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French cookers


Bertie

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We are thinking of installing either a Godin or Lacanche in our farmhouse, LPG gas hobs and 1 electric and 1 gas oven if possible models

At the moment it looks like a Lacanche model with a seperate grill as it appears the Godin dosn't come fitted with a grill.

Any info and advice from  owners of either would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Bertie

 

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I have a Godin range consisting of the following:

1) One small electric oven (2 shelves and plate warmer) with large super burner gas ring for which I have a large grill plate and wok adaptor as extras

2)One large electric over (2 shelves, independent grill under top shelf , different  uses such as convection, normal, tournebroche, etc) with 4 gas rings on top

3) bois-charbon oven with 2 shelves (obviously uses wood or charcoal as desired) with solid hot plate on top.

I, too, thought of a Lacanche but I didn't like the idea of stainless steel under the gas rings as I know how horrible trying to keep "stainless" steel stainless is.

Not sure I'd buy a Godin again.  I have found the finishes not great, and there are several design faults eg, a glass door with a tiny knob that is virtually impossible to use for pulling the door open when the oven is hot and I think some of the enamelling on the hob not as well done as I expected.

The brass rails are also a bit "tinny".

Mind you, I'd never dare say any of this to OH as I made such a great big fuss about buying the biggest Godin that would fit in the space I have for it in the kitchen.

Oh, almost forgot, one of the extractor speeds on the hob has never worked properly and the oven took over 5 months to arrive.

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Thank you for that.

Both cookers are lovely to look at and would look marvellous in a farmhouse kitchen, but we have had some mixed comments from UK owners as well.

Our local supplier in the Indre has De Detrich, Smeg and Rosieres in the 1mt size we need, so will  look at those before deciding.

Bertie

 

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I recently fitted this Godin...

[IMG]http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc297/dave21478/house/DSCF0028.jpg[/IMG]

For the price that was paid for it, I would have hoped for better quality to be honest. Its jetted to run from bottled gas, with 4 normal burners up top and the large central burner/hotplate. The left door is a small oven/plate warmer and the large door is the main electric oven with grill etc. The drawer below is storage.

The hand rails are flexible and feel weak, the button for the ignitors looks like it cost 99cents and will last a few months at best, I had to alter the mounting for the oven fan to stop it rattling in use...

I certainly wouldnt buy another.

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Does anyone know if you can buy rangemaster cookers in France.  We have one here in the UK (110 classic, dual fuel) and it's been brilliant.  The after sales service has been great too.  We've had a look at the french equivalents and, tbh, haven't been impressed.

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We've decided to invest in an Esse woodburner, with an accompanying electric unit (rather similar to an Aga or Rayburn, but a bit less expensive).  I know they're strictly not French, but they were purchased through a French agent.  Apart from the aesthetics, it is hoped that this range will keep the chill off the kitchen during the winter months - it was bl00dy cold this year!

Chris

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We also have a GODIN STORY.  Around 4 years ago we bought a 2 oven Godin Chatelaine which was gas /electric  costing around 4000 euros. Within 3 months the rubber seal on the smaller oven snapped and we sought a replacement.  We waited over 6 months for this item to arrive which meant that in the interim the oven was not working properly -we could use the grill part although there is no adjustment as it has only one setting -you have to raise or lower the tray to achieve different cooking temps.  The joint arrived but was for a different model so we had to wait a further 9 weeks for the correct one- this lasted only 3 weeks before fracturing in EXACTLY the same place as the original - clearly a design fault.  The next problem was one of the gas burners which would light only now and then and was very unreliable.  Despite the oven being ELECTRIC oven temperatures are given as Regulo numbers.  The next problem was the door hinge (main oven) which snapped.  This replacement took 11 weeks to arrive and be fitted (despite numerous visits to the retailer). NOW the other hinge is playing up and will fail soon. We also find that despite fan assistance the ovens take ages to get to temperature.  It can be anything up to 30 minutes  to come to temperature. The gold rail finish is also deteriorating, with the base metal now visible despite very careful cleaning with non abrasive products.  The conclusion we have come to is that we bought A SHEEP in WOLF'S CLOTHING! 

 We had a  RANGEMASTER in the UK which was excellent, and never had a fault but unfortunately they weren't available in France at that time.

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We bought a Falcon/Rangemaster stove from our local Gitem three years ago; it was a lot cheaper than the Godin and Lacanache.  Very pleased with it overall so I'm glad we didn't fork out for the more expensive brands.

Initially we had problems sourcing the Rangemaster brand in the larger stores but then just happened to see the stove we wanted while walking down the street in our local town.  And as the local electrician owned the shop he also took on the tricky task of wiring it up and installation.

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This thread confirms what I have always thought - French cookers, on the whole, are crap! [:)] I bought a secondhand Belling range cooker off E-Bay UK for 98 GBP and friends kindly brought it over with some of their bits in a trailer. It is brilliant and restored my faith in my own cooking as my old French oven was so rubbish but I wondered if it was me!
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Thanks everyone,

Have had a look at Falcon which from the website has everything we need and is cheaper. It's also available from a number of shops in Chateauroux.

Shame about the Godin

Regards

Bertie

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