There’s nothing more magical in the culinary world than the application of heat to raw ingredients, and the ensuing transformation that occurs once the perfect amount of heat is applied to your chosen dish.  It’s the accurate application of heat during the cooking process that is vital to achieving your desired results, which is precisely why, when choosing a home range, selecting the one that gives you the greatest amount of control and temperature range is so vital.

Ten years ago I purchased a Capital Culinarian range, and it forever changed the options I had when crafting dishes in my home kitchen. It offered all the abilities of a professional range – ample power, the ability to simmer, and a huge oven – all wrapped in a luxurious package. After enjoying ten flawless years with my Capital Culinarian, I’ve since moved to a new home, and one of the first purchases I made was another Capital range – this time, the Capital Connoisseurian.  And after six months of use, including the preparation of two enormous Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, I can tell you firsthand the Connoisseurian is a masterpiece of engineering, offering copious amount of power, perfectly precise temperature control, and a pair of electric ovens that make baking a dream. Read on and I’ll tell you what makes the Capital Connoisseurian the ultimate professional home range.

Capital Connoisseurian Overview

If you’re new to Capital ranges, one of the first questions you may have is “what is the difference between the Culinarian and Connoisseurian lines?” The answer, in short, is how they’re powered. In looking at the Connoisseurian lineup of ranges from Capital Cooking, the most important distinction to note is that all of the ranges come with a dual fuel configuration, meaning the cooktop elements are powered by either natural gas or propane, whereas the ovens are all electric. This differs from the Culinarian line, which offers a purely gas option for both the cooktop and ovens.

So which should you choose? As someone that’s owned both the Culinarian and Connoisseurian, I can tell you they’re both amazing, and you’ll be happy with either. That being said, gas ovens tend to favor foods that like moist environments, like meats, whereas bakers tend to favor electric ovens, as the drier heat tends to favor baked goods. I have an extensive look at the Capital Culinarian that you can read here, so if you’re still on the fence as to which option is right for you, be sure to check out that article as well.

But back to the Capital Connoisseurian. In total, the Connoisseurian lineup notes 30 different configurations in four distinct sizes: 30″, 36″, 48″ and 60″. The lineup also includes two distinct burner options, based on your preferences: open burners and sealed burners. Open burners are what you’ll typically find on commercial ranges, and in the case of the Connoisseurian, primary burners offer 25,000 btu’s, which if you’re new to btu’s means you’re cooking with a tremendous amount of heat (we’ll talk more about the burners later). As for the sealed burners, they make cleaning a little bit easier due to their sealed design, but you’ll sacrifice some power, with btu’s coming in at 19,000 for primary burners. Your choice will boil down to how much power do you need, and how important is ease of cleaning after cooking.

As far as cooktop options, the 30″ Connoisseurian ranges come exclusively with four burners, either sealed or open. Starting with the 36″ Connoisseurian models, the base configuration offers a total of six burners, either open or sealed, along with the option to trade the two center burners for a 12″ grill or griddle. Once you move up to the 48″ Connoisseurian, a second oven is added, and you start with a total of 8 open or sealed burners. You also have the option to trade two burners for either a 12″ grill or griddle, or you can opt to trade four burners for both a 12″ grill and 12″ griddle (with four burners remaining). Lastly, once you move up to the 60″ Connoisseurian, there’s a variety of different cooktop options, all of which have at least six open or sealed burners along with different grill/griddle options. You can opt for 8 burners with a 12″ grill or griddle, you can opt for 6 burners with a 24″ grill or griddle, or you can opt for 6 burners with a combination of 12″ grill and 12″ griddle. There’s also six burner configuration with a 24″ wok cooker, which is exclusive to the 60″ Connoisseurian range size.

The Connoisseurian is a masterpiece of engineering

Ultimately, whether you’re looking for an abundance of burners, a grill, a griddle or love to cook on a wok, there’s really an option for everyone.

So what did I choose? Coming from a 60″ Culinarian, I had grown to love cooking with an ample amount of burners, so I chose the 60″ Connoisseurian with 24″ griddle and 6 open burners, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. It handles huge meals with ease, the griddle has made weekend breakfasts a ritual in my home, and the spacious ovens are exceptional for baking. In short, it’s everything I needed and more.

Capital Connoisseurian Cooktop

If there’s a singular reason to choose Capital over the variety of other ranges on the market, it has to be the cooktop. Available in a wide range of configurations (as already noted), with options for a grill, griddle, or combination of both, the foundation of the Connoisseurian’s cooktop are the burners. For the ultimate in commercial level cooking in home, the open burners provide a staggering 25K BTU’s, yet still retain the ability to be turned down to a true simmer. Capital also offers a smaller, 8K BTU burner on some models, allowing for an even lower simmer for the most delicate of sauces.

In a word, the open burners on the Connoisseurian are incredible. I never thought I needed such high BTU’s prior to owning a Capital, but now that I have so much power at my disposal, I find myself using the highest heat settings weekly, usually when wok cooking. Thanks to an available wok ring that replaces the standard burner grate, cooking with a wok on the Connoisseurian is brilliant, as the ample heat allows a genuine smokey flavor to permeate the food. I also use high heat when searing meats, prior to cooking at lower temps in the oven. Some debate the need for such high heat, but I’ll tell you firsthand that if you’re truly serious about cooking at the highest possible level, there’s simply no way to get the same results with less power.

Despite the heat, all burners turn down to a true simmer, and I’ve had great success making numerous delicate French sauces on the 25K BTU burners. My 60″ Connoisseurian includes one 8K BTU small pan burner, and when I’m using very small pans, I find myself using this burner extensively. That being said, I’m more than happy with the simmer functionality of the main burners, so if you’re looking at a model that doesn’t include the smaller burner, fret not. In terms of cleaning, I’ve also had no problems with the open burner design, as the process for removing the grates and burners is quite easy, should the need arise. I rarely clean the burners, however, as messes usually occur from food escaping the sides of the pan, which doesn’t affect the burners at all.

One of the biggest changes I made on my new Connoisseurian compared to my original Culinarian was the addition of a 30K BTU 24″ griddle. On my Culinarian, I opted for a 12″ grill and 12″ griddle, but I found I didn’t use the grill as often as I thought I would, as I usually would just opt to grill outdoors. The griddle, however, quickly became a family favorite for weekend breakfasts, so when I chose my new Connoisseurian, I welcomed the additional space of the 24″ griddle, and decided to save grilling exclusively for the outdoors. And I will say, I love my decision. The extra wide griddle transforms our kitchen into a diner on the weekends, and we throw everything from eggs, bacon and pancakes on it in the morning to burgers and buns on it at night. Not only that, the flat surface area can act like a French top when you’re using numerous pans for bigger meals, so I find myself using the griddle to keep pans warm or simmer when I need the extra space. If you’re a die hard grill fan, you can’t go wrong with the grill option, but for my family and I, the 24″ griddle was definitely the better option.

