A Tale of Two Stoves
Our kitchen is fully functional once again! We have installed two Whirlpool gas ranges where our not-so-faithful once stood. Our ten gas burners and two ovens have been replaced with the same capacity. What’s the difference in these two arrangements, you may ask? In two words: safety and confidence.
We obtained permits for this replacement job with the City of Raleigh and have secured their approval to use our ranges as we wish. The gas cut off valve is still in the same spot, but we won’t have to use it except for during service calls. Feel free to fry bacon or tofu, stew lentils or lamb, bake barbecue and pizza. Our Monday lunch group boiled water for tea just this week - without using matches!
Commercial v. Residential - The old commercial range was a good looking thing, but required a venting and fire suppression system to satisfy state codes that we were never interested in installing. The two residential ranges do not require any venting system in our church kitchen. You can read the code section for yourself, found by the phone in a notebook labeled “About Our Kitchen.”
Modern Gas Ranges - While heating our food remains the most carbon emitting activity in the kitchen, natural gas is currently our best fuel with regard to our carbon footprint. Additionally, gas ranges remain a favorite with many cooks. If you’re less familiar with how gas ranges work, read on. You’ll hear the click-click of the electric igniter when turning on a knob for any of the five burners on top. When setting the oven temps on the back panel, you’ll notice a convection setting. Convection ovens use a fan to more evenly distribute the heat and will shave a few minutes off your cooking time. The stove on the right also has a very small oven, which will be the most efficient way to cook one pizza or casserole. Your Welcoming & Fellowship committee hopes you will feel safe and confident as you decide to use our new ranges for your group’s enjoyment! We also extend our gratitude to all who’ve participated in kitchen upgrades over the last two years. From painting to organizing to cleaning to researching all the implications of appliances, we appreciate the work joyfully done and the current welcoming state of our kitchen. Thanks all!
Welcoming and Fellowship
submitted by Susan Atkinson
submitted by Susan Atkinson