jenna -- have you posted your question in the appliances forum? You will likely find lots of people who can help with the technical stuff on these ovens.

One thing to consider in getting an odd-sized appliance: what happens if you need to replace it? Will you be able to fit a standard American sized appliance without damaging counters or cabinets? Just a thought.

cornue fe is an ok range. i didn't care for the idea of a lacornue imposter myself (silly but true) i also didn't like the warm door on the oven (on the demo one we saw in portland) since i have small children in the house.

you've looked at lacanche i assume? and SR silly you just but another frenchrange if this one breaks heh heh (these are very basic ga stoves...it's highly unlikely you'd have to replace on in your lifetime)

Hi Jenna, I recently purchased the Cornufe in Burgundy. It was installed about 2 weeks ago, so I really have not had much chance to break it in. While I was debating the Cornufe versus the Thermador, I had the opportunity to talk with a couple of individuals who do cooking demo's and have used the Cornufe. They both said there no problems cooking a 20lb turkey plus other dishes. Another thing they pointed out to me, with smaller ovens, they take less time to preheat. Regarding the odd size, what I did was have filler put on each side so if I do have to change out to a 48", I have room.....Overall, I truly love my new range. HTH.

Another Lacanche vote, from someone who was converted (from an impending BlueStar purchase) by igloochic and her cronies on the Lacanche thread on the Appliance forum. They are lovely, a much wider range of sizes and configurations, a hugely enthusiastic band of owners, great support from the importer, and "it's a real Lacanche, not a rebadged Aga" as some will say about the CornuFe. I didn't want a "cheap LaCornue".

I'm getting a Cornufe installed in a few weeks. I know here Cornufe gets maligned, not sure why, but I don't care.

I don't really have room for a 48 inch range, but I wanted something bigger than a 36 inch, for a bunch of reasons, so the 43 inches was perfect for me. I expect it to last a long long time, so I don't worry about the odd size.

I have been assured that a large turkey will fit in the oven, but I'm getting a wall oven in addition to the Cornufe so it won't be a problem in any case. On Thanksgiving, I will be so happy to have one large oven, and two smaller ovens. I can't wait to finally have my new kitchen on Thanksgiving.

The Lacanche is a nice alternative, and certainly far more popular on this forum. I seriously considered it, but for me, personally, I like the Cornufe's look better than the Lacanche. And I don't mind that it is not a "real" La Cornue -- at $9000 it is hardly "cheap," and it doesn't look cheap, and it isn't made "cheap."

I'm getting mine in black, because I just love the look, I think it is classic. There are fewer color choices than a Lacanche, I think, but for me it didn't matter, since I wanted black. All the colors are beautiful though. I seriously considered the burgundy, too.

Another beautiful range is Bertazzoni, which also comes in a bunch of colors.

There is a site, called the appliancist, I think, don't know the url, that reviews all kinds of appliances, and has some unusual and lovely ranges, plus has the Cornufe. If you go to thekitchendesigner.org, she has a link to that site.

Jenna, I looked at both the Cornufe and personally saw the Lacanche Cluny which we are going to order. Let me tell you some of the differences we saw. The Cornufe is a beautiful oven and actually has a 3 year parts and labor warranty. The burner top seems very similar to the Lacanche. The ovens are both electric and both convection with the Cornufe. They are 3 inches shallower due to the convection which in my opinion makes it harder to fit pans in. With the Cluny, I saw the person fit regular cookie sheets in. With the Cornufe, you are buying new Sonoma specialty pans to fit. Not the end of the world, but something to consider. The Cornufe comes apart easily to clean, in fact you can take the side and bottom panels right off of the range and place them directly into the dishwasher which is a great feature. But in inspecting both ranges carefully, the Lacanche seems much more sturdy and better built. Maybe from being individually handmade instead of mass produced. The oven doors in the Cornufe were not as heavy and solid as the Lacanche. The storage drawers underneath the Lacanche were also much sturdier and rolled easier than the Cornufe drawers. The Cornufe has an enamel painted front to it, but the sides are stainless. The Lacanche is enamel painted both front and sides. Also, the Lacanche has a more expensive look, in my opinion when you compare them directly. With Lacanche you have an amazing support through Art Culinaire and the Lacanche buyer community that is not really available with Cornufe at this time. We also seriously considered the Bluestar and several other pro ranges. But there are a lot of complaints about service with the Bluestar and after emailing dozens of Lacanche owners, I have found people that are still so excited about their range and speak so highly of the support they have gotten from Art Culinaire even years later. There is really nothing that can go wrong with the Lacanche that a regular technician can't fix, so I would expect you would have the range to pass on, rather than replace someday. With the Lacanche you can also order it to come with a warming cupboard which is a feature many really rave about. Good luck in your decision. Both French ranges are beautiful and will lead to many years of great cooking!