Whatever you choose, just know that Capital Connoisseurian’s cooktop boasts the highest powered, greatest performing burners on the market.

Capital Connoisseurian Ovens

I already touched on the choice between gas or electric ovens, and it was my decision to switch from the Culinarian’s gas ovens to electric that led me to opt for the Connoisseurian. While I loved my gas ovens on the Culinarian, I welcomed the additional features found on the Connoisseurian’s electric oven, and I’m very happy that I made the switch.

On my 60″ Connoisseurian model, there are two electric ovens. The primary oven has 5.4 cubic foot cavity, measuring 27” W X 16-1/2” H X 21” D, whereas the second oven has a 3.6 cubic foot cavity, measuring 18” W X 16-1/2” H X 21” D. There are numerous features that both ovens share, including dual air flow convection, self-cleaning functionality, a ribbon broil element for searing, six rack positions with three Flex-Roll oven racks included in each oven, meat probe and timed and delay cooking modes, to name a few. The primary oven also includes a built in motorized rotisserie with stainless steel spit rod and forks as well as a moist cooking mode, meaning you can cook incredibly moist meats from the comfort of your own home. Both ovens also feature bake element under glass, which makes cleanup a breeze.

One of my favorite things about having a larger oven and smaller oven is the ability to choose the right oven size for what I’m baking. When I need extra space I use the primary oven, but when I’m baking something small I gravitate towards the second oven. Both ovens do exactly what I need them to do, offering beautifully uniform heating, easy cleanup and ample functionality and power. I feel like they’ve helped me achieve even greater results than my prior gas ovens, and honestly I don’t how they could be improved, as my baking results have been superb.

Capital Connoisseurian Design and Build Quality

Designed and built in the United States, Capital ranges’ build quality is impeccable. I owned my Culinarian for 10 years, and not only did it perform flawlessly, its looks matched its performance a decade later. It’s evident Capital uses the highest quality materials to build their ranges, and the build quality of the Connoisseurian has only gotten better. There wasn’t a single flaw with my range – not a scratch, every weld was perfect, every knob, every burner – everything functioned perfectly from the start, and six months later I’ve yet to find a fault with it. Capital ranges are beautifully built, to the point you could use them in a commercial kitchen and they could withstand the punishment.

Design wise, there are some subtle differences from the Culinarian to the Connoisseurian. The most notable difference is the addition of the electric oven controls on the Connoisseurian models, which differs from the single knob temperature controls for the ovens on the Culinarian. Another subtle difference is the Connoisseurian’s ovens are slightly taller than the Culinarian’s, which makes the front kick plate of the Connoisseurian slightly shorter than the Culinarian. The oven doors have also moved up and been squared off on the Connoisseurian, with the top of the oven doors positioned directly under the sliding drip trays. On the Culinarian, the oven doors are vented on the top, creating space between the top of the doors and the drip tray, while the top of the oven doors note a distinctly more rounded appearance. Overall the two ranges are very similar, and I personally love the design of both. There isn’t a single person that visits my home that doesn’t compliment my Capital range, and I personally couldn’t be more pleased with both the Connoisseurian’s design and build quality.

Capital Connoisseurian Conclusion

When it comes to choosing a professional level home range, the only two ranges I would consider would be the Capital Culinarian or Connoisseurian. They’re built to the absolute highest standards, they perform brilliantly, and they really are commercial quality ranges designed for home use. Having owned both, I would give the edge to the Connoisseurian, simply because I’ve grown to love the electric ovens. The ovens have made baking a dream, and I’ve had tremendous success cooking beautifully moist meats thanks to both the rotisserie and the Moist cook settings. Ultimately, both ranges are absolutely superb, and in truth, you can’t go wrong with either one. I can’t imagine using a range with less power, as Capital’s open burners have allowed my cooking to reach levels I never thought possible from a home range. If you, like me, are in search of achieving the absolutely highest level of at-home cooking, then Capital needs to be your number one option – there simply isn’t a better home range on the planet.

Despite our best intentions, there are few purchases that, to any lasting degree, ever really change our lives for the better. The latest phone, a newer television, the cutting edge fashion trend – all provide instantaneous gratification, but their usefullness is short lived, and within a relatively short time period they will all fade away, only to be replaced by a newer, better counterpart. It’s rare to find things that endure – things that have the power to improve our lives in a meaningful way on a continual, steadfast basis.

Ten years ago I wrote an article about the Capital Culinarian range, and at the time, I had no idea how I would feel about it a year later, or two, or three. I knew at the time I made the right choice selecting the Capital Culinarian for my home kitchen, but I’ve learned that it takes time to truly appreciate the value of an object. Love isn’t born in a day – it takes time to forge an enduring relationship with something. And I can tell you that looking back, I had no idea how much joy the Capital range would bring me over the next ten years.

The Capital Culinarian has become unequivocally one of the greatest purchases I have ever made, not just in terms of my kitchen, but of anything I’ve bought, period.

The Capital Culinarian has become unequivocally one of the greatest purchases I have ever made, not just in terms of my kitchen, but of anything I’ve bought, period. I’ve used it almost daily for what is now ten years, and despite a decade of cooking, it looks nearly new, it performs as perfectly as it did the day I first used it, and together with my family, the meals we have prepared with it have been absolutely magical. It has become not only the heart of the kitchen, but really the heart of the home.

But as with any good story, there needs to be a plot twist. This year has been a year of transition for me and my family, and we’ve decided to sell our home, and with it, my beloved Capital Culinarian. Not to sound overly dramatic, but I feel genuine sadness leaving my Capital range behind. It’s rare for me to form attachments to material possessions, but after countless morning breakfasts with the kids, family Thanksgivings spent around the stove with everyone preparing their favorite dishes, and date nights with my wife sharing a bottle of wine as we experiment with new recipes, I can tell you that of anything in my home, I will miss my Culinarian the most.

And while you may think that’s the end of the story and my love affair with Capital is over – that I’ve moved on to find a newer, better range manufacturer – the truth is, there isn’t one. Ten years later, Capital is the still the king of professional home ranges, which is precisely why after moving into my new home I immediately made the decision to purchase another Capital range – specifically, a 60″ Capital Connoisseurian. After taking delivery and firing it up for the first time, I can tell you Capital’s quality and performance hasn’t missed a beat. Fit and finish are perfect, performance is unrivaled, and build quality is exemplary. It’s precisely what I’ve come to know and love about the Capital brand.

