Review: Cafe Professional Series 30" Smart Built In Convection French-Door Double Wall Oven

Hey Y’all.   Back in 2022 I ordered a double oven without measuring my cabinet space and kicked off a mini kitchen renovation project.  Now that I’ve had the oven in the house for a year and completed one Baking Challenge, and an entire Christmas Cookie Season.  I’m ready to share my honest review of the Cafe Professional Series 30" Smart Built In Convection French-Door Double Wall Oven.   This is not a sponsored post. 

Disclaimer: 

This review is from the perspective of a semi-pro baker.  That means I rarely use the roasting or broil functions in my oven. This review may be helpful to you if you like baking cookies, cakes, pies, breads and pizza. 

Cafe Professional French-Door Oven

When we bought our house, I knew that the only thing that could make the kitchen better would be to add a double oven. I spent months pouring over reviews and kitchen appliance websites trying to find the “best” wall oven.   What was challenging about reading those reviews was that they weren’t really written for power users aka people who bake a lot.  After reading a million reviews, and trying to not completely blow the budget, I chose the Cafe Professional Series 30” French Door Double Wall Oven.  At the time my reasons for picking it were: 

• Good reviews on oven temperature and consistency
• The large capacity size
• I had access to a discount on GE Appliances. I do love a good coupon.

Features That I Love 

The Consistency. 

If the display says 350ºF, then that temperature will be reflected on the oven thermometer.   That peace of mind alone was worth every single penny.  I also love that if the door is open for too long, the display will tell you to stop letting all of the precious hot air out (the language is much nicer than this).  When I start a baking project I don’t worry about the temperatures being wrong.  I can just bake.  It’s glorious. 

Slide Out Racks

It’s always going to be the little things for me.  Always.  My absolute favorite feature on this oven is that the racks slide out.   If I am checking to see if a cake is done, I can slide the whole rack out, check the cake without burning myself.  If it’s not ready to come out, I just slide the rack back and close the doors.  Easy. Peasy. 

The Proof Function

Y’all.  The Proof function is such a game changer.  Over the years, I have tried every crazy way to create a warm space to proof bread: 

• Boiling Water in a pan in the oven
• Running the dryer in the laundry room and putting the dough on top of the washer and closing the door. 
• Turning the heat up in my home

Now all I do is press a single button and the oven automatically reaches 75-80ºF.  Simple. But there’s more— if you turn the oven light on, the screen will post a message about how the light will increase the temperature of the oven and make you turn it back off.  I love this for me. 

The French Doors

Admittedly, I initially didn’t want this oven because of the French Doors.  I thought it was a gimmick to differentiate the look of the oven.  The reality is that the French Doors are so incredibly efficient.  Because of the placement of my cabinets, my oven sits higher than I (a short person) would have chosen.  The French Doors allow me to access the oven safely.  I love that you can open the door with one hand, making it easier to manage the entire “put things in the oven process”.   Honestly, I wish both ovens had the french doors.  

The App. 

 I can now turn my oven on or off using my phone. I didn’t think I would use this feature much at all.  But have you ever been in the grocery store buying a frozen pizza thinking man, I wish I could start warming my pizza stone before I get home?  Not me anymore.  I keep my pizza stone in the bottom oven and I’ve been known to preheat the oven from the freezer aisle. 

The more reasonable use for this feature is probably that if you forget to turn the oven off, you can turn it off wherever you are. *shrug emoji*

Features That Could Be Better: 

I said this was an honest review.  After years of dealing with ovens in rentals, the following nitpicks are definitely first world problems.  I admit that. But if you’re a Cafe UX designer, hit me up to collaborate. 

The Timer.  

 Y’all. Whew.  This is arguably the worst thing about this oven.  So it’s a great oven, but the timer set up drives me crazy.  Here are all my gripes: 

•  The Placement of the Timer on the Touch Screen is an absolute nightmare. It’s in the bottom right hand corner, which is the same location as the power button for the oven you’re using.  Do you know how many times I’ve unintentionally turned off the oven?  When you’re at the beginning of baking a pie and you need high heat for the early part of the bake, turning the oven off is the quickest way to ruin your pastry.  
• There are two ovens, but only one timer.  Why, can someone just tell me why?  I know that the majority of people are not baking 6 pound cakes in an afternoon, so the likelihood that this would be annoying to other people is slim.  But it irks me so very much.  
• No Timer Integration with the App. As far as I can tell, you cannot turn the timer off with the app.  That thing will beep until you drag yourself to the oven to turn it off. Making it useless to time other things in the kitchen. 

The Oven Light.  

The oven light is either on or off for both ovens regardless of if you’re using both ovens.  Feels wasteful, and again like a missed opportunity. 

Notes on Other Functions

This oven comes with so many features!  Seriously, Cafe pushes a software update every six months or so.  Which means they are constantly refining and improving. 

•  Air Fryer. The air fryer function works well, but I prefer to use my toaster oven because it’s quicker to heat and I am never air frying more than a handful of chicken nuggets at a time. 

• The Warm Function is wonderful! I use it mainly when I am making pancakes, french toast or waffles to keep the early batches warm so we can eat as a family.  No one enjoys a cold pancake.  
• Self Clean Function.  The oven comes with a self clean and a steam clean function.  I’m old school, though and use oven cleaner and sponge and that’s enough for me. 

In Summary

The Cafe Professional Series 30" Smart Built In Convection French-Door Double Wall Oven is a baker's dream oven.