Ah, I think that's the one! So cool. Any idea what the pricing is like on these?

About $1400 per 15" units. Depending on the units you pick, a 48" could run you $6k.

Good luck!

Owee

You don't get the breadth of the grates on the Varios as you do on a rangetop. It's a very different kind of thing. It's for more of a customized module array, like you could get on a custom range like Lacanche. I almost got one gas, one induction and one teppanyaki. For that kind of installation, they can't be beat. I don't know anyone who would put three gas dominoes together. If it really is just about the knobs, rather than the cooking, and to heck with the price, go for it, but while the Vario 400 line gas modules are powerful for what they are, you can get a more powerful rangetop, which will be easier to clean, and you won't have gaps between the grates.

Well, for $6k, it will look good!

You are WAY off on price. The VG424 sells for $2399 per unit...so a 48" 8 burner would be $9600

Yikes Joe. The price increase is insane on the Gaggenau. I remember these dominoes starting at $999. I do remember that the price of the induction domino was about $3k.

Yea they got a little out of control. Their 36" single went from $4000 to $8300 a few years back! Guess they just figured if they aren't going to sell many they might as well make them INSANELY expensive.

I thought that sounded low, but I haven't checked the prices for years. The reason I didn't get the Varios is that I went to order four days [EtF: after] the 38% price increase. That was 5 or 6 years ago. It was a fell swoop adjustment for the slip of the dollar, the increase in the price of stainless steel and the addition of the five year warranty, which someone in this forum said had been scaled back to two years.

To a great extent, something is worth what someone will pay for it. I'm willing to pay for a lot of things, but I wasn't willing to pay for that!

Holy moly! I think a plain old cooktop will be just fine, thanks. ;-)

I have always been a fan of the KM3484G which would give you 6 burners in a 42" space. Pretty good space to work on that. And I think its $1899!

Aargh. I am so disappointed with the layout of most 36" cooktops. The knobs are usually in some position that makes it easy to burn yourself, and the placement of burners make it difficult to have two large pots/pans on at the same time.

I think there's definitely a market opportunity for a rangetop configuration (controls on the front cabinet panel) that doesn't look like an industrial behemoth.

I do not get this at all (sorry, I just had to speak up). I love the professional-kitchen look of a rangetop with big chunky knobs. Not cloak its function, but embrace it! It's your kitchen, you are planning to cook on this rangetop. Why want to make it look like something it's not?

Oh, the Bluestar with its cast iron top and star-shaped burners! Oh, the Wolf with its instantly-identifiable red knobs! Oh, the Thermador with its throwback stripped-down look!

But that's just me.

I don't know if they are any good, but Bertazzoni and Ilve have rangetops that are a little more dainty than most of the others.

Industrial look isn't always desired. We went for a sleek, modern look. I don't think a big BS or Wolf would look as good

Different strokes for different folks, right? :-)

Have you even considered induction? Some of the new models do several large pots easily.

Honestly, I'm sort of afraid of induction. I've never used it, and I might be too old to re-learn how to use a cooktop.

Don't be afraid of induction, it's very easy to use. My wife usually needs me to explain things multiple times, but she got it right away. It's amazing how fast it responds. So easy to clean too, I've been putting newspaper under and around the pan when I'm cooking stuff that splatters. Try that with gas.

Wow, dbabrams, that's pretty impressive. Are there any downsides (besides the whole pan issue)? And does it work with copper?

It is nice to see your kitchen with Miele goodies, dbabrams.

dbabrams

Industrial look isn't always desired. We went for a sleek, modern look. I don't think a big BS or Wolf would look as good

Haven't had many pan issues so far. My All-clad works fine, as does my cast iron pan. I have some old (circa '88) Calphalon that doesn't work, it will be going to one of our daughters. I don't have any copper.

Still waiting on my Miele bottom-freezer fridge, it's been on backorder. Luckily I was able to get my ovens 30% off, floor models that hadn't been used.

Induction doesn't work with copper. The pan must be iron/steel, though many multilayer, clad pans with a good amount of steel in them also work. Enamel on iron/steel is fine. The induction ignores the enamel.

There is a bit of an adjustment, but that's true any time you get new kitchen equipment. Water boils very fast, especially if you use the boost feature and throw a bunch of extra power at it. With my old, weak, residential gas stove, I'd set a pot of water to boil then do my mise-en-place. With induction, you do all (or most) of your prep, then turn on the pot.

Induction isn't great for traditional wok cooking (though if you stir fry in a flat frying pan, it's fine). You can't flame a pepper with it. You have to choose the right unit if you want to use a double sized pan like a long griddle or fish pan. But you can melt chocolate, make toffee, thicken a custard, or whathaveyou, right on the stove with no double boiler.

It's sleek, easy, safe, doesn't heat the kitchen much because the pot gets hot, and the stove only takes heat from the pot and the electronics--it can get gently warm, and kind of hot right under a hot pot. Most have a "residual heat indicator" to tell you that a pot area hasn't cooled off yet. But even the hot bits under the pots aren't hot like a gas grate is hot.

It's different. But it's sleek.