BlueStar Commercial-Style Ranges - Product Review

HGTVpro.com

Published: July, 2007

Marc Clement - HGTVpro.com

The fancier the kitchen design or renovation, the more likely I think it is your customer will want commercial features in their range or cooktop — without getting a full-on professional kitchen. Big commercial, or commercial-esque, ranges don't fit all kitchens, designs, styles or even cooks for that matter.

Now, when you're talking pro features in a residential kitchen, I start seeing silver — like stainless steel silver. Everywhere. Lots of people aren't thrilled with stainless for a variety of reasons, whether it shows smudges, fingerprints, or streaks after cleaning or because they don't want to feel like they're living inside The Silver Surfer's costume.

BlueStar's line of high-performance gas ranges and cooktops offers styles, sizes, price-points — and colors — that look like they can please the chef's culinary as well as design palette. BlueStar says their units have technology and performance found only in professional ranges and that independent studies have shown that BlueStar outperforms other stoves for boiling, simmering, deep frying, stir-frying and searing. Now I eat out a lot (or in my truck), so I can't really comment on the finer points of cuisine with too much aplomb, but BlueStar's feature set easily gets my attention. What also turns my head is the laundry list of performance features to be found throughout this very deep line of products:

• Most powerful open burner gas ranges on the market — up to 22,000 BTUs
• 190 colors; custom colors available
• Largest oven capacity available, accommodating up to a full-size commercial 18"x 26" baking sheet
• Open burners that provides better heat distribution for even cooking
• Gentle 130-degree simmer burner
• Convection oven
• Infrared broiler that produces 1850° of intense, searing heat
• Full motion grates for easy maneuvering of pots and pans between burners
• Heavy duty, durable design featuring sturdy, all-stainless-steel construction
• Cleanability with a removable oven bottom for simple cleaning. The top grates and ring grates are dishwasher safe.
• Hand-constructed tested in the plant prior to shipment.
• Custom configuration of burners.

BlueStar stoves and cooktops settle out in a huge price range — from $2,900 to $19,000 — so you can also use them as a resource for a wide array of clients. They come in sizes that fit in residential kitchen applications, which I also like.

As they say, now you're cookin' with gas.