There was a time when French door ovens were reserved for professional kitchens.
Professional chefs love these ovens, but why? And will they add anything to your cooking compared to a regular pull-down oven door?
Well, we’re exploring French door ovens today and some pros and cons of them.
We’ll then throw our hat into the ring and discuss whether you should buy a French door oven or a regular pull-down oven.
The Pros of French Doors on an Oven
1. Save space
If you have a smaller kitchen, having a French door oven can save you some room in front of the oven.
A pull-down oven door is about the same size as the height of your oven, whereas a French oven door is about half the width of your oven.
So, if you’re always squeezing past your oven door when it’s open, having a French door oven can put a stop to this.
2. Built-in convenience
You may think that the French doors on an oven are going to be a pain to open. Having to open one door at a time while balancing a baking tray in one hand is going to get annoying, right?
Well, the companies that make these ovens have thought this through. Both oven doors open at once.
So, you just need to pull one handle, and the other door will open. This means that a French door oven is just as convenient as a pull-down oven door.
3. Oven feels more open
Along with the space saved in front of your oven, you also have full access to the oven and all the shelves without the door getting in the way. You can clearly see all of the shelves and pull-out baking trays really easily.
The oven doors open nice and wide and are completely out of your way when you are taking items in and out of the oven. This is really handy, especially when it comes to roasting big joints of meats, for example.
4. Style
The added style that a French door oven offers your kitchen is certainly a major plus. These ovens are really rare in home kitchens, so they add serious style points.
Whether you buy a traditional-looking oven with these doors or a super modern oven with them, they bring loads of style and work in loads of different kitchens.
The Cons of French Doors on an Oven
1. More moving parts
French doors on ovens require more components than a pull-down door. The doors open together and open nice and wide.
All of this means that a lot is going on in the hinge mechanism, so there are more parts that can potentially fail.
On the plus side, though, most French door ovens on the market are made by top oven manufacturers, so they are built very well and come with great warranties.
2. Rare
Throughout the research for this cooking article, we’ve struggled to find examples of French door ovens to show you, let alone models available to buy. These ovens are really rare.
These ovens being rare is a pro and a con, of course. The pro is that none of your friends or family will have ever seen an oven like this in a home before, so you get all the style points in the world. The con is that you may struggle to find one of these ovens in the first place.
3. Price
As French door ovens are really rare, and usually reserved for professional kitchens, they can cost a pretty penny.
Not all French door ovens cost a massive amount, but the good quality ones do. They can cost several hundred pounds more than their pull-down oven door counterparts.
Are Pull Down or French Doors Better?
Both types of doors will do the job you need them to do. Both will allow you to cook up a storm in your kitchen.
French door ovens have a slight bit more convenience than pull-down ovens, but if you’re used to a pull-down door on an oven, this convenience is barely noticeable.
What this question really comes down to is style. French oven doors will always win on style. These ovens just look way too cool.
They are really unique in home kitchens and can add a huge talking point whether you have a traditional kitchen or a super modern kitchen. If money is no object, French oven doors would win for us all day long.
We hope this look at French oven doors and regular pull-down oven doors has been helpful. We hope you find your favourite oven, and you might find it right here on Chef’s Pick.
We have loads of the best ovens available in the UK right here. We also have the best cookware to use alongside them too.
Scott is a writer and a passionate home chef. His passion for cooking began when he was 10 years old. Scott has been writing professionally for over five years now and loves to combine his passion for cooking with his day job.
