Hot Items for the Home

The hottest kitchen items come directly from commercial kitchens.

“Convection ovens account for 75% of our business for homeowners,” says Jack Viano, district manager of Alexander’s Appliances Inc. in Irvine.

Professional chefs have been using them for years, and the country’s largest cooking school, the Culinary Institute of America, teaches on them.

“We’re putting 48-inch commercial ranges and 60-inch commercial hoods into homes,” says Charlotte Chaffee of Kitchen Spaces in Costa Mesa.

For home bakers, the $3,600 Russell Range can be programmed to inject steam into the oven like a professional bakery oven. And, a commercial La Broche rotisserie that costs $18,000 has 10 horizontal spits and five vertical ones as well as a place for a suckling pig.

* Stainless steel and stainless steel with color are the newest looks. Blue Creek by Jenn-Air features brilliant color over stainless steel appliances. This downdraft cooktop runs $1,450.

* Modu XU cabinetry features a glass-top, stainless steel, framed breakfast table. Custom cabinets can cost more than $60,000, Chaffee said. Custom ones in materials such as Honduran mahogany can reach $100,000.

* One option with the $1,300 Jenn-Air 30-inch convection oven is a rack for drying summer fruits, herbs and flowers.