Capital Connoisseurian Quick Look

So why did I choose the Capital Connoisseurian? I’m going to be writing a dedicated article highlighting all of the Capital Connoisseurian’s features in the coming weeks along with an in-depth review, but here’ a quick snapshot of why I chose it. For me, professional quality is the singular greatest attribute I look for in a home range. The ability to cook with the highest possible heat down to a gentle simmer is the key to prepare virtually any dish, and when it comes to heating, there’s no greater range on the planet than the Capital Culinarian and Connoisseurian. Both ranges feature open burners boasting an industry leading 25,000 BTU’s, but they’re also both capable of achieving a true simmer, meaning you can stir fry with a wok or sear the perfect steak, then turn down the burners to make a delicate French sauce, all from the same burners. After using them for the last 10 years, Capital’s open burners are simply incredible, and functionally they can rival the performance of any commercial range.

So why the Connoisseurian instead of the Culinarian? While the two share identical cooktops, including burners, griddle and grill, the difference between the two lies in the ovens. Whereas my former Culinarian was purely a gas range, meaning the cooktop and oven were all gas powered, the Connoisseurian is a dual fuel range, meaning the cooktop is powered by gas, but the two ovens are both electric. Gas ovens tend to produce a moister heat which favors dishes that you want to stay moist, like meats. Electric ovens produce a drier heat which tends to favor baked goods, like breads. As an avid home baker who enjoys baking bread on a regular basis, I decided to opt for the electric oven Connoisseurian model, but that being said, I loved my Culinarian’s gas oven – I very much could have purchased another Culinarian and been perfectly happy, and I’ve loved its results for conventional baked goods, including bread.

Capital’s open burners are simply incredible, and functionally they can rival the performance of any commercial range

Functionality aside, the second reason I chose Capital is because I absolutely love the design and engineering of Capital ranges. I’ve looked at Wolf, Bluestar, and Viking, to name a few, and the Capital Connoisseurian is unmatched in terms of build quality. Every part of it feels solid, like it’s built to last forever, and just like my Culinarian, my new Connoisseurian was engineered perfectly. Every weld, every piece of metal, is flawless. I’ve yet to find a range that rivals the quality of my Capital, and I’ve looked at all of them. Put it all together – performance, design, and engineering – and Capital has no rival.

Like I said, I’m going to be providing a follow up article providing an in-depth look at the Capital Connoisseurian and its many features in the near future, but if you’re in the market for a professional home range right now, put Capital at the top of your list, period. For anyone serious about cooking at the highest possible level, Capital is the foremost brand bringing commercial style cooking into the residential kitchen, and it looks superb doing it.

The Story of Capital and Superior Equipment Solutions

If you read my last article about the Capital Culinarian, you read the history of Capital ranges, and how industry veteran Surjit Kalsi helped launch the company after pioneering the first commercial style home range at Viking and later helping found DCS ranges. Much has changed since my first article, as Capital has since been acquired by Superior Equipment Solutions (SES), a world leader in both the residential and commercial appliance market. Led by Jeff Bernstein, SES owns numerous brands in the home and commercial appliance sector, starting with the Alfresco and Artisan line of residential outdoor kitchen appliances. Launched in 1999, Alfreso was started by Jeff along with Jeff Elliott and Edwin Hovsepian, who prior to starting Alfresco had more than 30 years of combined experience in the commercial appliance industry. Together, the trio envisioned bringing an entirely new level of quality, performance and luxury to outdoor kitchen appliances, and they’ve since grown to become a world leader in outdoor kitchen design and performance, working with world renowned chefs including Jean George, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse and Mario Batali.

I’m a huge fan of Alfresco and their lineup of outdoor kitchen appliances, and I’ll be talking more about them in a separate article, but from there, the company expanded to become what is now SES brands, after acquiring numerous leaders in the commercial appliance market. Penguin Refrigeration, Adamation Innovative Warewashing Solutions and Acme Pizza and Baking Equipment are all under the SES brand family, and they all highlight the company’s skill in engineering equipment designed to excel in a commercial kitchen environment. In other words, despite being a residential kitchen brand, Capital is now backed by a world leading commercial appliance manufacturer, which only strengthenes its position at the top of the professional home range market.

It wasn’t until I decided to purchase the Capital Connoisseurian that I learned of SES’s acquisition of Capital. I had reached out to the company with some questions before making my purchase, and after speaking with the company, I felt even more confident in my purchase decsion. I learned that SES was keeping production entirely in the United States at its state-of-the-art production facility in California, and I learned that SES was founded on delivering the highest level of design, engineering and performance in everything they make, which is exactly what I expected in purchasing the Connoisseurian. I reached out SES CEO Jeff Bernstein before writing this article, and I asked him some questions about his company and his acquistion of Capital.

Here’s what he had to say.

Me: Tell us a bit about your background in the commercial kitchen sector and what led you to pioneer the concept of bringing restaurant quality kitchen appliances to outdoor spaces.

Jeff: The executives that make up the backbone of SES have all been in the business for over 30 years. All had previously worked with my father’s old company Jade Range (currently a Middleby Co.), which was a pioneer in the commercial exhibition kitchen concept – when the celebrity chef was just coming out of the kitchen.

Me: How has your prior experience in the commercial food service industry aided your ability to design and innovate products that are industry leaders in each of their market segments, and what are some of the key characteristics that both residential and commercial appliances should share?

Jeff: Whether it be commercial or residential, the kitchen is supposed to be designed for efficiency and flexibility. In the commercial environment space is always a premium, so function must prevail, and this is the concept we brought to the residential market. When we began people basically put freestanding grills on their patios, but originating from Southern California we began promoting the concept of an outdoor kitchen utilizing the premise of commercial kitchen as our guide. Many new and exciting products came out of this which have since become industry standards, i.e., the trash chute, dry storage pantry, drawers and bottle openers, just to name a few. A commercial kitchen is designed to take a veritable beating and our products are designed for the vigorous standard.

Me: After launching the Alfresco brand, you’ve since expanded into numerous other sectors with the Artisan, Penguin, Acme, Adamation and Capital brands, targeting both residential and commercial industries. Has this marriage of numerous companies under the SES brand made design and manufacturing easier (i.e., does it allow crossover among your R&D, manufacturing, technology, etc.), and has this positively impacted your residential brands?

Jeff: All of our knowledge helps us to be a better manufacturer and ACME & Adamation are companies with both over 80 years in the commercial industry. Penguin, which is our commercial refrigeration division, works with restaurant chains, and we also OEM for an established range manufacturer. This allows us to do some innovative products with our Alfresco line since we make it ourselves, like our 42” under grill refrigerator ARXE-42 with a door & 2 refrigerated drawers – this is the only one of its kind on the market.

Me: SES has chosen to invest substantially into advance automated technology and design programs, thus keeping manufacturing in the U.S.. Why was it important to you to keep design and manufacturing in the U.S. and what benefits does it provide to your customers?

