As an avid amateur cook and passionate baker, when it came to choosing my oven and rangetop, I must have combed through dozens of stores. I knew I wanted gas burners and electric ovens, the best combination for better rangetop control and thorough baking temperatures. I wanted a stove large enough to cook Thanksgiving dinner for all my brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews without cooking everything in shifts and reheating it later.  I chose a Thermardor Professional Pro Grand Duel Fuel Range. Switching from a plain, Sears-model electric oven and range to the Thermador was like getting behind the wheel of a Corvette after driving a Ford Pinto for years. VOOM! I eschew user manuals but had to read the Thermardor manual carefully after my first pork roast came out tasting like baked plastic.  (Note: use convection settings only for baked goods, not for meat!) Having the gas burners and electric oven means better control over cooking. Rice, for example, doesn't stick to the pot since I can use many of the unique features, including an "XOX" burner setting that intermittantly turns the gas on and off, providing a very low, constant simmering heat.  It's also handy during power outages, since I can still cook by lighting the gas burners with a match. There are, however, several drawbacks to the Thermador pro. First, the metal surface scratches easily, a surprise to me since I would have thought a professional grade stove would have very resiliant surfaces. I'm still struggling to get the rangetop clean after the typical cooking spills marred the perfect silver shine.  The oven fan is loud and remains on after the oven is shut off.  One of the oven racks also warped slightly, which was very disappointing on this appliance. All in all, I enjoy the Thermardo Pro oven, but would probably opt for a smaller model next time around.      

SevenOaksWriter

Prospect, VA