La Cornue and Appliances Connection: An Inevitable Pairing

Appliances Connection has long sought to provide you, our customers, with the finest class of product. We have the utmost understanding that you expect nothing less. Over two decades have been spent tailoring our inventory to meticulously serve your needs. We've reached a new milestone and are proud to announce that we are an authorized dealer for La Cornue, the apex artisans of custom kitchen design.

La Cornue's Origins

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Albert Dupuy was an accomplished Parisian herbalist and parfumier as well as a lover of fine gastronomy. In pursuit of the latter interest, he mused about culinary endeavors. He pondered as to why food prepared in conventional ovens often turned out so dry. At the time, conventional ovens were little more than metal boxes held over fires heating their contents exclusively from the bottom. Dupuy speculated that the resultant substandard cookery issuing from these primitive devices came down to the regulation, conservation, and flow of heat. In 1908, he designed and built a heretofore unprecedented oven. Its main innovation was a vaulted ceiling in a sealed cavity. This allowed heat to naturally circulate around and into food, retaining its moisture and cooking it evenly. As luck would have it, Paris was wending gas lines into homes around the city. Dupuy had the foresight to modify his new oven for connection to these lines which permitted a steady source of heat. The method of refining the gas that now traveled through Paris was known as "cornue." And so did Albert Dupuy christen his new oven and the company he would subsequently establish - La Cornue.

The new oven took the world of French haute cuisine by storm. No longer did connoisseurs of fine food need to tolerate dry fare. La Cornue's ovens were and are found in France's most discerning kitchens. Under the oversight of Albert's successors, the company's product line has culminated in the pinnacle of bespoke kitchen ranges. We'll now explore La Cornue's masterpiece, Le Chateau.

Le Chateau

Le Chateau is the crown jewel of La Cornue's collection of ranges. It can be described as an exceptional work of functional art. Every range is hand-crafted and custom-made to order in Clergy-Pointoise, close to Paris. The raw metals are rough-hewn by one of two specialized machines in the factory. After the initial machine cutting, each piece is rolled and sanded by hand. The principal component of the range is the seminal and acclaimed vaulted oven. The larger base models of the Chateau (47.2" wide and above) actually feature two ovens - a single-function gas oven and a multi-function electric oven.

Single Function Gas Oven

The single-function gas oven is a barely-changed version of Albert Dupuy's formative design. The perfectly sealed door and arched ceiling forces air to flow in a natural convection pattern without the need for a fan. This allows food to retain approximately 94% of its moisture. Using a revolutionary new concept, the oven burner is brought inside the gas oven which starts heating at the floor beneath a conduction disc. When heat convects around the disc, it rises to the vaulted ceiling which naturally forces air into a vertical pattern that heats food from the bottom and the top.

Multi-Function Electric Oven

The multi-function electric oven has the following seven unique and versatile cooking modes:

• Pure Convection Heat: The convection oven uses a heating element at the rear and a fan that circulates the heated air horizontally. Cooking with this more traditional convection method elicits superior results and can make food preparation easier. Convection cooking allows for moisture retention, lower cooking temperatures, shorter cooking time, and multi-rack cooking. It also mitigates the need for basting and turning.
• Conventional Heat - Standard Bake: When using the oven to bake conventionally, heat is generated by the element below the oven floor and a perimeter broil element at the top of the oven. Choosing the correct rack position is very important in this mode because where the food is placed in relation to the heating element can dramatically affect the cooking results. This mode is great for souffles and some cheesecakes.
• Convection Roast: To facilitate marvelous searing (great for starting a roast), you can broil with convection. It reduces the drying effect of direct heat and minimizes the amount of splattering in the oven by lessening required heat.
• Fan Assisted - Convection Bake: This is the most powerful mode in the oven as it combines heat from convection and both the lower and upper elements. The blanketing effect on food will work wonders on casseroles, biscuits and muffins, and roasted vegetables.
• Broil Element: This mode emits heat from the top element and you can use this mode to finish or gently brown a dish.
• Bottom Heat - Finishing Mode: One of the banes of baking certain items such as quick breads, fruit pies, and dense cakes is an underdone and soggy bottom portion. You can use the finishing mode with bottom heat for the final 15 to 20 minutes of the baking process. This guarantees the food will cook through on the bottom without over-browning the top edges. You'll get a delectable flaky bottom crust every time.
• Defrost Mode: The ambient air in the oven is circulated by the convection fan which will evenly dissolve ice crystals. You'll use this mode to defrost small items like frozen appetizers, desserts, or small cuts of poultry and fish. You can even defrost a fully frozen whole 4lb chicken in about an hour and a half.

