Do see one in person. We looked at the grandmere of Cornues and I was truly shocked at the tiny ovens. They have all sorts of sales schpiels (sp?) about how that is a better way to cook, but I felt as though it was a risk. And the advice to buy a back up wall oven seemed pretty silly, too.

The Cornue Fe, I think, are more Americanized proportions. And the prices seem close to LaC, though I don't know an apples to apples comparison.

PS. I thought "Fe" meant "iron" in French, but all I see is when I look it up is a slur. Fe is the element iron, though. Although my DH and I, like Mr Igloo, have always called it Cornue Fake, which it is. But that doesn't mean it might not be a good option if you want American features and sizes but like a Cornue-esque look.

Actually I will say that we like the smaller ovens. It took some getting used to (we have a larger lacanche but it has the two small ovens verses two large) I can't remember the model....Sully? Anyhoo, I love the difference when baking. It really does hold moisture in better than a large expanse of air around your food. I can see the diff between it and the horrific wall ovens in our victorian.

That said, we're going to go with the Sully 2200 with two huge ovens when we do this kitchen because we have done some larger parties here and caterers always bring big cookie sheets which we have to transfer to smaller ones even for the wall ovens. Unlike the anchorage house, we have the space so we might as well use it.

I never heard that wall oven pitch when shopping for a french range. I did hear it from the aga folks though and it made me laugh. It's kind of like when I was shopping for a car and tried out some little sports car in which, with the seat fully forward, I still couldn't reach the gas peddle. The salesman suggested a pillow....Ok honey for twenty grand I think you'd throw a pillow in (I only buy used cars and this was 30 years ago by the way). I wouldn't want to be buying a range and then have to buy ovens (which take up valuable space) to compensate for my range! Goofy thinking at best.

My question was really about the Cornue Fe 1908 vs. the Cornue Fe. It looks like the 1908 is a La Cornue-Cornue Fe hybrid, with a real La Cornue oven in an otherwise Cornue Fe chassis--or something. I wondered if anyone had any direct experience with the 1908. (We are still in the research and feasibility assessment stages of converting the laundry room to a laundry room and summer kitchen. I want to indulge my yen for a colorful enamel stove, make no bones about this one being primarily for looks, but still don't want just any old stove. I'll still have my three large ovens in the big kitchen, so large quantity capability is covered.)

Hmmmm...my neighbor (a chef and owner of multiple Seattle restaurants) put a Lacanche in his kitchen 10 years ago, and said he would not choose it again for his next kitchen.

Seeing his Lacanche in action prompted me to consider CornuFe for my vintage farmhouse kitchen remodel (in progress). I was really impressed with CornuFe, and I was able to purchase one at a discount. Would I have purchased it at the regular price...I don't know. I don't think I would have paid more than five thousand dollars for any stove.

I'm a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu London, and cooking is my life! That being said, I don't think a nice stove is necessary for producing amazing food. I cook as well on a hotplate as I do on my neighbor's Lacanche. A fancy stove is for looks and ease of use, but a truly great cook can make food magic happen anywhere.

Re: small ovens. Americans are the only people who require these large ovens. A large oven is is harder to heat evenly...a lot harder. It's really only useful for a large turkey (the larger the bird, the worse the it tastes), or if people are making large pizzas. I would never choose an oven based on those needs, but that's just me.

CornuFe bashing has been going on for a long time on these boards. I can't wait until my kitchen is finished and I can post some kitchen in action pictures!!

kitchendetective: sorry to get a little off topic. I'm passionate about cooking and don't care for the snobbery associated with high end ranges. I always chuckle at people who have fancy stoves, but have not honed their cooking skills enough to make very good use of them.

I am not familiar with this model La Cornue. Are you interested in it for yourself, or just curious?

Igloo,
We have a LaC Citeaux and the vertical oven and warming cupboard are smaller, the center oven seems normal to me. I can see the logic of a small oven, but in this country all anyone thinks of is trying to get a turkey in - that is a nonstarter IMHO! On the Cornue we looked at, all the ovens were too small for a turkey. So they suggested a wall oven. For the Aga, they suggest not just a wall oven but an entire secondary range, so you can turn your Aga off in summer. I can be pretty silly for aesthetics, but if you did that not only is it terribly wasteful, i think the aesthetics of a second range would not be ideal, either!

So sorry, KitchenD. Answer it that I know nothing about the Cornue Fe 1908. Do they have them on the floor at WS? I will have to look. You are right about how hard it is to get colors. Even those that offer colors don't really offer that many IMHO.

I did a little reading about Cornu Fe 1908. It looks like it is manufactured in France (I can't find any info about who actually makes it), and it has the vaulted oven.

I have never cooked on a traditional La Cornue range, so I have never experienced the "natural convection" provided by the vaulted oven. My CornuFe has double convection ovens.

La Cornue says you can cook an 18 pound turkey in the convection oven of the CornuFe. I never cook a bird larger than 18 pounds, because I feel turkey has better flavor and texture when it's a smaller bird. Theoretically, a small convection oven will cook a larger bird better, because you have all the hot air circulating evenly throughout the space.

I would love to take on the challenge for the all the Gardenweb TKO's. How about I try cooking an 18 pound turkey in my small convection oven in my CornuFe? I will document the process in pictures and give you all an honest appraisal.

