My parents have one and I have used it a lot. None of us like it at all - several reasons but the main ones are that the gas burners take forever to light, and all the burners except one are incredibly fierce, so it’s hard to cook things gently or leave anything without constant stirring.

Hello Huw

I have had a Citeaux with both gas and induction rings and gas and electric ovens for three years and love everything about it.

As an overall concept, Lacanche ranges are probably best for people who don't want bells and whistles and just want to cook. Lacanches are actually really basic: they heat up. They don't have programs, clocks, fancy settings, steam functions etc. They are not self-cleaning. There is no temperature gauge for the gas oven just gas marks but (since 2016) the ovens do have internal lights as standard (!). If you want the features that many (most?) modern ovens have, then they are probably not the right choice for you.

The Lacanche ranges are like powerful beasts. You can feel the solidity when you open and close the oven doors, lift the racks for the gas burners. It is all so heavy duty.

The well-insulated ovens reach serious temperatures (240C for the electric, 260C for the gas); they are both bottom-heat only. The electric oven has a fan setting as well. The electric oven takes about 30 mins to reach the highest temperature, the bigger gas oven more like 40. They both retain residual heat well once switched off.

The gas burners are powerful and really give that caveperson open-fire thrill when wok stir-frying, the induction is very powerful, extremely responsive and regulateable (is that a word?).

For most everyday cooking, I use the gas burners with two key exceptions:

-- bringing eg pasta water to the boil: the induction gets five litres roiling away in no time. Even the powerful gas burner cannot compete; I've tried them side by side.

-- really slow simmering where a bubble breaks the surface every 30 secs or so. It's a joy to leave stews blupping away for 2 or 3 hours on the lowest setting, it just holds the temperature.

The induction burners do feature some simple 'programs':

-- a booster setting of extra power for 10 mins and then reverts to the highest setting (9) -- I use this all the time to bring water to the boil

-- ten minutes on highest setting (9) and then revert to a previously indicated setting, eg 2 or 5 or whatever (very useful)

-- holding the pan at one of two set temperatures, 40C or 70C (which I almost never use).

So I do agree with Minipie above that the gas rings, even on low settings, are a bit too powerful for really slow simmering but I can use induction rings for that. I haven't had the problem with the gas burners or oven taking long to light.

I spent a LOT of time reading feedback before taking the decidely expensive plunge, but have never regretted it. I realise sceptics may say, but it's just an oven, as long as it heats up, what can the difference be. I sort of understand where they're coming from but once you cook on such a beast, wow. There is a difference, both using it and the taste of your food.

The bottom line, I suspect, is that if you enjoy the mechanics of cooking, you're likely to appreciate the Lacanche.

Here endeth the lesson... apologies for the wall of text, I hope some of it has addressed the points you were looking for.