Yup, I bought it, but haven’t used it yet; still waiting for renovation work to be finished.
Don’t know how I missed this thread all along.
Wife is a great cook — we went for the Bluestar cooktop when we did the reno. Will eventually get the wall ovens but ours were still fairly new.
The Bluestar is fantastic. My wife actually called a bunch of owners before we purchased it. Her cooking teacher (who also owns a restaurant) came over one night to use it. He thought it was great - and restaurant quality. We also love that it is made in USA - right nearby in Reading PA!
for those of you having problems with small pans being “enveloped” on a wolf range, try removing the top burner piece. I also do that when using a wok - kinda works like a mini wok-burner
good tip! thanks!
Bumping this thread b/c the wife and I are strongly considering a 48" Bluestar, in blue, six burners (two turbo three regular, one simmer?) and a grill. Though the french top is tempting, in part because of ability to use a wok.
Love our Bluestar…but it is only the 5 burner 36" cooktop. No problems and the 22k heat is fabulous!
Cheers!
Marshall
Thanks Marshall. If we went with two wall ovens (like electrolux for baking reasons) then I’d probably do a smaller range as well. Does the 36" only accomodate five burners, or is that a drop-in?
Can you guys explain this to me? I’ve noticed this “problem”, although I think it’s mostly in our heads - I find liquids boil faster in small pots if you just put it on high, regardless of whether the flame appears to be enveloping the sides of the pot. I’m still curious about your solution, which I don’t understand.
Michael,
I have a 36in with six burners; another option is 4 burners with a grill and I think there might be one more configuration IIRC.
Performance-wise, the range kicks ass, but the range hasn’t been problem-free.
First issue was a gliding oven rack that didn’t glide correctly; Bluestar replaced it immediately.
The other issue I just noticed this week is the enamel on one of the grates is chipping. The retailer is working this out with Bluestar and I anticipate they will remedy this problem quickly.
.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Brett
Thanks for the info Brett.
Chuck, do you still love it? I’m completely renovating my kitchen and the one thing I think I’ve decided on is the 36" Capital Culinarian with self cleaning oven. I will also have electric wall ovens so I feel no need for dual fuel. What I’m trying to decide is whether to get the grill. My range will be on an outside wall so the venting should be great but people still claim that I’ll never use it as it produces too much smoke. But I use a cast iron grill on top of my current range all the time to sear steak, etc., and smoke be damned!
Any other advice?
Maureen - what made you choose Capital Culinarian over Bluestar, if you even considered Blue Star? We are building a house, and the kitchen has, of course, been a huge focus. My husband (former chef) has a Blue Star currently and is planning on another for the new house. We love the current Blue Star, I just want to make sure we explore the options.
As to your grill question, if you have the right hood, you will deal with much of the smoke. We are putting in a full tuscan grill and have therefore done extensive hood research.
I remain totally in love with this range. Zero problems, but it takes a little adjusting due to the incredible BTUs it can put out. There are THREE circular rings for each burner (except the simmer burner, which has one ring). You must get the simmer burner, since even on low, the main burners put out some heat. If you do any sort of wok cooking, the BTUs are incredible, and I would suggest getting the optional wok grate. I’m not good a posting pics, but I’ve taken some and will try to post or email you.
Thanks Chuck (I’m not Maureen, but useful for me, too). We are now looking at this as well, the 48". It will probably come down to internal capacity on the smaller oven. The Blue Star can take a 1/2 sheet pan in the small side, and need to confirm that the CC can as well. I think it’s more attractive than the Blue Star - less important, but not UNimportant.
Have to add on the subject of the wok, though, that for anyone looking to do serious wok cooking, even 23K BTUs may disappoint. Absolutely better than most of what’s available, and I don’t doubt you get great use out of it, but no normal stove burners can get hot enough to achieve the results serious wok cooks want. We now have, and will have again, a modified separate stock pot burner which generates 150K BTUs. And that gets close. 
(Edit - I don’t mean that to sound obnoxious about the wok, just wanted to point out that if you want to go all in on wok, there are ways to get the firepower you need.)
I agree, Sarah, but it’s as good as you get in a typical high end range.
A friend who did a lot of wok cooking had a dedicated 50K BTU wok burner in his former house. Not sure I’d want a 150K BTU burner inside my house! That’s like all 6 of my burners on high.
Sarah…I assume that you’ve been up to the BlueStar showroom? It’s pretty close to Phila…
I ask because I went there last spring…to look at their in-kitchen grill (I needed to replace mine)…and fell in love with their cooktop, which I bought, too. I love the pattern of the burners…which allows for incredibly consistent heat on all parts of my deBuyer pans.
I thought the Blue Star stuff was very attractive…and their ability to create colors impressive…since they started as a paint company.
I’m not in the market for more…so…I didn’t look at more and don’t claim to know about more than what I bought. But, that showroom was worth the visit.
Agreed -23K BTUs is going to do most people just fine. The wok burner we have right now is a flamethrower. My stepson, when he hears it go on (the “whoosh” is incredible), says “I don’t really like the wok, Daddy.” It regularly singes the hair on my husband’s arms, but for what it can accomplish with vegetables, it’s more than worth it.
I haven’t been to the showroom, Stuart - thanks! That’s a great idea. We have a 36" Blue Star right now and we both love it. Jonathan will probably end up with another in the new house, but want to make sure we’ve explored options as well.
I don’t want to be presumptuous…but it sounds like a must for you.
And, I was there with an architect friend…and he asked to see the “factory”, which was fascinating…and is under the showroom. (My wife was in Reading yesterday on business…and I suggested she stop by, but…She’s not super fond of the open burner system…and keeping them clean is a downside to that.)
Will make a point of going. It’s an amazing opportunity to design everything from scratch - totally vacant lot, never built on - but it means there are more decisions than I ever imagined and you can’t research every single one of them. But our stove is one of the most important decisions we’ll make, so definitely worth the time.
Just curious…why would anyone go with open burners over closed burners? From a clean up standpoint, closed is a no brainer. Are there certain limitations to a closed burner system that would push people to an open burner system?
I have a DCS cooktop and double wall oven in my kitchen. The cooktop has five burners, 4 at 15k BTU and 1 at 18K BTU. The double wall ovens are electric and take a year and a day to warm up. At the time (back in 2003/2004) my research said that these were what I was looking for. In hindsight, they are fine, but not extraordinary.