Appliance Decisions – the Range

THE single biggest factor in your Kitchen build/reno are your Appliance Decisions! I’ll run through all of mine in another post, but for now I’ll chat about why I chose a Caliber Range.

UPDATE :
While I’ve loved my Caliber Range (that burner power!), ultimately the broiler never worked and couldn’t be fixed. Caliber has stopped replying to emails and the local repairs will no longer be servicing the brand – it has to go. Stay tuned for what I’m replacing it with!!

WHELP!
I did it.
I’ve officially JUMPED into this Kitchen Reno!
The new Fridge/Freezer, Range, Hood Fan and Dishwasher have been put on order, while the Wall Oven will wait until we see if there is money left, or for later down the road when we’re actually entertaining again (danged COVID!). A number of decisions were adjusted from my original ‘wish list’ to make way for the ‘pièce de résistance’ – the high end, custom made, center of my Kitchen universe – the Range.

I initially looked at Wolf, but for some reason I just wasn’t captured. Without the ability to customize to suit the design I wanted, and the low-BTU options for the 36″ size (max 20k, just 2k higher than what my Frigidaire has?!), Wolf left me feeling ‘meh’. I took a look at Lacanche and Le Cornue for the color customization and ‘design’y’ look, but the reviews were messy, and I can’t reconcile the brain behind a high-placed towel bar that blocks my view of ALL THE KNOBS?! Also two tiny ovens weren’t going to fit my catering-sized trays, AND only 15k-17k highest BTU, even less than my cheap little Range (which surprisingly has actually lasted many years and THOUSANDS of cooking hours). I turned instead to the Hestan or the Caliber, and honestly I feel I would have been happy with either choice. Great interior oven space, thoughtfully designed, and 25k-30k high burning BTU’s in the 36″ models. These are COOKS appliances, just what I was looking for. It came down to the smallest details, and Caliber ultimately won my heart for this round.

Never heard of Caliber? Neither had I, until my main man at Midland Appliances introduced me to this unique Range. Turns out the fellas over at Caliber have OVER THREE DECADES of industry experience behind this relatively new adventure. Check out their credentials HERE.

First, a disclaimer. I did not get this appliance for free in exchange for promoting it! I don’t play that game. If I did, you’d never know if I was being authentic or not when I rave about something. While I did take advantage of every discount I possibly could – AS SHOULD YOU -, I ultimately backed this decision with a good chunk of my very own cold, hard cash. Full retail for the 36″ with a few customizations is just under $30k CAD. Discounts will depend on your point of purchase, so I can’t comment in a helpful way, I’m afraid, other than the standard ‘How to Shop for the Best Deals on Appliances’ which I’ll get into at a later date. I had actually hoped to visit both factories, btw, but 3 HOURS before I was set to drive to California back in March, COVID hit.

Truthfully, Hestan was my front runner ahead of Caliber purely on a financial level, and in being a really decent alternative. But Hubby saw the Caliber and said ‘This is the Ferrari of Ranges. You’ll never have a car one, so you may as well have the oven one.’ Who’d have EVER thought I’d hear that from the Accountant?! LOL! Sold.

the WHAT

NOW, a rave pre-review! Granted, I haven’t actually cooked on this range yet, so this initial review is just on how I came to the decision to purchase a Caliber Range. (Also, how odd is it to spend what could otherwise obtain a decent used car and never even take it for a test drive?! Appliance companies need to fix this for high-end purchases, IMHO. Wolf does do a demonstration, but you don’t actually get to COOK on the appliances before buying).

READY?!

the WHY

1. The first thing that struck me was the refined detailing. It looks SHARP. Thoughtfully designed and built. Milled to perfection in every detail. I’m guessing if what I can see has been meticulously designed, hopefully the bits I can’t see are as well.
2. I could get it in BLACK! In fact, they have a wide variety of customizations, as every single Range is built-to-order in Huntingdon Beach, CA. I also chose white LED vs the standard orange.
3. Depth! My Kitchen now and soon both feature 30″ deep counters – a standard in many of the Kitchens I’ve designed, and I’ll rave about that in another post. The Caliber is 28″-33″ deep. Perfection. This extra deep Range with a decent center-to-center measurement on the elements means my pots and pans WILL ACTUALLY FIT when I’m using all 5(6) burners!
4. Can we talk about the 120 individual FLAME PORTS on each burner?!?! I’m anticipating some maintenance here, but presumably in exchange for ultimate heat control.
5. Handy spoon rest, vs useless towel bar that blocks the view of my controls (hello, OTHER RANGES??! WHY?!). It felt like I was back at Cooking School using Commercial stoves.
6. BTU’s. While there was one other 36″ Range with a higher BTU option (Hestan w 30k), the 25k on the French Top here is still a good 7k more than what most other Ranges have. Also – French TOP that CONVERTS INTO A WOK spot!! Perfect for making delicate sauces all the way up to stir frys. To compare, a Commercial range typically uses about 60k BTU, not legal in a Residence unfortunately LOL!

SO, if I sound excited – I am !
Special thanks to ‘my guy’ and the crew at Midland Appliances for being amazing and understanding my specific needs and wishes!! Appliances decisions are the most important ones you’ll make, and having a good team to help you is indispensible.

I can’t wait to work with this classy machine and give you a proper ‘working’ review, but for now I wait… 8-12 weeks to be exact. I guess I’d better get going on the cabinets…

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