Range Cooker Brand Guide

As a general rule of thumb, range cookers are not only going to be quite an expensive purchase but they will also be a focal point of your kitchen due to their size and impressive aesthetics. It's because of this that it is worth researching your cooker before buying one. There is a wide variety of range cookers available in different colours and styles so no matter what design you're looking for you should be able to find a suitable cooker for your kitchen.

Britannia

The Britannia range comes in 4 distinct models, the Delphi, Fleet, Q-Line and Wyre. The 4 ranges have 4 distinct styles and come in a variety of configurations and sizes ranging from 90cm wide to 120cm wide:

• Delphi - Britannia's flagship and most popular model, the Delphi comes in all of their available sizes, 90/100/110/120, a variety of configurations (including the XG model which has a dedicated grill) and a high gloss finish (gloss red, gloss black, gloss cream and stainless steel). Finally it can be topped with either induction or gas hob.
• Fleet - Britannia's more traditional designed range, it can be topped off with either a gas or induction hob. Models can be found in all sizes (90/100/110/120) and if you choose the Fleet XG model it will also come with a dedicated grill. As standard they only come in matt black, matt burgundy and matt cream colours.
• Q-Line - With large chunky controls and clean easy to understand interface combined with a host of professional features makes the Q-Line a great addition to any kitchen. It only comes in 2 sizes either 90 or 100 and as standard is available in either gloss black or stainless steel.
• Wyre - Unlike the other ranges from Britannia the Wyre has solid doors with no windows on the front of any of them. Combined with the matt finish this gives the cooker a smooth finish. It's available in 2 sizes (90cm and 100cm) and 2 colours (matt black and matt cream).

In addition to the colours listed for the specific models you can also take advantage of Britannia's 'colour range'. To do this you will need to go to their website and select a colour from the colour selector on the right (or send Britannia a colour sample to match and they happily will) and make note of the reference number it gives. They are then able to send you a colour swatch so you can see it in person and make sure it will fit in with your kitchen. You can then give the colour number to the retailer when purchasing it and a custom order will be able to be sent through to Britannia. As this is a custom order it will cost you more than normal though and can take roughly 6 weeks for the order to be delivered.

Their service is top quality and they will be there to help no matter what stage of the range buying/owning process you're at. They have a technical and product advice team who can help with any technical questions about the cooker you may have, a spares department for any spare parts you may want to buy and also a nationwide network of service engineers who will be able to come out and repair your cooker free of charge while it's still within it's 2 year warranty stage.

If a 2 year warranty isn't enough for you, you can also contact Britannia directly who are able to offer extended plans for up to 5 years.

Bertazzoni

Having been manufacturing range cookers since the early 1900's Bertazzoni have a wealth of knowledge and experience when it comes to range cookers, which shows in their final products. They currently have 3 main lines available being the Heritage, Master and Professional range:

• Heritage - As the name suggests, the Heritage series are a more traditional looking cooker which take inspiration from the original Bertazzoni wood burning stoves. There are 2 models available (92 or 122cm wide) both of which can come in either cream, burgundy or black.
• Master - A more modern looking design, the Master series contains our most popular range cooker, the AD905MFEXE, which currently has a 9.3 out of 10 rating on our website. Everything about the Master range stands out as being high quality and sturdy materials, all the way down to the large round control knobs and cast iron pan supports.
• Professional - The Professional series has the widest range of all the Bertazzoni cookers with 9 models in it varying between 60-122cm wide each with between 7-9 colour variations. They all have easy controls, the ability to be flexible and accurate with cooking and safe reliable ignition systems.

In addition to creating high quality range cookers Bertazzoni are also dedicated to being as efficient and eco friendly as possible. You can read about how they are achieving this on their Bertazzoni Green page but in summary they make sure the creation process is done using recyclable parts and using methods to reduce the pollution and increasing energy efficiency.

They are part of Britannia Living so have a similar excellent customer service support available, meaning should anything go wrong with your cooker you'll be left in a position to have it fixed both quickly and efficiently.

Rangemaster

Rangemaster are probably the largest and most well known name when it comes to range cookers, and with reason too. The original Kitchener was created in the mid 1800's and ever since then they have been constantly innovating and creating new models to make sure they always stay at the forefront of the range cooker business. Even to this day the Kitchener model is still a popular choice having evolved over the years to stay current, but they have also added more and more lines to their range meaning you will have plenty of choice to choose from in both style, colour and function.