Jeff: Automation allows us and the customer several benefits. First, there is a greater consistency in the accuracy of the parts produced. Human error is eliminated, thus reducing problems and also providing a higher quality. Our concept has always been to build quality in not inspect it as it goes out. We can also run a substantial part of the manufacturing process lights out which allows us to keep our lead times short and creates less of a panic so quality remains high.

Me: The founders of Alfresco have a background not only in commercial kitchen appliances but also in commercial kitchen design and space planning. How important is design in ensuring the most functional outdoor kitchen space possible and what are the benefits of having an outdoor kitchen space designed by your team of experts?

Jeff: Yes, we have always know that an efficient kitchen would be beneficial, so several years ago we started the process of offering a free 3D drawing and level out of a customers intended space – these have also become the standard in the industry.

Me: SES, through its Alfresco and Artisan brands, has been designing and manufacturing outdoor kitchen appliances that are the best in the industry, and you’ve also led the way in appliance innovations with numerous offerings that were firsts in the industry. With such success in the outdoor market, what made SES decide it was time to look to indoor appliances and why Capital Cooking?

Jeff: We have wanted to move back into the indoor market for a long time and had been working on designing a commercial style range under the Alfresco brand, but several years ago we started to have discussions with the Capital people, and finally the right opportunity arose.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as I detail both my Capital Connoisseurian and the Alfresco lineup of outdoor kitchen appliances, and be sure to check out the official websites for both Capital Cooking and Alfresco while you wait. And a special thanks to Jeff for taking the time to answer my questions and giving us a deeper look at SES brands.

If you’re a regular reader of eMercedesBenz, you already know that I’m in love with Capital Cooking’s incredibly great Culinarian Series of ranges (and if you’re not a regular reader of eMercedesBenz, you can check out my original review of the Capital Culinarian here to see exactly what I’m talking about).  Simply put, it’s the best professional home range on the planet, offering more power and more precise temperature control than any other range on the market.

There is, however, one caveat to the Capital Culinarian:  if you’re dead set on having a dual fuel range (i.e., a gas cooktop with electric oven/ovens), you were, up until now, out of luck.  At present, Capital’s  Culinarian is only available as a single fuel model, as is the case with their sealed burner Precision Series of ranges.

For me, it’s not an issue, as my kitchen design includes the 60″ Culinarian range with gas ovens as well as separate dual electric ovens (thus offering the best of both worlds).  But for those of you wanting an integrated electric oven(s) directly with your Capital’s gas cooktop, your wish will soon be granted, as Capital recently debuted their latest innovation at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show:  the Connoisseurian Series.

Building on the success of both the Culinarian and Precision Series, the Connoisseurian Series is the first Capital Series to offer dual fuel functionality.  Available in either an open burner configuration (like the Culinarian Series) or a sealed burner configuration (like the Precision Series), the Connoisseurian adds in newly designed electric ovens in 30″, 36″, 48″ and 60″ sizes.  Not only are they larger than other electric ovens, ranking them among the highest in terms of usable space when compared to other dual fuel ranges, they also feature Capital’s unique rotisserie and MoistRoast systems, ensuring optimum cooking for a wide assortment of meats and baked goods.

As someone that’s extensively used the Culinarian Series’ rotisseries system firsthand, I can tell you that it’s an innovation you’ll wonder how you ever lived without.  It adds such a unique element to in-home cooking, as it allows you to perfectly prepare meat in a way that only a rotisserie can.  I have no doubt that the Connoisseurian Series’ rotisserie and MoistRoast systems work equally as well.

While the Capital Connoisseurian Series is at present a prototype, I spoke with Capital and they said it will be coming to the market very soon.  While you’re waiting, I’ve attached the official details of the Capital Connoisseurian Series below, all of which serve to better highlight exactly what to expect when the Capital Connoisseurian Series goes on sale.

Capital Connoisseurian Series prototype on display at Architectural Digest Home Design Show 2012

Surjit Kalsi, chairman of Capital Cooking Equipment Inc., prides himself on listening and responding to his customers. Capital customers, distributors and its dealer network began asking for a dual fuel range last year after the successful launch of the open burner Culinarian range. This spring, the company debuted its extensive dual fuel cooking series at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show.  The new dual fuel Connoisseurian Series incorporates the best technology from both its electric ovens and gas ranges, offering both open and sealed burner versions, all self clean in 30″, 36″, 48″ and 60″ configurations.

“The Connoisseurian definitely fills out our product line,” states Joey Kitabayashi, Vice President of Engineering at Capital. “We’ve been known for all-gas ranges but dual fuel is also a popular choice in the marketplace. We’ve worked to take the best attributes of our built-in electric wall ovens and match that with styles of gas cooktops that we have had great success with. Our dealers are excited to offer a Capital product in dual fuel that contains so many other Capital features that customers appreciate such as moist cooking and rotisserie.”

Capital has made important advancements with the new Connoisseurian line-up. The oven sizes have been increased, ranking Connoisseurian ovens amongst the top usable capacity of all dual fuel ranges on the market. All primary ovens have Capital’s exclusive MoistRoast cooking feature that uses moisture, not steam, to produce perfect, moist roasting and baking, and also features Capital’s popular motorized rotisserie system. The secondary ovens in the 48″ and 60″ sizes are fully functioning with bake, broil, convection, roast and self clean. And for safety, the engineering staff tested the external temperature of a fully operational baking oven and found it to be up to 30°F cooler-to-the-touch than many competitive models.

Another important feature doesn’t involve cooking, but listening. Capital engineers incorporated a two-speed cooling fan system in the oven. The high, noisier speed is only triggered when the oven is at extreme high temperatures over a long period of time, such as operating the self cleaning mode. What is considered “normal” oven use, i.e. temperatures under 400°F for under two hours triggers only the low speed cooling fan that is very quiet and not noticeable in a busy kitchen environment.

Offering both open burner and sealed burner system options in the Connoisseurian line will appeal to all cooking styles and preferences. The open burner system developed for Capital’s Culinarian line is ideal for the home chef looking for restaurant power and advanced cooking functionality made possible by the open flame. The sealed burner system that Capital uses in its Precision Series is the most common gas cooktop system where the flame is controlled by burner caps of different sizes. Customers can choose which style of Connoisseurian is appropriate for their own lifestyle.

CONNOISSEURIAN SERIES FEATURES

Color Options

• Available in 10 standard colors (door and kick plate). Custom colors can also be ordered.

