Bison or no bison, Bobo or not, many people these days are paying as much for top-of-the-line cooking devices as others are paying for cars. The finest hand-made stoves from Europe cost $10,000 to $30,000 and take three to four months to be built and sent to the U.S. So what's so great about these pricey cookers compared with, say, a $500 Hotpoint?

Performance, for one. Serious cooks prefer the hotter burners, larger size and dual fuel option. Accessories such as grills, griddles and warming drawers also get rave reviews. All the technology means more efficient cooking and better-tasting food.

There's no doubt you pay for looks and prestige as well. A professional-style range becomes the centerpiece of a kitchen. For stunning stoves with shiny enamel exteriors, you can have your choice of more than a dozen colors, such as aubergine and pistachio. One Seattle man who owns an English cast-iron Aga says it's like having a Rolls Royce in his kitchen.

As the market for high-end gourmet appliances increases, debate rages about which brand of range not only bakes but takes the cake. Perhaps the most obvious way to differentiate between the brands, other than by price, is by cooking technique. Aga fans will tell you that the radiant-heat stoves are simply unmatched. Designed in 1922 by a Nobel prize-winning Swedish physicist, the Aga is always on, each of its ovens set at a different temperature. No preheating, no adjusting temperatures, no waiting for a cool-down.

Before Ruth and David McIntyre moved into their Laurelhurst home, they replaced a perfectly good commercial gas range with an Aga. Changing the stove was as basic to these diehard Aga fans as painting the walls or putting in new tile would be to others.

David McIntyre, who does most of the cooking, likes the flexibility of four ovens: one for roasting, one for simmering, one for baking and one for warming. "The ovens seem ridiculously small," he says, "but we've cooked 35-pound turkeys in about 3 1/2 hours, and they're the best turkeys we've ever made."
 

TOM REESE / THE SEATTLE TIMES
BESIDES THEIR ENAMELED good looks, English Aga stoves get good marks for their multiple ovens, each with a special purpose.

Naysayers call the Aga an "energy hog" that creates too much heat in the house. But Mike Duvall, owner of Sutter Home and Hearth, has an Aga at home himself. His store sells about a dozen a year. He points out that "80 percent of the time, a little warmth is welcome in our climate." As for the gas consumption, he says it costs about $1 a day to have an Aga on. And you'd probably save on your heat bill.

Duvall says it may take a while to decide if the Aga is right for you, so he strongly encourages prospective buyers to go to cooking demonstrations.

For those who prefer a more traditional gas range and can afford the best, the handmade beauties from French manufacturer La Cornue may be the thing. Bob Rubin of International Kitchens in Seattle calls it "the finest cooking machine in the world." For nearly 100 years, La Cornue has been making elegant ranges that use the "natural convection" of vaulted ovens. "You don't leave a La Cornue behind when you move," says Rubin. "It's a family heirloom." At $20,000, it'd better be.

Smaller models come with one gas oven and gas and/or electric burners. Larger models have one gas oven for fish, meat and fowl, one electric oven for baking, and either a barbecue or griddle.

Gretchen and Allan Motter of Leschi bought a La Cornue in February. "It was a little intimidating at first," Gretchen says. "There's definitely a learning curve. But everything tastes better, even just boneless, skinless chicken breasts. It does meats incredibly well, and it's much faster" than a conventional stove.

If you aren't interested in spending more for a stove than for a car, other vendors offer some reasonable options. Many features of the high-end products are now available in more moderately-priced lines. For a gourmet gas stove with old-fashioned good looks, you might want to consider the Canadian company Heartland. Starting out in wood stoves, Heartland now offers gas and electric ranges in the enamel-finished, Arts-and-Crafts-style Legacy Series and the charming Classic Series. For a more modern look, there's the all-stainless Metro line with a half-moon oven window and curved handle. Heartlands cost between $3,500 and $5,000.

Gourmet stoves from American companies such as Wolf, Dacor and Viking are popular options as well. Rick Stjern from Fredericks' Appliance Center in Redmond has seen sales "go up in volume a lot" in recent years. He recommends a professional-style, stainless-steel range from Wolf, such as the 30-inch for about $3,400.

Viking offers a Designer Series and Professional Series with electric, gas or dual-fuel models and a choice of 14 spiffy finishes. Its literature sums up the trend: "At long last, haute couture meets haute cuisine." At a haute price, too.

Catherine M. Allchin is a Seattle free-lance writer.