During a Friday night dinner rush, executive chef Peter Petti will have stainless steel pots of pasta water boiling while searing salmon and steaks, all 12 burners ignited on the gas stoves at Sojourn, a New American restaurant on the Upper East Side. Nearly everything on his menu  – from a 30-day, dry-aged NY strip to a chocolate flambeed dessert – is cooked on the range.
“Some dishes require two or three pans on the burners,” said Petti, 45, who’s been cooking with gas since the beginning of his culinary career in the early 2000s, when he started as a line cook at Eleven Madison Park.
The Feds, however, can’t stand the heat.
On Monday, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves, which are currently used in 37% of US households and 76% of US restaurants, according to Consumer Reports and the National Restaurant Association. The safety commission cited recent reports that gas stoves emit unsafe levels of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide and ca​rbon monoxide and have been linked to cancers, respiratory illnesses and cardiovascular problems. But the city’s chefs and restaurateurs are fuming at the possibility of a ban and the devastating effect it could have on the health of their businesses.
Gas stoves are powered by sending natural gas or sometimes propane to a cooktop burner to fuel a flame. Alternatives to gas include old-fashioned electric coil stovetops – typically only found in residences and known for being slow to heat and adjust to temperature changes – and induction, which relies on electromagnets to heat cookware. Induction can be quite fast, bringing a pot of water to a boil in two minutes or less, as opposed to five to eight minutes on gas and electric coil stove tops. But, induction also takes some getting used to and can’t be used with some cookware.
“There are some kitchens that do operate using inductions, but it’s definitely a learning curve,” said Patti. “You’d have to close to reset up your kitchen, refile with the fire department – there’s a lot that goes into it.”

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