GE Cafe Series Stove

I think that Build it Green place (is it Bklyn or Queens?) often sells used and scratched Vikings, Wolfs, etc. Another option: buy pro gear at a restaurant supply joint on the bowery, or, to reallllly get it cheap, go to a restaurant auction. Pick up a deep fryer while yer at it.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 3:50 PM

A listing of dealers displaying the GE Cafe line is listed at www.geappliances.com which also includes additional photos, product specifications, and rebate information.

The direct link to the dealer lising is:

http://www.geappliances.com/products/cafe/ge_cafe_dealers.pdf

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 4:30 PM

We LOVE our Jenn Air dual fuel 30" stove. Good looking slide-in style + great convection oven + two burners convert to a grill. We've had it for 7 years when it cost about $1,850. I believe it's now around $2,400. Call J&R on 7th Ave in PS and ask Ralph for his best price.

Posted by: guest at September 24, 2007 5:40 PM

Try A. J. Madison. Their website is ajmadison.com.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 10:08 AM

I have hated my GE appliances, but don't have the stove. But, their repair fellas are great. I would lean toward the high end Kenmore line...gets good ratings on consumer reports.

And, as for dual fuel, it's great b/c your oven temp is much more regulated than w/gas, but you still get the great gas power on the cooktop.

Posted by: guest at September 25, 2007 12:19 PM

I am looking into the GE Cafe stove as well...I found out it is on display at Home Depot...but is so new that it is not available for orders yet.

Posted by: guest at October 1, 2007 2:50 AM

This oven looks good but has a really annoying fan at the back of the range. It comes on when the oven temperature is over 375 degrees and after you shut the oven off the fan stays on for 15 minutes... I'm not a happy customer.

Posted by: guest at October 4, 2007 11:28 PM

PC Richards has the Cafe line on display in some locations. I saw it in Yonkers. It is available to ship.

Posted by: guest at October 9, 2007 7:58 PM

I did see the GE Cafe series. It is looks absolutely stunning. Personally I like it better than the Wolf/Viking. We are building a new home and would purchase it in a minute IF - it came in white. For some reason all appliances - for the most part - come in stainless. What happened to choices?! We will probably go with the Jennair duel fuel slide-in range (about $2,200) We have had one for the past ten years and have been VERY pleased with it.
I wish you luck, but, if you are going with stainless - I would definately go with the GE Cafe. GE is an excellent product and the Cafe series looks great.

Posted by: guest at October 20, 2007 12:39 AM

We just purchased the Cafe gas range. The only problem so far is that the instructions to use Crema ss brightner before using the range are in error...according to ?Crema. So far no one at GE has been able to tell me what product to use & I will not risk damaging the ss surface by using the stove before protecting it.
Does anyone have info on this?

Posted by: guest at November 24, 2007 3:27 PM

We just purchased the Cafe gas range. The only problem so far is that the instructions to use Crema ss brightner before using the range are in error...according to ?Crema. So far no one at GE has been able to tell me what product to use & I will not risk damaging the ss surface by using the stove before protecting it.
Does anyone have info on this?

Posted by: guest at November 24, 2007 3:37 PM

I fell in love with the GE Cafe series when it first came out - but after much research I'm leaning towards the Jenn-Air. It just seems like you get more for your buck with Jenn-Air. Any comments, pro or con on either of the stoves?

Posted by: guest at February 16, 2008 9:26 AM

When using our Cafe duel fuel range tonight(not the convection) the fan in the oven (which was about 425 degrees) started making a clanking noise. It lasted a few long seconds and did not stop until I opened and closed the oven door a few times. Any ideas what may have caused this. Oh after it happened I did try the convection and the fan was fine.

Posted by: guest at March 31, 2008 10:29 PM

I recently bought this stove and have it installed. I haven't used the oven, yet and will have to find out about the Crema? I wouldn't buy this stove again. I don't have duel fuel, but the lower oven is Electric, so much for saving electricity. I didn't find any pre-sales info saying the bottom oven is electric, but it is.

The large front burners are too big for any quart pan. I have wooden handles on mine and they are right in the fire, so all cooking with small pans has to be done on the back burners. They are really back there, so gravy or anything needing stirring means bending over to reach. Forget it if you have a large pot on the front.

I complained to GE about the design. Guess they think we have a plethora of large pots we want to watch and everything else will simmer on the back burner. However, the back burners are too low to properly heat a small pan, even with the heat on high. Forget soft boiled eggs, it takes so long to heat the pan that they are hard cooked before the water boils.

Unless you love to put a bunch of giant pots on the front burners to boil, forget this stove. Find one that has the small burners in front, where they belong.

It does look good, but be sure your upper cabinets over the counter next to it have clearance. The heat coming out of the front burner when it isn't covered by a pot seems to be hot enough to cause damage to the cupboard.

Luckily, I bought the extended warranty so I can get the fan noise fixed.

Posted by: guest at May 14, 2008 12:06 PM

I do not recommend the GE Cafe range.

Many of the features of this range are very nice. I like the convection oven. I like the center griddle. I like the simmer burner. I like the way it looks.

However, the front right burner is almost unusable. This range costs way too much money to have an unusable burner, especially one in the most convenient cooking position.

I've had GE technicians come out twice to fix it. The first time there was no change in function after replacing the burner valve. The second time, the technician refused to do any repair after seeing the problem and told me there were no repairs he could do that would fix the problem.

