Let’s get cooking in a dream kitchen

"Our lives are not in the lap of the gods, but in the lap of our cooks." Lin Yutang (1895-1976), Chinese writer and inventor, "On Food and Medicine," "The Importance of Living" (1938)

When I get my dream kitchen, one tough decision will be which magic device to get. There are so many stovetops and ovens on the market that I'm not sure how other people make decisions. Some are loyal to a particular brand; some prefer standard cooktops or wall ovens; and others prefer the professional models. How and what you cook play a big role in the decision. So if you are thinking about new kitchen appliances, let me share some information about several cooking devices that may be on my option list. These are not your everyday kitchen appliances.

The first and favorite on my list is the Aga range. It's more than a range. It's a little cooking city.

Most people associate the name Aga with good food and fine living. While most think of it as being totally British, the Aga actually began life in Sweden. The Aga website tells us that, "The celebrated cooker found in 750,000 households worldwide was invented by Dr. Gustav Dalén, a blind Nobel Prize-winning physicist. He set out to design a modern stove that would look after itself. It's unlikely Dalén could have predicted that his invention would go on to be widely acclaimed as a design icon, but it has. In the year 2000, the BBC published a retrospective of the 20th century highlighting what it considered to be the top three design icons: first was the Coca-Cola contour bottle, second was the VW Bug and third was the Aga cooker." How hot is that.

The Aga website (www.aga-ranges.com) says of its cooker, "The Aga cooker is made of cast iron and the entire cooker is an outstandingly efficient energy store, steadily transferring the heat from its core into its ovens and hotplates. An Aga is always ready to cook instantly and there are no switches and dials because the Aga looks after itself. Thermostatic control maintains consistent temperatures while high levels of insulation within the outer casing and beneath the hotplate covers ensure that every Aga uses fuel economically. The Aga releases a unique source of gentle, friendly warmth into your kitchen. So yes, because of the movement of the molecules, there is constant heat available."

I have a friend who has a similar model here in Las Vegas and I asked the $64,000 question. When it's 115 degrees here in the summer, can you still use your kitchen? The answer was absolutely yes. The heat produced is so subtle you won't feel it anymore than you would the heat produced by your computer. And, you may choose whatever heat source you wish, natural or propane gas, oil or electricity.

Now for the cooking city part. If you go for the two-oven Aga, one oven will share the duties of baking and roasting. In a three- or four-oven model there is a separate oven for each of these activities so you can do both at the same time. The fourth oven is a warming oven designed to keep food piping hot without drying it out, and also to warm plates and serving dishes. And that's just the oven part!

Moving to the top of the cooker, every Aga has boiling and simmering plates beneath those two distinctive hinged covers. A four-oven Aga also comes standard with a large warming plate ideal for keeping courses warm before they go to the table or simply to keep the coffee pot warm during the day.

Are you tempted yet?

Another option is Diva. This is the newest induction cooking, which allows the cookware to heat the food without conventional heating elements. Its press explains, "Electromagnetic energy created by the cooktop excites the ferrous molecules in the cookware thereby creating heat while the cooktop always remains cool to the touch." (What?)

Diva boasts large, easy-to-clean cooking surfaces with smart burners that adapt to pan size, heat food in seconds, not minutes, thereby reducing cook time; remain safe and cool to the touch; slash energy use by 30 percent compared to standard cooking technologies; and focus energy on heating the cookware where it counts, not the cooktop or the kitchen. Some of their models feature multiple ovens, sinks and counters. Another city.

Next is BlueStar, which bills itself as only genuine restaurant range for the home, according to its press. "The company's unique open burner system produces 22,000 BTU of cooking power, resulting in shorter cooking times and an even simmer."

The ranges are handcrafted in Reading, Pa. BlueStar also professes to have 190 colors (love that), the largest oven capacity available, hand-constructed and custom-made open burners, and many other hits. For details, visit www.bluestarcooking.com.

So, you see -- you don't have to settle for the mundane. If you're shopping, check out these options. Having one of these amazing appliances may change the way you cook forever. And, it will be great fun to show them off.

Carolyn Muse Grant is a design consultant, expert home stager and creator of beautiful spaces. Questions can be sent to her at creativemuse@cox.net.