I found this post on the appliances forum. Thought you might find it helpful:

Carolinej-
I sell both the LaCornue CornuFe ranges and the Aga Legacy ranges. Metalmorphing is correct in saying that the CornuFe does use the Legacy 44 chassis, however, that is where the similarities end. The CornuFe 110 range has a reinforced chassis from the factory for a higher quality and more rugged end result. There are other differences: the Legacy uses rubber oven gaskets that do not hold up well to use where as the CornuFe uses the usual gasket material that can handle much usage. You will also see that the Legacy has 4 doors on the front which have a flimsy feel to them, the CornuFe has a two door front door system that has doors which are bold and rugged. The Legacy comes with an enameled cooked surface which is hard to clean while the CornuFe has a stainless cooktop which greatly reduces and simplifies cleaning. The CornuFe also comes with a wonderful to use 5 burner cooktop with plenty of room on the center burner for large coooking vessel usage. The un-cramped cooktop is also very handy while using multiple burners, it is much easier to 'move around' on the surface. There are other differences which you will see when you see them side by side. So, it is correct that they are assembled in the AGA factory, but LaCornue owns a dedicated assembly line in the AGA factory just for the CornuFe.

The typical American range in this size category has one 'full size' oven and one small oven. The nice thing about the CornuFe is that you get two good size ovens to work with . There are times when you would like to cook to larger dishes at the same time and are unable to accomplish this in the small oven featured on 48" ranges. We sell many of the CornuFe ranges and have not had one complaint regarding the burner BTU's so I think you would find them to work great.

Have fun shopping!

just for the record...i also own an aga legacy and i'd be highly shocked that a dealer calls the doors flimsy. i'm suprised aga allows him to sell them given his distate for their product.

to be completely fair to all of these products....aga, cornufe nor the lacanche can b put in the flimsy catagory. i didn't like the hot doors, and prefered the look of lacanche for our home....again on the rental i was concerned about the hot doors, but all of these are lovely ranges, and i'd rank the two french above a wolf anyday :) but my aga isn't flimsy and the top is gorgeous....and not difficult to clean. what a pile of horse puckey!

the aga ( traditional one)....totally different beast :) a true aga stands in a catagory all its own. they're a very fine range, but a different way of cooking thanwe're used to in the us.

I didn't post the message for its criticism of the aga, but for its description of the Cornufe. Sorry igloochick.

For what it is worth, I don't have my range yet, so I can't really have any opinion on it vs. any other, but I think they are ALL fantastic -- the French ranges, the stainless steel pro style, etc.

Jeanie Kitchen, can you tell me what kind of hood you've purchased? I have a Cornufe - identical to your stove -being stored by my dealer. I considered the Lacanche, Blue Star and Wolf but lost my heart to the Cornufe. Viva la difference!

hello all,
I can't imagine what I did before I found this forum. The info has been fantastic. DH and I schlepped to Williams Sonoma to see the CornuFe - didn't love the simmer burner on the front (I simmer a lot and like to push my pots to the back) and the small(ish) ovens may take a little getting used to but I must admit after seeing the sexiness I have a hard time making nice with the 48" wolf/viking. Those french really know what they're doing w/design. Re: Lacanche I emailed the distributor and haven't heard back - anyone know where I can see one in person in/around Boston, MA. While I am at it - I just began my european brand search are there any other names @ $10,000 I should be checking out.

P.S. Igloochic I covet - you have an AGA and a Lacanche I am in awe (and a little intimidated) :)

Champweiser, we are having a mantel-style hood made for our Cornufe. Sort of like in the picture below (if it works). Go to the bottom picture, and click to make it bigger.

That kitchen was one of my inspiration kitchens. That is not a real kitchen, it is a showroom at a KD place in my town. I wanted to hire the designer, but we'd already hired our KD, but I fell in love with the range and the hood, and cabs and everything. So we have a similar (although a little simpler) hood.

I've also seen hoods custom made in black and steel to match the range, and I love those too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Inspiration kitchen

lol jenna that just means i have too many kitchens to clean :P

art culinaire is normally very fast to get back with folks via phone and email...one of the reasons that we all love them is their great service. if its been more than a few days and you haven't heard from them, call or email again and tell them dawn in alaska sent you :) and to kick it in ther butt with those brochures (LOL ok just tell them that you haven't heard back and that you'de like to arrange to see one in or near boston). they have people like me all over the country who will open their homes to show you their ranges. in exchange for this, they send us bottles of wine :) or bits and bobs for our stoves, so you won't be putting anyone out.

we ended up having a hood insert remade to fit the range (vent a hood) then built a form over it which will be plastered (ok it was started but i broke my wrist so thats in the future lol) and then trimed out with cherry molding and granite.

the hood issue has to always be considered because french sizes are a bit off from ours, but its best to habe a bit bigger hood anyhoo, so most do ok and the custom ones are quite pretty.

Jenna,

The Lacanche Cluny my DH and I saw was in the Boston area. What a small world! Call Chelsea at AC and ask her to set up for you to see a range. I know from the owner that we saw that there are 2 other Cluny's just a few streets away that bought after they did. They were in Andover. I was driving myself crazy before I had the opportunity to see one. Chelsea is very helpful and if you ask for her specifically you will probably get an answer faster. Good luck.