I think one of CornuFe's downfalls is it's unproven track record. Let's base our reviews on empirical evidence, not fear of the unknown. I was willing to take a chance on CornuFe because I believe La Cornue would never offer a truly inferior product, no matter the price point. Also, I kind of like to be a contrarian sometimes.....

mtnrdredux: I lived in England for several years and have never understood why Americans would purchase an AGA, unless they live in Big Sur or some such cool damp place. Maybe San Francisco...I was always freezing there in the summer!

One more note: regarding the chassis of the CornuFe, one of the reasons I purchased the cornufe was because of the very solid, heavy construction. My neighbor's lacanche had much more flimsy feeling doors (I think he has a sully). I was shocked the first time I used it. I expected something more substantial feeling.

The first time I closed the oven of the CornuFe I felt like I was closing a vault. I like that feeling...after all, my food is a treasure!

A fancy stove is for looks and ease of use, but a truly great cook can make food magic happen anywhere.

Rosylady, I so agree with that statement! As an owner of an Aga 6-4 (not the classic, always-on Aga cooker), I'll admit that form was a factor rating one half step above function in my range choice. While neither a professional chef nor a take-out/delivery queen, I just enjoy cooking. Even more so now that I'm working with the 6-4's "tiny", "euro-sized" ovens. In practice, I've not needed larger ovens -- not even with turkeys. I'm also consistently delighted with the cooking/baking result- something I've always attributed to the range's cast iron construction . . . and my great culinary skills, of course. :-) Until your post, I never knew that oven size could also be a contributing factor to those delicious results. Thanks!

I had a CornueFe, and while I liked it, I didn't love it enough to buy one again. That said, I had great luck with stove top cooking (but I also do with the cheap Kenmore the PO here installed) but the electric oven took forever and a day to heat up. That said, it turned out very tasty food. But again, so does the gas oven in my cheap-o Kenmore. What I really missed was the gas top broiler. I really don't like dual fuel because of that. I like fast, furious gas broiling.

Rosy, I will completely admit to being a range snob. I am also an old house snob and a jewel snob. I like to save my money and buy the real thing, not a knock off because I appreciate why the real thing is so great it got knocked off :) My husband is a fabulous chef and I am a multi award winning baker, so you would be hard pressed to say this range snob does not fully understand or use their range.

That said, were money growing on trees I'd have purchased a custom molteni. If you compared the capacity of a lacance to a molteni you'd see they lack in some features but at about a quarter to a tenth the price, we liked the affordability.

With this range, you get some pretty, but since I had seen a La Cornue in person just prior to seeing it we found it significantly lacking. We also wanted a french top (which we use almost daily when cooking a meal). That's not an option on a higher production product like this.

The molteni was a thought, but the sales people were so dang snotty we actually walked away. (Company in Oregon). I did consider it through a dealer in New York who was lovely but in the end reasonability snuck in and we ended up with the Lacanche...which we love.

Because putting a hundred grand range in a home is somewhat (eyes rolling) extravagant, we'll go with a lacanche as well here in Washington. but right now we are using a horrific propane stove top and two electric ovens....we still put out wonderful food, but you'd have to be a nut case to say it's as easy and enjoyable to do with this crap as it is with a good range!

I had to look it up...they are rangemaster (who also make aga). They have factories in britian and france.

It's a pretty stove. :)

igloochic: I learned to cook on a French plate and they are amazing. The first time I saw it I thought, "hey, this is a diner griddle!". Then I used it. Converted in one short afternoon.

There is no better way to cook a complicated meal with sauces for each course. The number of pans you can bank on one of those at one time, all cooking at different temps, is amazing.

I wish I had one, CornuFe doesn't offer customizations like regular La Cornue or Lacanche.

At the time I purchased the CornuFe I thought I couldn't afford a stove that cost as much as a luxury car.

With what we've spent renovating an old house for four years, I could have purchased multiple La Cornues!

Well that was kind of my issue with the Cornu Fe....our Lacanche was less than the Cornu Fe and could be customized. Shipping to Alaska was an expense :) But still, dollar for dollar...french top for big soup pot....we had to have the french top :) We love that danged thing and would never have a range without it (ok one we purchased because right now our range is a bit of a joke heh heh).

Honey you're preaching to the quire on house renovations. We purchased an 1890's Queen Anne in port townsend that is protected. It used to be a bed and breakfast. I can't buy a moltini because I need a roof LOL Not to mention we have 13 bathrooms to renovate along with a nonexistant kitchen. A hundred grand island moltini sounds lovely and would be stunning...until you walked in to the powder room with a cheap plastic sink....then you'd see we blew the bank on the range and not be so impressed LOL But I do like those brass chickens on the side....

The Cornufe is made by Aga and is a much higher quality unit than the LaCanche. The LaCanche has a history of service issues and it is not always easy to find a good, quality, authorized service tech when needed. If you just lift up the burner caps for both the Cornufe and the LaCanche, and inspect them both carefully, you will immediately see and feel the difference.

Bonjour bglvsjc!

You are absolutely correct that AGA, Viking and La Cornue, all lovely Ranges, are in fact connected, as they are now owned by the Middleby Corporation.

While we can't speak for the service behind La Cornue Fé, or the La Cornue Chateau series (more comparable to Lacanche), in the US Market we maintain a fully vetted Service Network, as client satisfaction remains our upmost priority. Our Ranges are made to order in our Burgundy factory and due to the handcrafted and analog nature of Lacanche, they are fairly simple to work on for certified appliance repair companies.

All Lacanche Ranges in the US come with a three year warranty on labor, parts and service, and we are of course available to assist with any service or part needs past the three year expiry.

Say bonjour sometime at frenchranges.com and we'll be delighted to assist.

Merci !

Lacanche US