good looking units, although the secondary appliances look a tad overdone with all that cladding . Service is #1 concern.

wonder who makes all the non oven appliances?

Agreed, the full kitchen outfitting is a bit over the top. We're only interested in the range, and I'm trying to find out how/where I'd get service if and when it's needed. I can tell you, getting service for our La Cornue has been a real headache!

where do you live? That actually makes a real difference on appliance choice. Not that La Cornue is a common appliance but that would be a better shot at service than this choice.

might want to look at the usual suspects - Wolf, Miele, - and forgo the Euro styling motif

We live in CT, not far from NYC. Our challenge is that we have an old, historic home that we've decorated to period, so we want a range that would fit in with the overall aesthetic of the house. None of the US manufacturers seem to have anything that looks anything other than ultra modern.

Would also recommend looking at a Lacanche.

There are hundreds of pictures of traditional kitchens on the Houzz website -- none of which have these over-the-top French ranges from gay Paris -- and use standard appliances. Apparently the designers of those kitchens believe that it's the cabinetry, flooring, countertops and other design details -- not the appliances -- that set the style of the kitchen.

sschiffman59, I also have looked at LaCanche, LeCornue and Officine Gullo. It's funny that amongst those three - LaCanche is a steal! The problem with becoming enamored with the look of these bench made French and Italian ranges is that they are so visually appealing, that going back to Wolf, BlueStar, Thermador, Miele, or any other industrial design ranges is a yawn! If I had never seen the French and Italian beauties I'd be perfected satisfied with the likes of Wolf and the others... moreover I'd consider Wolf/others to be too expensive. Now that I'm looking at the French and Italian ranges - I know that Wolf is cheap in comparison. You may have already discovered that your interest in Officine Gullo will be met (in the forums at least) is met with various forms of antagonism. I believe the Gullo range is very eye-catching, however it's SO eye-catching that I would try to NOT include additional Gullo accoutrements anywhere else in the kitchen or it becomes over-the-top. And yes, it's likely that 100% of local appliance repair shops will never have heard of it - nor would they be able to fix it properly. That's scary.

@munger1, I did have to have my Lacanche serviced shortly after it was installed. We noticed a small gas leak. Lacanche set me up with a local repair company that was able to come out and service it. It did take some additional tweaking by a serviceman who works directly with Lacanche, but I think that’s rare. And quite frankly, I haven’t read of too many on Houzz that needed services. But just wanted to say, that without an electronic board, they really are very easy to service. They look fancy, but my understanding is that the inside is somewhat basic.

megs, Glad that the service event worked well for your Lacanche. Since researching is free, I've been circling around Officine Gullo's beautiful OG Professional range options. Even the small 128cm wide size is over $30k. The problem (besides the high price) is that Officine Gullo has a very narrow gate - and gatekeeper - you must go through to get information about prices and processes. Their website doesn't give prices - just highly polished photos and videos. In my case - living east of the Mississippi - I must go through the New York City Officine Gullo showroom and salespeople. Poor results so far getting the NYC office to give me information or attention. Perhaps I actually have to physically show up at the NYC shop to be regarded as a serious potential buyer. Friendly emails are getting me nowhere ;-).

if they don't answer you for purchase questions, imagine getting any service

Yes Delray - that service situation is frightening to imagine. By the way, Gullo NYC divulged some more pricing information - the 128cm (50 inch) wide Gullo professional stovetop (just with storage cabinets/doors beneath it... no ovens) is $30k. I would need a hood - which is another $10-11k from Gullo. That's before the upcharges on the fancy knobs, hinges, catches, color choice premium, international delivery fees, shipping port tariffs (Italy to New York harbor?), handling/service charges, taxes, and installation fees - I'm guessing that's another $10k before the dust settles. I don't believe I'm overestimating. So that's $50k. I believe I'm going to be sick. Oh but that Officine Gullo is gorgeous.

Hi
We are interested in the same size unit as well. We went o NYC 2 weeks ago to see it in person. We liked what we saw. Our rep was off that day. We’d were too happy with the person that was helping us. Since we returned I got one mail with quote. None of the follow up questions are answered yet. Especially questions about warrants and service. I mighty have to contact LA showroom. Apparently there is a rep forthe US that comes to your house.

raji - Your comment was very interesting to me because my wife and I also went to Soho for an appointment at Officine Gullo. We thought we conveyed authentic enthusiasm and a real interest to purchase. Our Officine Gullo rep was polite and together we formed up the exact configuration (metals, colors, burners, etc) by the time our appointment was finished. When we got home we mailed our rep a hand written thank you card as well as an email to let her know we were very interested in proceeding. She didn't answer our email (multiple emails) nor call us nor any communication at all. We were disappointed to say the least. We felt if we continued trying to call her we would be begging/grovelling so we stopped. Hopefully you have better luck with the LA showroom.