PRIMARY ovens have:

• MOISTROAST – Moisture-based cooking function preventing food from drying out when cooking
• ROTISSERIE – Built-in, motorized

ALL ovens have the following features:

• BAKE, BROIL, ROAST, DELICATE BAKE
• SELF CLEAN
• MEAT PROBE cooking
• Convection Fan cooking for BAKE, BROIL, ROAST
• Hidden Bake Element under glass
• Ribbon Broil Element under glass
• Dual Kitchen Timers (5 seconds to 11 hour 55 minutes)
• TIMED COOK – You can set the oven to turn itself OFF after a set amount of time
• DELAY COOK – You can set the oven to start cooking at a set time of day
• Clock – Displays the time of day when range is not in use
• Dual Halogen lights in each oven
• FlexRoll Racking system
• Sabbath mode

CONNOISSEURIAN SERIES SIZING

30″ Oven size:

• 25-1/8″ Wide X 16-1/2″ High X 21″ Deep (19″ usable)
• Overall capacity – 5.0 cubic feet; Usable capacity = 4.56 cubic feet

36″, 48″ & 60″ Primary Oven Size:

• 27″ Wide X 16-1/2″ High X 21″ Deep (19″ Usable)
• Overall Capacity – 5.4 cubic feet; Usable Capacity = 4.88 cubic feet

48″ Secondary Oven Size:

• 12″ Wide X 16-1/2″ High X 21″ Deep (19″ Usable)
• Overall Capacity – 2.4 cubic feet; Usable Capacity = 2.18 cubic feet

60″ Secondary Oven Size:

• 18″ Wide X 16-1/2″ High X 21″ Deep (19″ Usable)
• Overall Capacity – 3.6 cubic feet; Usable Capacity = 3.27 cubic feet

Since the beginning of time, man has been dedicated to the art of creating culinary masterpieces.  What exactly those culinary masterpieces are varies from culture to culture, whether it’s a beautifully prepared Pad Thai from Thailand, a slow-cooked Rendang from Indonesia or a mouth watering burger from your favorite burger joint right down the street.   No matter what your cuisine of choice, the common thread among a vast majority of them is that they rely on power.  They rely on a method that effectively delivers heat, whether its copious amounts of high heat or a gentle simmer of low heat.

Step into the kitchen of virtually any restaurant, and the range is the absolute single most important element, aside from the food itself and the one preparing it.  The range is the backbone of the kitchen, allowing chefs to take what was once ordinary food and transform it into something magical… something extraordinary.  I vehemently believe that food is the key to the soul, and it is, quite possibly, the true secret to happiness.  There is simply nothing that creates a greater sense of fulfillment – a greater sense of joy – than a perfectly cooked meal.

It’s a truth that has, in many ways, governed my choices in the kitchen.  In my never ending quest for culinary nirvana, I have analyzed and assessed absolutely every item I use with excruciating detail.  But when it came time to select a new range, there was no other item in my kitchen that I devoted more time to studying and researching.  Creating heat, and having the ability to control heat down to the finest detail, is, in my opinion, the single most important ability when cooking in the kitchen.

Studying ranges, I learned a tremendous amount about the principles of heat delivery –gas vs. electric, sealed vs. open burners, BTU ratings, etc. – and what I learned is that there is one range that has absolutely no equal in the home culinary world.  That range is the Capital Culinarian, and it is without question the most ingeniously designed, superbly performing home range on the planet.  Whether from a heat delivery standpoint, a design standpoint, a feature standpoint – there simply isn’t anything that begins to rival the brilliance of the Capital Culinarian.

You may be questioning my strong opinion of the Capital Culinarian so early on in the article, and rightly so.  Granting title as the best home range on the planet is a bold claim, and for owners of Wolf, Viking, Bluestar, or any of the other professional home range manufacturers, one that’s immediately going to be brought into question.  But the truth is what it is.  Forget everything you’ve heard from your local appliance salesmen; forget the marketing claims made by other professional range manufacturers.  I’m going to tell you point blank why the Capital Culinarian has no equal, and I’m going to tell you why from a purely objective standpoint.  No agendas; no ulterior motives; just from someone that absolutely loves to cook, and wants the highest degree of performance and flexibility while doing so.

Range Basics

Before I go in-depth about the Capital Culinarian in particular, I wanted to mention briefly some of the key elements of ranges in general.  When considering ranges, you’ll immediately be inundated with a variety of choices, with three of the most important being whether or not to opt for a gas range, whether or not to opt for sealed burners or open burners, and how many BTUs you’ll need.

For the first question, as to whether or not to opt for a gas range, the answer is unequivocally yes.  The majority of professional chefs use gas ranges, with the key reason being that gas offers an exemplary level of heat control.  Adjustments to the temperature are immediately transmitted to the cooking surface – something vital when cooking delicate food items – while gas is also significantly more effective at allowing fine tuning of low heat.

As to the second question – whether to opt for sealed burners or open burners – this is where you’ll note a significant amount of opinion, depending on the source.  Look at the majority of professional home ranges, such as Wolf, Viking, etc. and talk to their corresponding sales associates, and you’ll be extolled with the virtues of a sealed burner system.  In truth, sealed burners are inferior to open burners.  Sealed burners were developed to make cleaning easier in the event of spills, but the trade-offs are uneven heat distribution and wasted heat being released into the kitchen.  Because a range’s sole purpose is to deliver even heat distribution and allow fine tuning of the heat delivered, it’s a trade that anyone seeking a truly professional home range should be unwilling to make.  That’s why virtually all commercial kitchens use ranges equipped with open burners.  Open burners note significantly more even heat distribution, significantly less heat waste, and in truth, they’re still remarkably easy to clean and maintain in the event of spills (we’ll talk more about cleaning open burners later).

Lastly, as to how many BTUs to opt for, the answer is the more BTUs, the better.  BTU, short for British Thermal Units, refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1 degree Fahrenheit.  In the real world, this simply means the higher your range’s BTUs, the hotter your range can get.  This is vital with any cooking methods requiring high heat, such as searing, wok cooking and blanching, and it also helps reduce cooking time across a variety of tasks.  I’ll talk more about BTUs later, but if you’re worried you can have too many BTUs, don’t.  It’s easy to turn down the heat on a burner when necessary, but adding BTUs is an impossible feat.

All of this leads to a singular conclusion:  for those that demand the absolute highest level of performance in the kitchen, a gas range featuring open burners has no equal.  Furthermore, the more power (BTUs) at your disposal, the better.  Interestingly enough, this eliminates virtually all of the professional, commercial style home range manufacturers, save for two:  Capital and Bluestar.  And as you’re about to learn, when comparing Capital to Bluestar, Capital absolutely decimates Bluestar in every way, shape and form.  Read on, and you’ll learn precisely why the Capital Culinarian has no equal.

Capital Culinarian Overview

There are some products that are difficult to define in terms of exactly how they fit into the market.  Are they the best from a performance standpoint, are they the best from a design standpoint, are they the best at their price point, etc.  Defining the Capital Culinarian range lineup is exactly the opposite.  It’s the best.  Period.  It doesn’t matter what the question is, it is the best.  Heat delivery and power, function, design – the Capital Culinarian simply has no equal.

