said by LazMan:Unsafe and possibly in violation of the building code and/or electrical codes...
Minimum clearance above a cooktop is 16" for electric, and I believe 24" for gas...
Doesn't code also require a vent hood to exhaust oil vapor/cooking combustion products?
I've seen houses where the ceiling was dark brown from oil vapor from years of pan fried chicken being cooked without the hood being on. 1 excuse was "I am afraid of the noise it makes", the other house the excuse was it was too high for the lady to reach the switch to turn it on. It looked worse tobacco tar ceilings.