Beyond the residual heat and pan detection indicators covered elsewhere, La Cornue’s induction hobs include a small set of additional features worth knowing before assuming the hob is behaving strangely: a child lock, an automatic heat-up accelerator, and keep-warm and boost functions.
Child Lock
The child lock secures the hob’s controls so they cannot be changed accidentally — useful with young children in the kitchen, or simply to prevent a zone from being bumped on while wiping down the surface. When engaged, it is indicated on the display and the controls will not respond to touches until it is deliberately released. A hob that seems to be ignoring every control input, with a lock symbol showing on the display, is not malfunctioning — it is doing exactly what the lock is designed to do, and needs to be unlocked through its normal release sequence rather than serviced.
Automatic Heat-Up
This function briefly runs a zone at full power when first switched on, then automatically settles it to the power level actually selected, which speeds up getting a pan to temperature without requiring you to start at maximum and dial it back manually. It is normal to see a zone run noticeably hotter for a short period right after it is turned on before settling to the level you actually chose.
Keep-Warm and Boost Functions
The keep-warm setting holds food at a gentle, steady low heat, distinct from the lowest ordinary power setting, and the boost function briefly pushes a zone above its normal maximum power for faster boiling or searing before automatically returning to a standard setting. Neither function indicates a problem when it engages; both are selected deliberately through the hob’s controls.
Why Knowing These Matters
Because none of these features are announced with an alarm or warning tone, an unfamiliar symbol or an unexpected change in how a zone behaves is sometimes mistaken for a hob acting up, when it is actually one of these functions doing exactly what it was asked to do. Confirming which function is active, and whether it was engaged on purpose, is worth doing before assuming the hob needs a repair.
Why the Child Lock Is Worth Using Deliberately
Beyond preventing accidental changes, engaging the lock before wiping down a hot or freshly used hob keeps a stray touch from starting a zone back up while your attention is on cleaning rather than cooking, which is a genuinely useful habit in a busy kitchen with more than one person moving around it.
When to Actually Book a Visit
A lock that will not release through its normal sequence, or a zone that behaves this way with no function actually selected, is worth having looked at directly. Checking your hob’s printed control guide for exactly how the lock is applied and released is worth doing once, since the sequence is not always obvious from the symbols alone.
If your induction hob is behaving in a way you cannot explain, a La Cornue cooktop repair visit confirms which features are active before testing anything electronically.