Let’s talk heat delivery.  From a performance standpoint, it’s the best professional home range on the market.  Every burner on the Capital Culinarian boasts a searing 23,000 BTU open flame.  Whether it’s the four burners on the smallest 30″ Culinarian all the way up to the maximum of eight burners on the 60″ Culinarian, every burner notes the same incredible heat output of 23,000 BTUs – higher than any other home range available.  Even more impressive, however, is that every burner, despite being the highest powered home burners on the market, also features the ability to simmer down to 138 degrees – low enough to simmer chocolate directly in the pan, without a double boiler.  They’re quite simply the most advanced burners you’ll find, anywhere, on any home range.

From a functionality standpoint, the Capital Culinarian again has no equal, offering an incredible range of options for the home chef.  On the top cooking surface, options available (starting with the 36″ model) include the aforementioned high powered burners, the industry’s highest powered range-top grill, and the industry’s highest powered thermostatically controlled range-top griddle.  There’s also an optional wok ring, making cooking with a wok an absolute joy.  Matching the Culinarian range top’s incredible functionality, the Culinarian self-clean oven models note an equally impressive feature range, with oven options available including bake, broil, convection bake, convection broil, open-door broil and self-clean.  Better still, all self-clean Culinarian ranges include a motorized rotisserie, offering both standard rotisserie and convection rotisserie options.  Quite simply, there are virtually no methods of cooking the Capital Culinarian isn’t capable of performing with pure brilliance.

Lastly, and just as importantly, there’s the design.  The Capital Culinarian is, in no simpler terms, a masterpiece of engineering.  Every weld, every contour, every detail is absolutely flawless.  Burner grates are perfectly flush, allowing easy movement of pans throughout the cooking area.  Knob markings are etched, meaning they won’t fade over time.  Easy glide rip trays make cleanup a breeze.  Oven racks are on rollers, offering significantly easier movement of heavy items.  It’s clear that Capital’s engineers have paid meticulous attention to absolutely every element of the Culinarian down to the most minute detail, both from a style and usability standpoint.  I’ve analyzed every element of my own Culinarian, and to be honest, I’ve yet to find fault with it.  It’s absolutely fantastic.

You may be wondering which Capital Culinarian I opted for, and as you’ll see in the photo gallery, I splurged, opting for the largest range available:  the 60″ Capital Culinarian CGSR604GB2, which features six burners, a grill and a griddle option.  From here, I’m going to take a slightly more in-depth look at the Capital Culinarian’s features, and compare it to some of the other professional style ranges on the market.

Capital Culinarian Burners

If there is one singular element that sold me on the Capital Culinarian, it would have to be the burners.  The Culinarian’s burners, whether from a power, versatility and heat distribution standpoint, are unmatched by anything else available, bar none.  Firstly, they’re the most powerful, with every burner on every Capital Culinarian rated at 23,000 BTUs/hr.  But just as importantly, they offer absolutely precise fine-tuning, with every burner also boasting true simmering functionality, down to 138 degrees – low enough for the most delicate sauces, and low enough to melt chocolate directly in the pan, without a double boiler.  In terms of heat distribution, the Culinarian’s open burner design does an incredibly good job at distributing heat evenly across the bottom of the entire pan, with no hot spots around the edges, as is typical with all sealed burners.  Simply put, they’re best residential range burners, anywhere.

For the sake of comparison, BlueStar ranges are the only competition that comes close, offering 22,000 BTUs/hr in their RNB models, but there are two key, monumental differences.  Number one, BlueStar ranges offer only two 22,000 BTU burners, irregardless of range size.  All other burners are rated at 15,000 BTUs – equivalent to that of virtually all other standard ranges.  Secondly, and even more detrimental to the BlueStar, in order to achieve a true simmer, you have to use a dedicated simmer burner.  Not only do you need to give up space for the simmer burner, you’re also limited to one simmer burner per range.  From here, competition drops off significantly, with Viking offering one optional 18,500 BTU burner on select ranges (the rest are 15,000 BTUs), Wolf offering exclusively 16,000 BTU burners, and other range manufactures all coming in well below the 20,000 BTU mark.  You simply won’t find anything that can come close to the performance and flexibility offered by the Capital Culinarian.

As much as I love the power of the Culinarian’s burners, I’m equally enamored with the burners’ construction.  The burner grates and the burners themselves are solid cast iron – heavy enough to withstand the Apocalypse – and incredibly easy to clean when necessary.  Simply scrub with soap and warm water, turn on the burner for about 10 minutes to dry, and you’re done.  And while we’re on the topic of cleaning, each burner features a stainless steel drip tray that’s easily removable (and cleanable), whereas additional EZ-Glide slide-out drip trays (that are both fully extendable and removable) offer a secondary level of protection from spills and make cleanup a breeze.

There’s simply no other range that offers the performance and capability of the Culinarian’s 23,000 BTUs – it’s truly in a league of its own.

Another element I love is the perfectly flat cooking area created by the Culinarian’s cast iron grates, meaning it’s simple to slide pots and pans from one burner to another.  For wok cooking, an optional wok ring is available, allowing you to replace any of the individual burner grates with the wok ring.  When in place, the wok ring not only holds your wok with remarkable security, it also channels the heat directly to the bottom of the wok, eliminating hot handles and wasted heat.  Lastly, other features worth noting include individual point ignition (so if one ignitor fails, other burners aren’t affected) as well as auto ignition and re-ignition.

As I already noted, if you have to pick one reason the Capital Culinarian supersedes all others, it’s the burners.  There’s simply no other range that offers the performance and capability of the Culinarian’s 23,000 BTUs – it’s truly in a league of its own.

Capital Culinarian Grill and Griddle

When selecting a Capital Culinarian, your range-top options vary based on the size of the range you select.  On the 36″ Culinarian model, you can opt for either a 12″ grill or 12″ griddle, whereas the 48″ and 60″ ranges offers the ability to add either a 12″ grill or 12″ griddle, a 24″ grill or 24″ griddle, or a 12″ grill and 12″ gridlle combo.  On my 60″ Culinarian range, I opted for a six-burner, 12″ grill and 12″ griddle combination, and I’ve been ecstatic with my choice.  The flexibility of both the grill and griddle allows me to cook virtually everything, and for anyone considering either a 48″ or 60″ Culinarian, I highly recommend both.

Looking at the grill and griddle independently, the Culinarian’s 12″ grill notes a remarkable 18,000 BTUs, outperforming every other range on the planet and rivaling the performance of many outdoor grills.  To create even heat distribution across the entire grill surface, Capital utilized hybrid radiants with ceramic rods encased in stainless steel, topped off with incredibly heavy duty cast iron grill grates that are reversible.  On one side, grooves in the cast iron funnel drippings into the grill’s drip tray and disposal area, whereas the other side offers wider, non-grooved grates, perfect for more delicate items such as seafood.  The end result is indoor grilling that can by all standards replace traditional outdoor grilling, and makes grilling meats, vegetables, or anything else you enjoy grilling possible from the comfort of your own kitchen.

