What’s Hot in Kitchens: Freestanding Range Cookers

Channel your inner MasterChef and add an eye-catching centerpiece to your new kitchen with a freestanding range cooker 

Today’s kitchen is no longer hidden away – it’s the heart and soul of your home. If you’re looking to add a centrepiece to your kitchen that really draws people in, a beautiful freestanding range cooker could be just the thing. 

Cosy and comforting, today’s range cookers come in a range of colours and sizes and both classic and contemporary designs, making it easy to find the perfect one to suit your kitchen. And with generous oven capacities and a variety of cooking functions, they are guaranteed to help you cook up a storm.

Read on to learn more about this much-loved, classic cooking appliance.

In the meantime, if you’re busy planning your kitchen, check out our guide to designing the perfect kitchen.

The heart of your kitchen

For generations, freestanding range cookers have been the top pick for professional chefs and home cooking connoisseurs. Not only does a luxury range cooker offer superior cooking functionality, but it’s a striking piece that forms the focal point of your kitchen and brings a little bit of theatre and magic to every day, whether you’re preparing casual mid-week meals or cooking for guests.

On display in the Spectra Showroom is over 10 upright cookers manufactured by Belling, Bosch, Fisher & Paykel and Technika. The displayed products are in a variety of finishes including stainless steel, black and white. The top of the range is the Belling Richmond DeLuxe range which offers both induction (5 zones) or gas cooktop and 4 ovens.

See them for yourself by making an appointment to visit our Spectra showroom. 

Latest trends in colour and style

Blend in or get noticed? With the vast array of freestanding cookers available today, the choice is yours. Colour is a key trend in 2022 and allows you to make your cooker the star of your kitchen. Make a statement with Belling’s BCC900IB CookCentre Deluxe 90cm Induction range cooker in black, or add a contemporary feel to your kitchen with a model in black with stainless steel detailing, such as Technika’s TU950TME8BG Home Collection 90cm Dual Fuel Cooker.

If sleek minimalism is your style, you’re sure to love the Bosch HSB738357A Serie | 6 Dual Fuel Cooker, which has sleek, pared-back lines and a stainless-steel finish, or Fisher & Paykel’s OR90SCG1X1 Series 5 Classic 90cm Dual Fuel Upright cooker in brushed stainless steel. Or dial up the drama with a freestanding oven in dark stainless steel, such as the Westinghouse WFEP917DSD 90cm Pyrolytic Dual Fuel upright cooker.

Cook like a pro

Today’s range cookers boast state-of-art cooking functionality so you can whip up mouth-watering dishes like a pro. And with a bigger internal capacity than built-in ovens, fitting in large dishes, such as the Christmas turkey, is easy.

To give maximum cooking flexibility, many models feature multiple ovens so you can cook dishes at different temperatures simultaneously. There are also several fuel types and combinations to choose from, including gas, gas on glass, electric and induction cooktops, and electric steam ovens.

You’ll find freestanding models with appealing extras, such as Bosch’s HSB738357A Serie | 6 90cm Dual Fuel cooker, which has a rotisserie so you can achieve perfectly crisp-skinned roast chicken. Meanwhile, Belling’s BRD900GTGWH Richmond Deluxe 90cm dual fuel cooker, has a clever ‘cavity splitter’ that lets you turn two ovens into four when you need it.

Enjoy cooking specialist dishes? Fisher & Paykel’s OR90SCG4B1 Freestanding 90cm Dual Fuel has an impressive nine cooking functions, including special pizza and bread-making modes, plus a wok burner. Or for the ultimate in cooking flexibility, Westinghouse’s WFEP917DSD 90cm Dual Fuel Pyrolytic Freestanding cooker has a steam plus bake function for crispier crusts and fluffy centres on baked goods, an air fryer function for healthy cooking, and quick and easy pyrolytic self-cleaning.

Or if you want maximum oven size but need your cooker to fit into a standard 90cm cavity, consider the Belling BCC900IB CookCentre Deluxe 90cm Induction range cooker, which has a whopping 195-litre oven capacity, while still slotting into a regular 90cm-wide cavity.

What to consider when choosing

When it comes to selecting a range cooker, ask yourself

• How much space do you have available? Most freestanding range cookers come in a 90cm width, which fits into a standard oven cavity, or a larger 110cm width, which gives you more oven and cooktop space if you have many mouths to feed.
• How many people will you be cooking for? This will help determine how big you’ll need your oven capacity to be.
• Do you want the flexibility to cook several dishes at different temperatures at once? If yes, seek out a style with multiple, independent ovens.
• What style is your kitchen? A classic or retro-style range cooker with decorative detailing will suit a traditional kitchen with Shaker-style cabinetry, while a sleek range cooker with minimalist detailing will complement a clean-lined, contemporary kitchen.

Learn more about the seven updates to bring wow-factor to your kitchen here.