Modular Stove

The functionality of the range is enhanced by its eminently modular cooktop. On the Chateau, the standard configuration starts your kitchen artistry palette with two gas burners set on the left of the stove. The front element burns at 17000 BTUs and the back at 7500 BTUs. Their covering grates are coated in cast iron. At high heat, the burners are ideal for searing, sautéing, and bringing liquids to a boil. As with all La Cornue gas burners, these standard jets feature a thermocouple ignition system that prevents gas from escaping if the knobs are turned on inadvertently - an indispensable safety attribute. To indulge you even further, the following cooktop options are also available:

• The French Plaque: The cast iron French plaque provides a gentle indirect heat source, resulting in a very forgiving heating surface. The plaque gets the hottest in the center and then the heat diffuses to the edges. Instead of reducing the heat, you may simply move the pans around the plaque to find the best cooking temperature. This is an invaluable tool that enables you to cook without evaporating precious cooking liquids, resulting in amazingly flavorful foods. The plaque can easily accommodate five to six saucepans.
• Lava-Rock Grill: There is a linear gas burner set beneath a bed of natural lava rocks that runs front to back on the cooktop. The grill is then topped with an enamel coated grate. You will never have need for a postponed rain date with this grill
• The Power Burner: This 22,000 BTU burner looks the same as the standard Gas Burners, but is much larger and employs a larger grate. This burner is wonderful for wok cooking, Low-Country crab or New England lobster boils, and even Paella.
• The Induction Burners: These induction cooktops now mean you can get the best of everything in your La Cornue Range. These cooking surfaces are equal parts powerful and subtle with the ability to be set from high to low to simmer in a matter of mere seconds. Energy usage is also kept to a minimum, since heat is delivered directly into the cooking vessel for the temperature or setting as needed.
• The Teppanyaki: Borrowed from Japanese tradition, this high-temperature griddle performs adaptably well in any kitchen. Its temperatures can range from 140℉ to 480℉ and cleans up incredibly easily. You'll be able to sear steak and fish with ease. At almost 18" wide and the ability to thermostatically control the surface, you'll also find no problem with cooking pancakes and eggs.

For the numerous arrangement possibilities available with the Chateau 180 (the 70.9" wide model), please see below.

Aesthetic Customization

Now that you've been apprised of the of Le Chateau's functional aspects, we can delve into what makes it an art piece. The overall color of the body is available almost 30 colors. Additionally, you have the option to select a custom hue, for a range that is exclusive to your taste. The trim is also offered in almost limitless combinations of polished brass, brushed brass, polished chrome, brushed stainless steel, polished copper, matte black, black shiny chrome, bronze, and much more.

To bolster the already myriad color possibilities, La Cornue periodically recruits world-renowned designers to curate an exclusive premium line of tones. Currently, their overseer of color is Suzanne Kasler with her "Couleur Collection." Inspired by a recent visit to her favorite Parisian ribbon shop, she has developed an assortment that is organic and earthy, yet bold. The palette brings a new design relevance to a sensibility that is already classically French, which can transform a culinary icon into something even more iconic. See what is offered by the Couleur Collection below.

The CornuFe Series

To say that the CornuFe is a lesser model than Le Chateau would be doing it a disservice. Introduced in 2005, the CornuFe was meant to provide for the Francophile aficionado with a more modest option. It quickly found a loyal following worldwide in those who desire indulgence without needing the size and customization of Le Chateau. It comes in two models, the CornuFe 110 (43" wide) and the the CornuFe 90 Albertine (35.4" wide)

The CornuFe 110

The original CornuFe range, this 43" range can be your first taste of the La Cornue lifestyle. It"s available in nine classic colors and three trim accent choices of polished brass, stainless and polished copper, or in four Suzanne Kasler Couleurs and two trim accent choices of stainless and brass. (See below for the CornuFe color and trim options.) The CornuFe 110 features two electric convection ovens, one of which is the seven-mode multifunction oven seen in the Chateau. The other is an electric oven that works strictly as a convection cooker. On the stove, you"ll avail yourself of five powerful gas burners with the option to use the central power burner with one of the following accessories: the French plaque adapter, the wok adapter, or the grill/griddle plate.

The CornuFe 90 "Albertine"

Designed especially for the US market, the single oven "Albertine" range is the baby of the CornuFe family. It sports one large multi-function convection oven with seven unique cooking modes as previously mentioned. The range has five powerful brass gas burners. You have the option to use the central power burner with one of the following accessories: the French plaque adapter, the wok adapter, or the grill/griddle plate. The CornuFe 90 is available in nine classic colors and three trim accent choices of polished brass, stainless, and polished copper, or in four Suzanne Kasler Couleurs and two trim accent choices of stainless and brass. (See below for the CornuFe color and trim options.)

La Cornue, Appliances Connection, and You

Appliances Connection has been a trusted name in luxury appliances throughout the United States. We've been entrusted with appointing and satisfying those with the most discriminating tastes. Combined with the venerable French traditions of La Cornue, we wield almost a combined century and a half of august history in making sure your kitchen is unmatched in utility and beauty. Come and discover what our collective past can do for you.