Thanks for the reply. Interesting to hear the same experience. How long ago was this? I wonder if she is still working for them. There is no direct phone number for the show rooms.
There is only a 1-800 number we can call and they contact the showroom/ sales person for you. I left messages yesterday.

Carla Blanco. There's no way to directly phone the Soho rep. Just an answering service. I honestly thought (after a while) that Officine Gullo was intentionally holding back like some manufacturers do *Hermes, Patek, Rolex, etc. to create interest/demand. But I'm not entirely sure. When it comes to Veblen Goods... I suppose we get what we deserve and the rest of houzz can giggle at us! ;-0

Today is a lucky day. I had a email chat with the rep and am close to finalizing the order. In their current website you can configure the range and hood in fiorentine and professional line and figure out the prices.

raji,

Excited for you! Hopefully you can share your experiences along your Officine Gullo acquisition journey. Best of luck and have a wonderful time planning and organizing the process. Can you share what model and configuration you are interested in getting for your kitchen?

48 inch is ideal size for my kitchen. Fiorentine 48 comes with 2 ovens and half the price of the OG professional same size, but I don’t like the range top. too many burners. We do need a second oven. Looking into all the options. Will decide soon. I have done a lot of research on this. Will definitely share the experience.

raji, thank you for sharing. The Fiorentine 48 looks great! Amazing that it's only 1/2 price of the OG Pro... for the same level of quality. Re: configuration of the range top - are you not able to custom configure to your satisfaction? What elements are you looking to include?

With fiorentina cooking elements can not be customized. The grill is only 10 inches wide. In the pro series it is 15 3/4 inches wide. More practical to cook with. Also I don’t like 6 burners all same size. Too crowded with a flat grill , all in 48 inches. 5 units with 3 different size burners in 50 inches wide range is better to work with. I have never cooked with flat top grill. Hope it is easy to use and I can thin out my fry pan collection. There is a direct phone number to the store with the emails. Try that one if you are still interested.

It is a bummer the pro line does not have the small oven option.

I wound up purchasing a 60" Fiorentina range back in January of last year, also through Carla Blanco. I will say that the unit is absolutely beautiful, and unlike the French ranges (La Cornue, which we owned previously, and Lacanche) the Officine Gullo has "real" sized ovens in which you can actually cook a turkey. However, the customer service has been a complete disaster. First, Ms. Blanco wasn't very responsive, and it almost seemed like she felt like she was doing us a favor in taking our order. Then, when our range was delivered in August, the delivery company they engaged dented the side of the unit on bringing it into our house. (Fortunately, the damage is hidden by our cabinets.) Additionally, almost all the feet came damaged in one way or another, and while they immediately sent out replacements, it further delayed our installation. Finally, we were told that they don't do the installation themselves, and don't have any agents operating on their behalf. We hired someone to do the connections, and when that was done we smelled a gas leak. Our installer determined that it was emanating from the left side of the stove (the right hand set of four burners were fine) but could not find the source of the leak. They even got on a video conference call with a tech from Officine Gullo based in Italy, and they still couldn't figure it out. I contacted their Operations Manager Enrico Gamondi, and he said that they could have one of their technicians based in California come out and take a look, but if it was the fault of our installer they would charge me. We finally got it resolved two weeks ago (almost a full year after we placed the order), and it appears that it had to do with a gasket that the company provided. However, they're insisting that the problem was with the installation and that I should pay them over $3,000 for the service call. This is on top of several thousands of dollars that I had to pay my installer for multiple visits to try to troubleshoot the problem. Long story short, it's a beautiful range, and works well when it's finally operational, but getting there has been very painful. I shudder to think what will happen if/when I need routine service.

Hmmm. We love it so much and kind of getting an idea what we are getting into. I am glad they offer installation now. They also offer annual maintenance program as well. Of course all for $$$

Who told you they would offer installation? They told me specifically within the past couple of months that they do not.

