection electric options (and fits larger commercial catering dishes) and a tall 84 litre simmer oven (for plate warming, proving dough, slow cooking and meringues).

With the larger cookers you get a lot more hob options, including an electric griddle plate or Plancha, an electric fryer, a gas chargrill, a multi-cooker (it's plumbed in to a water supply and can be used to boil or steam, or as a bain marie). You also get more oven options. The 1405mm wide Chemin, for instance, can have two 55 litre ovens, a 25 litre static electric oven with grill and an 84 litre simmer oven; whilst the 1505mm wide Citeaux can have a 74 litre gas oven, a 55 litre fan oven and an 84 litre simmer oven. Both will cost you around £9,000 depending on your options.