2011 has been a busy time for Rangecookers.co.uk. We have maintained and strengthened our position as the UKs leading range cooker specialist but not a company to rest on our laurels, at our Chester design studio and display centre we have also been further developing and selling our own collection of range cookers and cookware nationwide. Sold under our Rangecookers brand, this impressive, great value collection has gone from strength to strength and now makes up almost 10% of our sales and has received fantastic accolades and feedback from customers all over the UK.
As specialists in the cooking arena, we realise that a lot of time, care and effort goes into planning the perfect Christmas meal - choosing the menu, sourcing the ingredients, peeling, plucking and preparing them one thing so often overlooked is what is being used to cook the festive feast. Rangecookers.co.uk is pleased to share our top five festive range cooker recommendations.
1. Rangemaster Classic 90 Dual Fuel
Probably the definitive Rangemaster model, the compact Classic 90 has brought traditional style range cooking into thousands of kitchens. We thoroughly approve of Rangemaster's "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach with the Classic 90 - bakers-oven style windows combined with heavy-bevelled oven doors and characterful oven temperature gauge all lend the cooker a warm and familiar retro feel. Two fanned electric ovens (one perfectly proportioned for the Christmas turkey, the second ideal for stacking roast potatoes or batch-baking) are paired with a versatile five burner hotplate that offers ample cooking power for the Christmas veg.
The Classic 90 is available in a variety of enamel colours and brass or chrome finishes that allow you to achieve exactly the look you need, and also in a variety of fuel types in addition to dual fuel including all gas, induction and ceramic.
The Classic 90 offers a perfect combination of traditional good looks, useful cooking features and Rangemaster's reassuringly solid build quality, housed in a compact 90cm unit. If you're looking for an excellent quality, mid-price range cooker with authentic cooking heritage you'll find the Classic hard to beat.
2. Stoves Richmond 1100DFT
We regard Stoves' excellent Richmond cookers as a compelling alternative to the Rangemaster Classic models. UK-built, the Richmond offers a contemporary twist on traditional range cooker styling with bevelled, windowed oven doors and a stylish, full width chrome towel rail. Build quality is certainly on-par with Rangemaster and overall finish is of a very high standard.
The Richmond 1100 utilises a staggered cavity layout to offer a separate grill (which also doubles as a small oven), two large main ovens - one fanned, one multifunction - and a rather useful slow cook oven that can also be used to warm plates or keep dishes hot. The hob consists of seven gas burners, varying in size from two small 1kW simmer burners to a large, powerful 3.5kW wok burner. A nice touch from Stoves is the inclusion of a removable cast iron griddle plate as standard - it's the details that make the difference!
The Richmond 1100DFT is finished in either Champagne - cream to the casual observer - or Black, both with chrome trim. If your tastes are more exotic, Stoves also have twelve more interesting shades available in their "Colour Boutique" collection.
The overall solid feel and finish combined with elegant, classical-yet-modern styling and impressive specification make the Stoves Richmond a very convincing proposition.
3. Rangecookers Ethos 100 Deluxe
OK, we're biased toward the Ethos 100 - it was designed and specified by our in-house design team, and is sold under our brand name, Rangecookers Appliances. We've invested years of cooker design and retail experience in it, so we're bound to say it's excellent. But it really is!
Built by Italian specialists, the Ethos 100 does exude high-end style and superior quality. Well considered, architectural lines, high quality materials and an impressively solid build ensure the Ethos not only looks the height of sophistication, but triple-glazed A-rated multifunction ovens, a rotisserie, two integrated grills and a versatile hob area guarantee performance to match.
A chef-zone in the centre of the hob offers a cast iron cook-top (ideal for steak, fish or vegetables) that can be removed to access two ceramic cooking zones beneath. To either side of the chef zone sit powerful, high-quality gas burners, and we've also thoughtfully added two convenient cast iron spoon rest areas on the hob, just to make things easier. The Ethos also offers a copious full length storage drawer beneath the ovens.
We consider the Ethos to be a real contender in the higher-end range cooker market, and certainly comparable (dare we say superior?) to equivalent models from Mercury and Rangemaster. With the Ethos you really do get what you pay for.
4. Britannia Dynasty 100 6-burner
The first thing that strikes you about Britannia's solid-door Dynasty is its satisfying resemblance to a commercial cooker. It has a no-nonsense, utilitarian look about it, which is unsurprising considering Britannia's culinary credentials. The Dynasty is designed and built in Italy to Britannia's high standards and offers typically high-end features which give it real sophistication - Quick start oven, triple-glazed doors, catalytic liners, individual pan supports, and a rotisserie in the second oven - ideal as an alternative way to cook the Christmas bird! The hob comprises 6 high quality gas burners including two extremely powerful 4.3kW wok burners - ordinarily the reserve of commercial kitchens - so will cope quite readily with the array of vegetables expected of a festive feast. There is even a fish-kettle burner for that whole salmon!
Build quality is as you'd expect from a Britannia - robust cast iron and heavy gauge steel combine to make a cooker that will offer years of trusty service. As Britannia themselves say, you can indeed "feel the difference" with a Britannia!
The Dynasty 100 is a high-end, high performance domestic range cooker ideal for the serious home cook. A class act, with enough nuances of commercial cooking to make you feel like a proper chef.
5. Falcon 900S Induction
Last, but certainly not least, is Falcon's 900S Induction model. Falcon is part of the Aga-Rangemaster group alongside Rangemaster, Mercury and Redfyre, and Falcon's semi-commercial persona speaks volumes to serious, no-nonsense cooks. Falcon is sometimes considered a competitor to Britannia - quality and features are certainly of a comparable level, but in our experience the two brands have quite different but equal appeal.
In addition to the brand's reputation, we've included the 900S in this most esteemed of lists because of the innovative use of its single oven space. The cavernous 106 cubic litre cavity is big enough to cope with even the largest turkey, leaving space below to accommodate roast potatoes and parsnips - impressive, we're sure you'll agree. However, when not in a party mood, using Falcon's Energy Saving Panel the cavity can be split into two zones, with the right-hand side transforming into a compact, fast and economical single oven for day-to-day use and the remaining left hand area being utilised as a plate warming zone. Clever.
To further impress, the 900S boasts an efficient and responsive induction hob consisting of 5 powerful and ultra-responsive cooking zones. All of this is wrapped up in an extremely attractive and compact 90cm wide package, built to Falcon's reassuringly high standards. AND it's available in a variety of pleasant colours, including Cranberry. Now what can be more festive than that?