I am getting quotes with installation. If I order now it will be ready in fall next year. 🙄

I wish you the best of luck. As I indicated, they are beautiful units, and now that it's fully operational my wife and I are very happy with it.

Thanks for this. It’s good to know it is getting delivered and works well too. There is just one review from west coast on chowhound. I can not find any customer reviews anywhere else. 👍

Raji and Schiff,

Love reading about your experiences! Such a wealth of information on a mysterious brand/process.

Have a few questions:

When the order is made, what is the minimum amount that must be paid? 10% ... 50%.. 100%? In order words, what is the 'pay schedule'?

After is the order is made, is the majority of the communication with someone OTHER than Carla? (or whomever was the initial salesperson in the show room)

What is the difference in thickness/solidness/heaviness of the doors, grates, components when comparing Officine Gullo Fiorentina and La Cornue Chateau?

What is the difference in the visual beauty of the range between Officine Gullo Fiorentina and La Cornue Chateau? This includes the burner modules, hinges, knobs, handles, richness of paint and overall 'curb appeal'.

When it comes to your Fiorentina, what did you do for a hood? Did you go with Officine Gullo or a 3rd party?

Schiff - looking back at the long process of planning, purchasing, awating build, shipping, acquiring the unit, prepping the space properly, installation, various special care adjustments and fixes, and finally getting everything ironed out many months andthousands of dollars later.... was it worth it once everything is smooth sailing? Even if no one else notices your range because fewer people visit eachother's homes these days (pandemic)... do you still enjoy marveling at how beautiful it is everyday?

Thank you,

Robert

Schiff,

Also, if possible, could you upload a photo of your beautiful Officine Gullo range for my drooling purposes? Thanks!

Robert
50% deposit and the rest before delivery. I personally like OG better than La Cornue. Both awesome and solidly built. I felt the doors are too heavy in LC (for me). On the beauty scale it’s like comparing Range Rover vs Porche. My husband and I first saw OG in Milan through showroom window displayed like a master piece jewelry many years ago. We had no idea about the brand , we wrote the name down. We are remodeling our kitchen and excited to find out they are available in the US. I throughly checked out other brands, highly considered Latelier. For my husband it is love at first sight.
Btw Florentina is standard counter depth and Pro model is 31 inches deep. I am getting a matching hood from OG. we have to buy our own motor. There is a place in Chicago that makes custom hood matching any brand for around 5K.
Most of these information I have been figuring it out myself. Since there is no customer reviews it was difficult to make decision.
After few phone calls she started communicating better, esp after I said I need to sign the contract in 2 weeks since I need the specs for the architect.

Raji,

Very helpful - thank you so much!

Robert

My experience is the same as Raji's -- 50% downpayment in order to get the range into production with the balance due before delivery. In terms of comparison with La Cornue, having now owned both, I think the LC perhaps looks more "antique-y", but the OG is a beautiful unit. The electronic screens dim when the unit isn't in use, so they're not that obvious. In terms of functionality, there's no comparison. As I indicated in an earlier comment, the two ovens in the LC unit were very small to the point where you couldn't insert a full-sized cookie sheet or roast anything larger than a small chicken. Moreover, we had constant problems with the gas oven (our unit had one gas and one electric oven), with it frequently breaking down, and repairs (that never seemed to take care of the problem on a more permanent basis) costing us thousands of dollars. We had the LC unit for over 15 years and my wife pretty much hated it the entire time. On the other hand she loves using the OG so far, and now that our gas leak has been addressed, we have plenty of cooking capacity. Finally, the OG is significantly easier to clean that the LC, with the OG having self-cleaning ovens and the LC stovetop having a lot of spaces for drippings to fall through.

My big gripe with OG is that their customer service is terrible. Getting delivery and installation has been a tremendous headache, and I shudder to think what will happen if/when we need the unit serviced.

Just for curiosity - what advice would you give to someone just starting out with the process... in terms of having a more successful customer service experience?

I'm not sure that I have any advice. OG is not sold through any agents, so everything is run and controlled through the company itself, and the individuals that they have to deal with customers. Unfortunately, they don't seem to get the concept of customer service.

Schiffman and Raji - What factors prevented you from interest in the professional models?

sschiffman59 and Raji - can you confirm that from the date of the initial order and cooresponding 50% down payment... to the date of delivery... are we talking about 7 months or so?