I've contacted GE customer relations, and they said the problem I am having is "by design" and there is no way to fix it. They say if I call for another service call I will be charged for "customer education." They said that even if I was dissatisfied with the design, they would not take the range back. They offered no remedies at all, but they did "understand my frustration."

Here is the problem:

The front right burner has a numbered scale on it and is labeled "Power Boil" at the high end, followed by Hi, 8, 6, 4, 2, Lo. When you first turn on the burner, it is in the "Power Boil" range and the flame is very, very high for rapidly boiling water. When you turn it down to Hi, the flame drops some, but is still very high, like you would expect. As you continue to turn the knob, the flame drops in size very rapidly so that it is almost down to nothing by the time the knob is where the 7 would be (the space between 8 and 6). After that, as you continue to turn down the heat, the flame drops extremely slowly if at all, until you reach Lo. Essentially, there is little or no difference in heat between where the 7 would be and Lo.

This makes the burner very hard to use. If you are at 8 and the pot is boiling too rapidly, and you just want to turn it down a little bit, turn it one notch to 6 and the heat is almost completely turned off. If you are at 2 and need more heat, turn it one notch to 4 and nothing changes, turn it one more notch to 6 and nothing changes, turn it one more notch to 8 and all of a sudden your food is burning or boiling over.

GE says this function is by design and can't be fixed, but they can't give a reason for this ridiculous design. I’ve used a lot of ranges, some very old ones and some very cheap ones, and none of them have ever behaved like this. Every other range I have ever used has had continuous, even adjustment in heat between numbers on the knob, which is exactly what you would expect. And all the other burners except this one on this GE range work the way you would expect. I think this is probably not a design issue, because there is no good reason for a designer to specify the one burner to work so counter-intuitively and differently from the other burners on the same appliance. This is more likely an engineering issue or a manufacturing issue. If it is by design, they need to fire their designers. Whatever the reason for this problem, they need to get an engineering fix, and do a recall.

I’ve seen other reviews and forum threads by customers with this same exact problem, so do not buy this range unless you can live with the problem I just described. And if you do buy it, do not expect GE to do anything for you except to "understand your frustration."

Posted by: guest at May 29, 2008 4:58 PM

My comments are a bit late, but I can recommend any range from Dacor...I purchased one several years ago (free freight!!) from cuttingedgekitchens.com (Ridley Park, PA). Price was fantastic (about $2300 delivered, no sales tax outside PA). The dual-fuel Dacor is, without a doubt, the best stovetop/range I have ever used, and I am a serious cook. If you don't already know this, the dual fuels are hard-wired; we sold the house 6months ago and I now have a GE Profile Convection and I HATE this range/cooktop. Can't wait to replace it.

Posted by: guest at June 5, 2008 9:43 AM

To: quest at June 5, 2008 9:43 AM: I am seriously considering buying a GE Cafe, and your comments are quite helpful, but on June 5 you say you have a GE Profile Convection, but in earlier posts you said you had a GE Cafe. Which one were you telling about? Thanks. Posted by: journey

Posted by: guest at June 6, 2008 12:25 AM

"To: quest at June 5, 2008 9:43 AM: I am seriously considering buying a GE Cafe, and your comments are quite helpful, but on June 5 you say you have a GE Profile Convection, but in earlier posts you said you had a GE Cafe. Which one were you telling about? Thanks. Posted by: journey"

Because they are registered as 'guest', I think it's safe to assume that these are two different people ;)

I appreciate everyone's comments on the GE Cafe. I'll be buying a new range in about 2 weeks and was seriously considering this model. .. I've changed my mind.

Posted by: guest at June 9, 2008 10:22 PM

I concur with the Looks/convection satisfaction, but agree, the front right burner is a dud. The 18,000 BTU doesn't boil water as quickly as the 17,000 BTU front left and the control stair-steps from too high to too low far too quickly. In addition, both throw too wide a flame for any smaller size pots. My other beef is that the low BTU burners are misplaced. If I am boiling a pot of pasta and a pot of veggies and am making a sauce I have to cook the sauce on the back burner, which means I have to reach over or around the boiling pots in the front. I wish the locations were reversed, so at least one low burner were in the front.

Posted by: guest at June 27, 2008 3:37 PM

I did a lot of comparing of the different upscale stoves and have cooked on everything from Wolfe to Kitchenaid. I chose a GE Cafe dual-fuel stove because of the quality of the product for the price. It gives me the evenest of electric baking with the quality of gas cooking. I did get mine for $1100.00 from Direct Appliances here in Florida. I don't look at the knobs when turning my flame down and I use the griddle for the lower heat in the front if that's what I want. The right burner doesn't boil as quickly as the left for reasons that I don't know but it's a small thing.
I really recommend this product. I just wish I could find a product line that I liked all the appliances in but that's a pipe-dream.
Happy cooking!

Posted by: guest at July 2, 2008 4:05 PM

I also concur with the Frustration with the front right burn. It is on high boil or nothing. We have had 3 different techs look at. 3 different ideas were applied to try to fix this problem. Problem still persists and GE says this is a system design and that is that. So if you want 3 fully functioning burners and a nice center burner, this range it fine. But at this price point all burners should be fully functioning. Might be best to stay away from the GE Cafe until they correct the design of the front right burner.

Posted by: guest at July 14, 2008 1:40 PM