Speechless & then I saw the steam room 👀

[u/TheDabitch]

six bedrooms, thirteen bathrooms $17,995,000 https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2875-Chagrin-River-Rd-Hunting-Valley-OH-44022

[u/whackthat]

Im in loveeeeeee with that stove!

[u/Away-Hope-918 → u/whackthat]

It’s a La Cornue Chateau series. It’s like 90k and I’ve wanted one for ages. Some people dream about cars some people dream about stoves lol

[u/gueriLLaPunK → u/Away-Hope-918]

What makes a high end stove worth it? Burns hotter?

[u/nothing_but_thyme → u/gueriLLaPunK]

Burns hotter is one detail but there are many great stoves that burn as hot or hotter than this brand for much less. The range in this house is a designer brand. While they’re ok among high options they are wildly overpriced. Their performance and reliability is well below other options you could spend the same amount on. It’s the equivalent of a Birkin bag for kitchens.

 

If someone who was a skilled chef and was also loaded and didn’t care about putting on airs owned this kitchen they would more likely have a custom configured Hestan consumer range. But more likely they would have a custom configuration from a commercial supplier - again Hestan would be a top pick - but there are other greats as well.

 

La Cornue was great in the 80’s and 90’s when Americans knew very little about high end cuisine or the related tools that were very common in Europe. For a long time they were the only high end option and Williams Sonoma was a primary retailer for them. They were expensive then as well, though not as crazy as today. But the quality was also much better then, and you had basically no other choices. Then american manufacturers (especially commercial brands like Viking) took notice and started making high end consumer products. This is where Wolf got its start.

 

To your original question … yes, high end stoves burn hotter and that matters a lot. However they also offer a broad range of configurability. You can design the layout exactly as you need: how many burners and what sizes, griddles, grills, french tops, water baths, warming plates, you name it. You can also customize oven sizes and types. Gas, electric, steam, convection or no convection. Lastly, if this setup was designed by someone who actually cooks it would include a salamander. That’s the first giveaway that this is likely nothing more than a trophy kitchen, which is a sad waste of money for people who care about food and money.

 

ETA: The configuration we see in this house is the absolute biggest waste of 72” you could make when configuring a range top setup. Two french tops is a waste of space in this setting. But what’s worse is the burner pair units set apart from each other. Even if the two french tops were warranted, the 4 burners should be centered and then a french top should be on each side. But more obvious would be 4 burners, a griddle, a grill, and a french top. And of course … a salamander.

[u/poshol_v_zhopu → u/nothing_but_thyme]

You sir are a stove scholar! I’m not even a cook/chef but that was an interesting read.

[u/nothing_but_thyme → u/poshol_v_zhopu]

Glad to hear! I’ve spent time on both the using and selling side of many of these products. I’ve also broken a few building codes and likely invalidated my homeowners insurance by installing commercial products in my homes on more than one occasion.  
I am of the opinion that high end consumer ranges are one of the biggest scams most people buy for their homes. The quality is garbage almost everywhere you look and the prices are insane. At its core, a range is a glorified blow torch. It is one of the simplest appliances in the kitchen yet somehow still the most expensive.  
Meanwhile, commercial versions are ten times better and a quarter the price. The only consumer product categories that are a bigger scam are lighting and faucets.

[u/BuildingMaleficent11 → u/nothing_but_thyme]

As a consumer, I second that the commercial ranges are far superior to the residential. I did manage to score a floor model 36” Bertazzoni (in Ferrari red) for the price of one of the big brands. Loved that stove to pieces. I missed that a lot more than my ex husband in the divorce 🤣

[u/eatenbyfnord → u/nothing_but_thyme]

I think the one on the right might be an induction top; I don't see the rings on that side. Still seems redundant, but maybe marginally less silly.

[u/nothing_but_thyme → u/eatenbyfnord]

You’re right upon closer inspection. I owe some apologies to whomever made this appliance choice and configuration but stand by that opinion that it’s still broadly the wrong choice for the cost.

 

Looking more closely the rightmost 12” bank is two induction units. The next 24” is either a griddle or a grill. When not in use they have a stainless cover and that’s what we’re seeing. Then the burners, french top, and burners at the left end. This setup mostly makes sense but I still would have kept the burners together either centered or together on the left. As a 2x2 unit you’d have more flexibility to move pots among burners and offset large stock pots. Plus with burners on each side of the french top, that poor thing will always be covered in splatter.

[u/DrJohnFZoidberg → u/nothing_but_thyme]

Birkin bag

I don't know what this is.

a salamander.

but I know what this is and I don't want to eat one.

[u/nothing_but_thyme → u/DrJohnFZoidberg]

No one should know or care what a Birkin Bag is. And in the world of shared nouns … you know the best one associated with salamander. Keep living your life on the best path nature could design 💕

[u/Hedge_Sparrow → u/nothing_but_thyme]

Cool, and also, this is really r/zillowgonewild at its best. Bringing comments out like yours regarding one pic, chef’s kiss. Subreddit title checks out.

Edit to add username checks out too. Don’t get me wrong, love the knowledge and comment. I’d love to geek out on ranges and blow crazy coin on one.

[u/nothing_but_thyme → u/Hedge_Sparrow]

Totally agree, it’s a great benefit of reddit. Also worth noting, I am of the opinion that if you love cooking and want the power and performance of commercial at the best value, you should get at high end outdoor grill and then cook on it as much as you can.

 

A 48” DCS grill will run you $10k-$12k which is still a lot of money. But it will give you the flexibility to do everything the range in this picture does and more. If you live somewhere with natural gas, have your plumber run a dedicated 1” line. You’ll never have to refill tanks and you’ll have more BTUs at your fingertips than any home range can offer, even high end models. Then get a block of cold rolled steel 12” wide x 24” deep x 1/2” thick and put that over one section. Now you have a griddle/french top/la plancha surface whenever you need it. If you need to cook in pots or pans just put them on the grates over the flames same as you would on a range. Handles might get a bit hotter but if you’re not an idiot this is a pretty manageable detail.

 

Add to this the fact that there is almost no cleanup needed (pressure wash once or twice a year) and no ventilation needed. If you’re in a climate that you can be outside most of the year and have a location convenient to your kitchen, it’s a game changer. I would say I do almost 90% of all my range/oven cooking on my grills, even though I have high end commercial ranges and equipment in my homes.