Kitchen Layout for a Master Chef

If you consider yourself a Master Chef or if you aspire to become one; you will definitely need a kitchen layout suited to the special requirements of gourmet cooking. For starters, master chefs work fast and perform a variety of preparation and cooking tasks simultaneously. Having a working area located in such a way that no one else will pass through the area is desirable for all cooks; but for master chefs it is absolutely essential.

The working area is known as the work triangle – connected by the refrigerator, the sink, and the stove cooktops. The logic here is inescapable as the three areas represent where the food is stored, where it is prepared for cooking, and where it is actually cooked. Master Chefs you watch on the increasingly popular television cooking shows scamper around these areas at a dizzying pace.

You’ll find a lot of advice on the Internet about appropriate dimensions for each leg of the triangle, but the more important issue is how to lay out the triangle in the basic style in which your kitchen is configured. Kitchen layouts are generally broken down into U-Shaped, L-Shaped, Single Wall, or Galley style. How you incorporate the work triangle into these different layouts depends on your ability to alter the structure of your existing kitchen.

If you are going for a complete kitchen rehab, there is no limit to what you can do. As a general rule the U-Shaped design is ideal in that the layout provides natural traffic barriers and the work areas can be optimally located in the U. The L-Shaped design is a close second, but the open wall might allow some traffic and the triangle will almost always involve more steps. Single wall and galley styles are more difficult to maintain both an efficient work triangle and optimum traffic control.

There is a way to optimize both the triangle and the traffic and also meet another need of most master chefs: they love to show off their skills! Incorporating an island into your kitchen layout is a fantastic way to get a more efficient kitchen; and with the addition of counter space and a few bar stools, allow your dinner guests to watch and marvel at the culinary skills of the chef – you!

Depending on the space available, islands can turn single wall and galley kitchens into layouts any master chef would be proud to have. It can be challenging to add an island to a U-Shaped layout but if you already have an L-Shaped layout or you are planning one, an island is something you should definitely consider. Incorporating separate cooktop elements directly into the island adds a “WOW” element to your kitchen that simply can’t be matched. Guests can be right there at the point of action. The island opens a world of conversation between them and the master chef revolving around sharing of cooking secrets and tips and techniques.

In his play, “The Merchant of Venice” Shakespeare penned the immortal phrase: “All things that are, are with more spirit chased than enjoyed”. A contemporary adage with the same meaning is “Anticipation is often better than realization.” While it might be debatable that watching a gourmet meal in preparation does not lessen the pleasure of its consumption, no one can deny that a circle of hungry guests anticipating the taste sensations of your culinary creations will not heighten the enjoyment of the event.