La Cornue’s story begins, as many French design stories do, with an invention born of observation. Albert Dupuy, a Parisian herbalist and gastronome, looked not to other stoves for inspiration but to the vaulted tunnels of the Paris Métro. In 1908, he patented the now-iconic vaulted oven—its curved form allowing heat to circulate naturally, enveloping food evenly while preserving moisture. More than a century later, that oven remains the structural and symbolic heart of every La Cornue range, transforming the kitchen into a living, loving space that kindles the flame of cooking and warms the hearts of those who gather around it.
Decades may have passed, but La Cornue’s ethos has remained unchanged: that cooking is best served by tools made carefully and built to last. As a result, every La Cornue range is still constructed entirely by hand in the company’s workshops outside Paris. Nothing is rushed or automated: metal is cut, folded, welded, and assembled piece by piece, guided by passionate craftsmen whose expertise has been honed over years and passed down through generations. Each cooker is made to order, adjusted to the millimetre, and finished only when it meets the exacting standards that have earned La Cornue its reputation as a Living Heritage Company in France.
Because each range is crafted from the ground up, there is no fixed template to work within—and this means almost anything is possible. Hard-wearing enamels—applied through a demanding, multi-stage process— are mixed from raw colours and can be formulated to the finest pigment, producing shades that exist nowhere else. Finishes are equally diverse, ranging from brushed stainless steel to polished brass, bronze, copper, or even leather. Dimensions, configurations, engraving details, and materials are all open to customisation. The result is a truly personalised stove conceived to meet the needs and preferences of its home and the cooks who use it.
That thinking extends well beyond the stove itself. In recent years, La Cornue has increasingly referenced the idea of “culinary architecture”—a holistic approach in which the range becomes the organising centre of the kitchen. Hoods, cabinetry, islands, and built-in ovens are designed not as accessories, but as spatial continuations, allowing the room to read as a coherent whole. Because the range is conceived to work with architecture rather than assert itself against it, the Maison has consistently attracted designers and artists who approach the kitchen as a site of creative interpretation.
Over the years, La Cornue has collaborated with leading architects, artists, and designers to reexamine its most recognisable forms. Dutch designer Lex Pott explored material transformation in the stoves, with oxidised brass surfaces animated by an electric-blue patina. Street artist Cyril Kongo reimagined La Cornue ranges as continental artworks, a collaboration recognised with an Architectural Digest Design Award. Canadian designer Ferris Rafauli introduced an Art Deco sensibility to the Château Suprême, refining its proportions and detailing until the range became, in his words, “a jewel of the home”. Matthew Quinn, meanwhile, translated the iconic Château range into a more contemporary register with hammered surfaces, extended handles, and a clearer symmetry—while preserving its essential character. These projects, in which the stove is treated as both a functional object and a cultural canvas, further strengthen the Maison’s identity, demonstrating that good craftsmanship can adapt and resonate across disciplines and styles.
La Cornue’s relationship with chefs follows a similar logic. The brand has long been trusted by some of the world’s most respected culinary minds, who demand the best performance: ovens that heat evenly, respond intuitively, and provide the level of control chefs depend on—something La Cornue achieves with great precision thanks to its patented G4 system that combines radiation, convection, and conduction in a single oven. Yet the Maison is careful not to privilege the professional kitchen over the domestic one. A La Cornue range is just as likely to cook a Michelin-starred meal as a lamb roast for friends or a child’s first chocolate cake. This duality, where haute cuisine sits comfortably alongside the everyday, lies at the heart of the brand’s philosophy, framing the kitchen as a medium for memories and a place that fosters joy.
From its humble beginnings to its now global prestige, La Cornue has never been about the equipment alone. The brand has always focused on what unfolds around its stoves: the conversations between loved ones, the making of recipes passed down over generations, and the sharing of meals that mark time. The vaulted oven—its most enduring invention—was designed to cook evenly and gently, but it also anchors the room, drawing people closer and encouraging them to gather. In this way, each La Cornue range serves a simple, lasting purpose: to support the act of cooking and the life that naturally forms around it.
To learn more about La Cornue and its products, visit the company’s website, Instagram profile, or Facebook page.