After selling ovens for 10 years, I received a lot of hands on training and feedback from customers. Which is why I would strongly advise against Westinghouse ovens. F&P is a step up, but Bosch is a jump up! I personally would buy Miele, for ease of use, ease of cleaning, cooking performance, aesthetics and the best quality. However, if the budget won't allow for Miele, Bosch is the go. You can't argue with German quality. For extra cooking capacity, consider a 70cm wide oven or a double wall oven or 2 x 60cm ovens. Just make sure you are sure you really do need it before spending the extra money. By using the functions properly and cooking on multiple shelves at the same time, you can easily cook for a crowd in a 60cm oven. With a decent oven you can even cook various dishes with various flavours, at the same time. I have done it on many many occasions.

Bosch. Made by Siemens who also make Neff. The Bosch oven is efficient, tough and hard working. Basically, ovens haven’t really changed much over the last 50 years so go for experience rather than hype. Sure there are cleaning functions, and programmable types etc but the bottom line is the temperatures. Older ovens can output more heat and can also go way down low. A knob is a wonderful thing. I don’t mean to belittle the engineers and programmers who have worked to make the oven a simple stupid contraption but it already was! Bosch has been around for ever overseas and is German quality without the price tag. Keep it simple with nobs rather than touch, and handles to pull open the oven door rather than buttons and flush handles. Older models that have good ratings are safer than new models with touch screens that accidentally turn off whilst you’re baking..argh. Also if the oven is placed below the bench make sure you don’t change your settings by knocking it with your leg. I have a top of the range Neff. It is a great oven, touch screen etc. but if you lean against it as I do when you are cooking on the stove top it can be turned off. Yeah there’s a child lock but I can’t be bothered. It’s not a simple process. Ok there’s my 2c worth. Be practical and stay within budget.

To be honest i haven't used it much without the dial, only when i switch it to fry pan setting (love that feature) and on/off but i feel its much better quality than the previous Bosch and Fisher and paykel cooktops ive used. It just responds straight away. Yes i find it doesnt cut out unless there is quite a lot of overflow from pots whereas when i had a bosch it drove me nuts as it seemed to stop just with a small amount of water and even after i had mopped it up it took ages before being able to use it again. This is one of the downsides of induction, but there are lots of advantages and certainly doesnt bother me nearly as much now.  In terms of size, mine only has 3 hotplates, which i deliberated over for some time as most have at least 4, i worked out that i only probably.want to use 4 at once one time a year and i havent regretted it. But only you know if you need all going at once and how big your pots are. I dont use the extra features much, like the flex zone but when i do they are fantastic. I couldn't cook gravy in a baking pan on the stove top without it.  Mine has a little silver strip around the outside which is slightly lower than the cooktop which needs to be wiped down properly after each use to avoid food getting stuck but not a deal breaker. PS i absolutely love my Neff oven, the food comes out perfect every time at the exact time.   Would absolutely recommend the oven. I dont have the steam one, but i do have the door that tucks inside the oven when open and its a genius idea, so easy to access inside.  Would definitely buy another Neff as far superior to any other ive used.

So MsWins, To assist with your decisions picture yourself in the mornings, lunch time and tea time, Run through mentally all the various times you are in the kitchen, the things you commonly make, the dinners, appliances you use, spreads you put on and the stock of food you like to keep. Most importantly can you make a chocolate cake while The Man is cooking dinner and Little Johnny is getting drink and snack for mates, The Man is pouring your wine and Missy is getting the cheese plate ready? I can see appliances lined up in pantry with food goods and implements you use above and below, spices in drawers just inside accessible to cook top and app, glasses and crockery in island ready for serving, lunch boxes lined up along island and the children washing the few things that do not go in DW but that you still use even tho they may get ruined in DW! Hope that helps a bit! Regards. Margot