The mother of all ranges is Aga, which I discovered when outfitting the B&B. I swear, I've never felt so passionate for an appliance in my life. However, it's $8,000 price tag was enough to cool my amour.
As we were looking for a good builder, a co-worker of mine invited me to see his new kitchen, which included a 'pro' style Rangemaster. While not inspiring the same level of desire as an Aga, it was still impressive. However, we just wanted something simple and straightforward...until we realised how boring that was.
Over the weekend, we spent 3 hours with a kitchen designer at a major high street shop, and when we were finished it was twice the cost we wanted, and we weren't excited at all. Jess suggested we put in a range, and I made the mistake of looking up Agas.
Agas were developed as an alternative to coal-fired ovens of the 1920s. Rather than loading, lighting, and waiting for the coal to heat the oven, the Aga stayed hot all day long. It was so well insulated, it didn't waste much heat, and so well-built that many of those Agas are still in use today. It could even provide hot water on tap--a luxury at the time--and power the radiators.
Fast forward to today, with gas cooktops, electric ovens, and high efficiency boilers, and the Aga may have lost its competitive edge, but it is still perfectly functional, and it is beautiful. Even though cooking on an Aga is idiosyncratic -- there are no temperature knobs, but each oven and hotplate operates at a different temperature, so you just need to know which one to use -- people still swear by them.
The main disadvantage, in fact, is the fact that they are always on--even in the summer. And the best insulation in the world can't keep the kitchen from getting warm on a summer's day. As a result, they aren't as efficient as a modern gas range. But if efficiency is your primary criteria, you're missing the point.
So I looked into Agas and found a 'duck's egg blue' 3-oven deluxe model on eBay for £600 (US $900). Yes, it's over 36 years old, but that's part of its charm. And fully refurbished, these normally sell for over £3000 (US $4500)! The only problem: It's in Sheffield, 160 miles away. And it weighs 900 pounds, so not something that can be easily shipped.
Jess will no doubt be more pragmatic in this matter, and in the morning will convince me that a Aga is neither practical nor cost-effective, and of course I will agree, because she is right. But just for tonight, maybe I can hold on to this little fantasy a little while longer...
Oh, mock-ups of the new kitchen design:
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