As for the 12″ griddle, it shares the same 18,000 BTU output found in the grill, and is thermostatically adjustable from 150 – 550 degrees.  Constructed from 3/8″ thick stainless steel, the Culinarian’s griddle has too many uses to list.  Breakfast, of course is a given:  eggs, pancakes, bacon… you get the idea.  For lunch and dinner, I love it for cheese steaks; I love it to fry mushrooms and onions to pair with grilled items; and something I’ve come to learn quickly, at its lowest setting, you can use it as a warming surface, keeping pots and pans warm as you prepare other dishes.  If you, like me, love breakfast in a cozy diner, you’ll love the griddle, and using it as a warming plate just adds to its functionality. Not surprisingly, the 24″ grill and griddle share virtually all the same attributes as their 12″ counterparts, save for the fact they each note 30,000 BTU gas burners in addition to their wider size.

And on a design note, another fantastic feature that relates to both the grill and griddle is the fact that Capital includes a beautifully designed cover for both, so in the event you want to cover either when not in use, you can do so in a way that blends gorgeously with the rest of the Culinarian’s already stunning design.  The handles match perfectly to those found on the EZ-Glide slide-out drip tray, and the overall look is perfectly seamless and gorgeous when in place.

Capital Culinarian Oven

As is the case with the rest of the Capital Culinarian, the oven again sets a new precedent in terms of the capabilities it offers for home use.  Ingeniously, Capital chose to include the oven size found on their 36″ range (4.6 Cu Ft.) in the 48″ and 60″ ranges as well, with the main oven noting 30,000 BTUs of heating power along with an 18,000 BTU infrared broiler.  On the 48″ Culinarian, the secondary oven is 2.1 Cu Ft. and 15,000 BTUs, and on the 60″ Culinarian, the secondary oven is 3.1 Cu Ft. and 22,000 BTUs.

There are two key reasons Capital’s uniform main oven size and variable secondary oven sizes works so well.  Firstly, by offering a larger primary oven, there’s a tremendous amount of space available when cooking larger items, including the ability to use full size baking sheets.  Ask my wife, and she’ll tell you the same thing:  it really is a baker’s dream.  On the other end of the spectrum, in the event you need to bake smaller items or side dishes, the smaller secondary oven is a superb benefit, as it heats up more quickly, thus reducing the time you spend in the kitchen.  In my opinion, Capital’s choice of variable oven sizing, especially on the 60″ Culinarian, is far superior to conventional split oven designs where both ovens are equally sized (i.e., BlueStar, Wolf, Viking, etc.).

From a functional standpoint, the Culinarian oven notes bake, broil, convection bake, convection broil, open-door broil and self-clean options, as well as both rotisserie and convection rotisserie modes.  Part of the benefit of the larger oven size was that it gave Capital the ability to incorporate a motorized rotisserie system, allowing perfectly prepared whole chickens and turkeys, rack of lamb, cuts of pork and beef, or any other meats you can think of, all of which taste absolutely perfect and are superbly simple to create.   A whole chicken takes quite literally an hour, and it’s ready to serve.  It’s incredible how good meat prepared on the rotisserie tastes, and no other professional home ranges have one.  Another much welcomed feature is the addition of Flex-Roll oven racks, which creates a tremendously smooth sliding action when moving the oven racks in and out, especially with heavier items.  There’s a total of five oven rack positions for the Flex-Roll system, and three racks per oven.

Performance wise, I’ve just taken delivery of my Capital Culinarian, so I’m going to save a detailed look at using the Capital Culinarian for another article, but I will say the main oven heats up remarkably fast – it takes less than 10 minutes to reach 350 degrees.  While I haven’t tested other manufacturers myself, online figures note the oven in the 60″ BlueStar takes over 16 minutes to reach 350 degrees, despite its smaller size.  It’s just another testament to the incredible performance prowess of the Capital Culinarian, and one of the many reasons the Culinarian is unrivaled by anyone in the industry.

Capital Culinarian Design

It’s a masterpiece of engineering, down to the finest detail.

You’d think that in a range that absolutely redefines the standards of professional cooking in the home, there has to be at least one flaw in its armor.  Considering its incredible performance, surely Capital must have overlooked some element of its design.  But they haven’t. It’s a masterpiece of engineering, down to the finest detail.  There’s a quote by Walt Disney, where he stated:  “You don’t build it for yourself.  You know what the people want, and you build it for them.”  And that’s exactly what Capital has done.  They understand the fact that people want the absolute highest level of performance – performance capable of rivaling that of a commercial range – but they don’t actually want a commercial range.  Commercial ranges are ugly and their fit and finish are terrible, neither of which is surprising, really, considering they’re not meant to be looked at, they’re meant to be used.

A professional home range, however, is an entirely different animal.  They’re meant to be used, but they also serve as the focal point of a kitchen.  So as much as people want commercial level performance from a professional home range, they also want an equal amount of attention paid to its design.  In this regard, it’s clear (yet again) the Culinarian sets a new benchmark for design.

The Capital Culinarian is, in no simpler terms, stunning.  Every detail, every weld, is absolutely flawless.  I don’t want to say the Culinarian looks residential, because I don’t want to diminish its beauty and imply that it looks like other lesser ranges.  But at the same time, it’s not commercial either.  There are no sharp edges, there are no elements that appear unfinished, there are no pieces that fit poorly.  Instead, it manages to find the perfect balance between residential and commercial.  It’s a design that doesn’t hide the incredible amount of performance at your disposal, but at the same time it’s a design that still perfectly exemplifies what the focal point of your kitchen should look like.

On the top of the range, for example, the stainless area that surrounds the burners, including the edges, is welded and polished, creating a completely uniform surface area with no seams or gaps.  The same is true on the oven doors, and even on the lower kick plate – everything looks like a singular, sculpted block of stainless steel.  Throughout the Culinarian, chrome accents on the control knobs, drip tray handles, grill/griddle covers and the edges of the oven handles provide beautiful contrast to the stainless steel construction.  Large oven windows with a bevelled surround not only look gorgeous, they give an enhanced view inside the oven while baking.  As I already noted, you can quite literally go over every piece of the Culinarian, and you’ll immediately see that each part has been thought out and beautifully finished.