Yes. After signing the contract with 50% down payment we were told 6months wait time for the delivery. 4 weeks later we got a detailed drawing from Florence. We had to approve that. I have not heard anything from the since then.

Schiffman. I needed the burner and the flat grill. The only difference in the professional model is few inches wider grill. I didn’t want to pay 23K for the extra couple of inches. Also the professional model does not have the second small oven option.

Raji - Has it been a couple months since the last time Gullo HQ in Florence corresponded with you? At least does Gullo Soho correspond with you to keep you appraised? If no, is that slightly nerve racking??

I got an invitation to visit Florence to see the range in making. That is kind of nice. The whole process is a bit nerve racking. We put the money down. Just have to wait. Our kitchen remodeling wont even start for another 4 months. Hopefully the timing will work out just fine.

With any kitchen remodel, it would seem that the 'long pole in the tent' is the Officine Gullo range. Meaning, you would need to acquire the range before you start making other important decisions.

Yes I agree. that’s what we did. We placed OG order in November last year. Designing the rest around it. About to finalize the plans in couple of weeks. Exciting.

Raji - Can we get an update on the progress of your Florentine build? Do you plan to receive soon? If already completed and received, any lessons learned with the install / connection / functional testing process?

Many thanks!

Wanted to provide another update to my (and my wife's) experience with La Cornue Chateau. Not a negative experience per say, but enlightening one. This weekend in Charlotte, NC we visited an interior decorator/cabinet maker who had a Chateau 120 on their display floor. The 120 has two small(er) size ovens with a rather small metal 'pull' knob to open the oven door. Yes, this was the first time I ever actually opened the oven door! Other times that we travelled to showrooms that featured a La Cornue Chateau range on their floor... the sales rep was the person who actually opened the oven door to show the interior size. It's funny, because my wife and I both felt the doors, the interior racks, the round plate on the bottom of the gas oven, and maybe even felt the weight/thickness of the door(s)... but neither one of us actually opened the door from its fully shut/closed position to its fully open/down position. I have to say that it was surprisingly stubborn if you're not ready for it! Maybe it was my body position or the fact that I wasn't ready for the effort to actually require a bodyweight 'shift' to assist with the door opening. My problem was that I crouched down, so I was on the balls of my feet then I gently reached for the rather small metal knob and gave a normal effort to pull it open - it didn't budge. Then I rocked down from the balls of my feet so that one of my heels was down and I shifted back away from the oven slightly for more leverage. Then I pulled with a lot more energy and of course the door came open several inches then stopped. It was open about 5 inches and stopped. The salesperson commented "It's a heavy door" and suggested "you have to put your weight into it!" I cranked it open the rest of the way down - although surprisingly the oven door doesn't 'fully' open parallel to the floor. As a result, when I reached in to pull out the sample Le Creuset baking pan my forearm actually touched the heavy door (thankfully the heat wasn't on!). Then I eventually shut/closed up the oven door and asked my wife if she wanted to try. As she got her body into position I said, "You really have to shift your body weight to assist with the effort you can't just open it with your hand/wrist/arm alone." First thing she said after opening the door was "That little knob hurt my finger." The salesperson admitted "Yes, the knob may be round, but the edge is kind of sharp." About an hour later in the car as we were driving home, he opened her palm/fingers and showed me a small purple area that was a bruised blood vessel. She gets those occasionally while weightlifting with barbells or picking up something heavy and rough.

Long post but you can't get more real-life detail on the La Cornue Chateau oven pull action!

Officine gullo buy the stoves from ILVEs and dress them up as their own. Horrible quality with major issues with no costumer support. stay away!!!

Boaz,

Although I was unaware of the partnership/sharing/collaboration between Officine Gullo and Ilve - I can certainly confirm the lack of customer support from OG. Their NYC office is notoriously unresponsive to potential customers to the point of insulting.

On the topic of sharing design principles I would add that Officine Gullo has a dopleganger in L'Atelier Paris Haute Design. Not only in their appliances but also in their website layout! :-)

I love my Gullo kitchen and i cook a ton!!

Lots of great info in this thread. we are debating between the Offince Gullo OG Pro range versus the Fiorentino 60" Range from Officine Gullo. Would love to hear perspectives if any. @rajiemails you likely now have had your Officine Gullo stove for at least a couple of years? How do you like it? WOuld you still recommend?

Ok, French Barn - time for you to jump in again!