Some of the more popular ranges we have sold in the past can be found below:

• Classic 110 - As the classic name may suggest, this has a more traditional aesthetic and design to it including bevelled doors, windows on the oven doors (so you can keep an eye on the food as its cooking) and a towel rail.
• Rangemaster 110 - The Rangemaster 110 is Rangemaster's best selling model ever. It's a sleek looking cooker available in multiple fuel formats (dual fuel, gas and electric).
• Elan 90 - Another traditional looking cooker with curved doors, spiralled handles and large easy to use control knobs. Its available in 2 widths (90 and 110) and has a choice of 6 available colours.
• Kitchener - Although not as popular these days as other models in their range, we feel like it deserves a mention for being the cooker that started Rangemaster off. Originally designed and built by William Flavel (the son of the companies founding father), it comes in 2 sizes (90 and 110 wide), has 2 oven cavities and a separate grill.

In addition to this over the years Rangemaster have won various awards from publications including having the Professional +90 model gain the number 1 spot in Which? Magazines best buy list in December 2011. This is a tough award to have won as the nominated machines need to go through extensive testing to even be considered for the award, let alone being granted it.

Falcon

As they are part of the AGA Rangemaster group (consisting of AGA, Rangemaster, Falcon and Mercury) you can tell without even looking at any Falcon appliances that they are going to be of a high build quality. With over 75 years experience in the creation of domestic appliances (including cookers, fridges and sinks as well as range cookers) they have earned a reputation as one of England's leading manufacturers of range cookers earning respect among top chefs.

Similar to Rangemaster they have a wide range of choice available in both dual fuel and induction, each coming in a multitude of colours so you should be sure to find something to suit your kitchens theme. Unless stated otherwise Falcon cookers come with a 3 year warranty meaning you can feel safe knowing your brand new cooker will be protected.

Although not as popular as Rangemaster from our experience they are still a highly regarded brand, with endorsements from professional celebrity chef Nick Nairn.

CDA

Although they don't have the largest choice of range cookers (there's only 8 currently available), one range cooker they do sell which nobody else on the market currently does (barring a custom made Lacanche) is a 70 wide range cooker. The model in question is the RV701SS. 70 wide range cookers used to be a popular size (10+ years ago) but now they are almost non existent, this means that any one who's old 70 wide range cooker has reached the end of it's life and need to replace it are left with the limited options of buying the CDA or downgrading to a 60 wide cooker. Thankfully CDA are around to provide a current upgrade for all those in need.

It's a high build quality and manages to fit 5 hob burners (one of which being a 3.5kW dual flame wok burner) and 2 oven with a combined capacity of 88 litres. The only downside with this range cooker is that it only comes in dual fuel but considering this is the most popular fuel type available, it is not much of a downside in reality.

As is standard with all CDA products, their range cookers come with a 5 year parts and 1 year labour warranty. Most manufacturers tend to offer between 1-3 years on their products so a 5 year warranty is massive and shows that they have faith in the quality of their products.

Stoves

Stoves are another Brand that are based in the UK and they're proud of the fact. They have 2 main lines available which are the Richmond and the Sterling. They both come in either 90/100/110 wide in either gas, induction or dual fuel.

• Richmond - The Richmond has a more traditional look and can come in a multitude of colours. Depending on which size you choose they're constructed of either 3 or 4 oven cavities with various cooking abilities
• Sterling - The Sterling range is the more modern looking range that Stoves produce. The models are available in either 90/100/110 width, constructed of either 3 or 4 oven cavities and will come with either a black or stainless steel finish.

Both of these ranges are highly regarded as can be see by looking at the ratings for Sterling and Richmond on reviews sites such as Revoo.

Not only are Stoves dedicated to creating appliances that are high in quality but they do so while keeping the environment in mind and recycling materials whenever possible, making for an eco friendly brand.

They also have outstanding customer service and they have won the highly regarded 'Total Excellence Quality Customer Care' aware four times. The customer care centre alone employs over 130 operatives and 200 service engineers, so you can be sure that if something were to go wrong with your range cooker it can be swiftly resolved.

Lacanche

Lacanche cookers are custom made to your requirements, this is especially good for when you can't quite find what you're looking for elsewhere. They offer a huge range of customisation when creating a model including size, oven layout, hob layout, fuel type and colour. Due to the custom nature of them they are not available online and would need to be ordered through our sister company Glotech.

As they are custom made they will set you back quite a bit price wise. Although the cost will likely put most people off, if you've tried looking around for a range cooker from a different manufacturer and have had no luck finding one that fits your requirement then a range cooker custom built to your specifications could be just what you need.