Compared to other professional home ranges, I can say without question the Capital Culinarian notes an attention to detail unrivaled by anyone.  And as I learned when researching ranges in person, when you compare it to BlueStar, the design gap is even greater.  The BlueStar is, quite literally, the polar opposite of the Culinarian.  Whereas everything on the Culinarian is precise, everything on the BlueStar looks unfinished.  Sharp edges, uneven finishes, poorly fitting grates and uneven gaps in the panels were some of the problems plaguing the BlueStar, none of which are present on the Culinarian.  Going back to what I said earlier, I think that’s the key difference between Capital and BlueStar (as well as every other range manufacturer):  they know what customers want, and they build it.  Customers don’t want to have to choose between performance or design, they want both.  And that’s precisely what the Capital Culinarian gives them:  the absolute highest level of performance, wrapped in a gorgeously designed, exquisitely crafted design.

The History of Capital

In understanding what makes the Capital Culinarian so remarkable, one look at the history of Capital, and you’ll immediately understand why the Culinarian sets such a precedent in the professional home range market.  In, truth, the story of Capital begins not with the history of a company, but rather the history of a single individual.  His name is Surjit Kalsi, and he is to home cooking what Michael Jordan was to the NBA; what Michael Jackson was to music; or what Steve Jobs was to the tech industry.  He’s a legend, a revolutionary, an innovator.  In no simpler terms, he’s taken the idea of cooking at home, and he’s elevated it to another stratosphere.

Surjit’s incredible journey began over 50 years ago, and it reads like the script from a Hollywood movie.

The story begins in 1956, following Surjit’s graduation from Bombay University in India.  After moving to London and working as a lab technician in the R&D department of Main Gas Appliance Company, Surjit created the world’s first dual flow gas burner, self-cleaning gas oven, universal burner, and electric ignition system – helping catapult him up the corporate ladder and become member of the Board in record time.  From there, Surjit followed his dreams of making his own mark on the cooking world, moving back to India to launch his own gas appliance company.  Ultimately, the timing was off, as shortages of raw materials and economic instability plagued the company, leading Surjit to make the decision to move to the U.S. after a decade of running his own company in India.

Surjit moved himself and his family to Baltimore, where he took a job as a design engineer for a commercial appliance manufacturer for a mere $20,000 a year.  Knowing he couldn’t bring his dreams of changing the cooking world in his current position, Surjit continued to stay focused on his ultimate goal, working his way to Los Angeles in just under five years, where he became Vice President of Engineering & Research & Development for U.S. Range.  It was this move that would play an integral role in shaping Surjit’s future, as it was here Surjit met an individual by the name of Fred Carl.  Carl came to Surjit seeking someone to help him create a commercial style range for home use – a goal that up until now, no other manufacturers had been able to accomplish – and Surjit immediately jumped at the chance.  In 1986, Surjit’s work was completed, and Viking Ranges was born.

Not content merely creating the world’s first commercial style home range, Surjit again branched out, leaving U.S. Range in 1988 and taking several other employees with him – specifically, Roberto Bernal, an engineer; Raul Chita, purchasing manager; Porfirio Guzman, production scheduler; Rafael Romero, a project engineer; and Alejandro Bernal, a plant and production engineer.  Together, they formed Dynamic Cooking Systems (more commonly known as DCS), a company that would become not only one of the world’s leading manufacturer’s of professional quality gas ranges for the home, but also the world’s first company to create an all stainless steel barbecue.  Needless to say, DCS noted tremendous success, becoming the preferred original equipment manufacturer for numerous private labeled industry leaders including GE, Jennair, Thermador, William Sonoma and racking up over $100 million in sales over the next 12 years.

It was during this time that Surjit’s son, Rich Kalsi, joined DCS, and it was also this time during which Surjit made Roberto Bernal and another engineer his equal partners, with each owning 1/3rd of DCS shares.  As with all good stories, however, things took a twist for Surjit, as during the peak of DCS’s success, his partners voted to sell the company without his consent, not only forcing him to give up the company, but also forcing him to sign a non-compete agreement for the next five years.  Following the conclusion of the DCS sale, Surjit’s partner Roberto was let go, and Surjit was forced out soon after.

Out of fear of losing their jobs as well, the key employees that helped found DCS – Raul Chita, Rafael Romero, Porfirio Guzman and Alejandro Bernal – along with Surjit’s son Rich, all decided to leave DCS, creating Capital Cooking Equipment Inc. in 2001.  With Surjit and Roberto sidelined due to their non-compete agreement, Capital Cooking was led by Rich Kalsi, until in 2004 DCS was again sold, freeing Surjit and Roberto from their non-compete agreement and allowing them to join Capital.  Capital’s Board of Directors immediately moved to invite Surjit and Roberto to become partners in Capital, and after doing so, Surjit was elected Chairman/CEO and President of Capital Cooking while Roberto was elected Co-Chairman.

Going back to his engineering roots, Surjit immediately began redesigning the off-the-shelf sealed burner system that Capital was buying from Germany at the time, creating a new sealed burner system significantly better than any other sealed burner on the market – the burners that power Capital’s Precision line.  From there, Capital has continued revolutionizing the home cooking world, creating the open burner Culinarian series of ranges – ranges that, as I’ve already detailed, absolutely redefine the idea of performance in the kitchen.  Of course, it’s not really surprising considering they’re created by the same individual responsible for bringing the concept of professional cooking in the home to reality more than 20 years ago.

But as impressive as the story is, what makes the story so great is the man himself.

Despite his numerous successes, despite his innovations, despite his accolades, Surjit Kalsi is without question the most passionate man in the home culinary world.  I can tell you this because I’ve spoken to him, not for the sake of this article, but as a customer.  I spent a tremendous amount of time researching ranges in search of the one that best exemplified professional cooking in the home, and surprisingly, when I went to Capital with my questions, it was Surjit himself that answered my questions.  It was Surjit that detailed the history of Capital, the intricacies of the Culinarian, and what sets Capital apart from every other range manufacturer on the planet.  It’s a a level of passion unlike any I’ve witnessed from a company’s CEO, and I truly believe it is Surjit’s passion that’s the key reason Capital leads the professional home cooking market.

Capital Culinarian Conclusion

If you haven’t already guessed, I’m in love with my new Capital Culinarian.  Simply put, it redefines what’s possible in home cooking, bringing a level of performance rivaling that of a commercial range to the home chef.  Not only is there not a better professional home range on the market, there’s not a professional home range that comes anywhere close to matching the Capital Culinarian’s performance, functionality or design.  If you’re even remotely considering a new range, you absolutely have to put the Capital Culinarian at the top of your list.  It is, for all intents and purposes, the perfect home range.

You can learn more about the Capital Culinarian at the official Capital Cooking website, including a detailed look at the available sizes and cooktop configurations.  There’s also a color chart available showing the numerous color choices available, should you wish to depart from the more traditional all stainless steel design.  And finally, for an in-depth at my personal 60″ Capital Culinarian CGSR604GB2, check out the huge photo gallery below to see what makes the Culinarian so special.