All Business

Photo by Eric Roth

"Anyone who is still fixated on the work triangle has missed the boat. It died 40 years ago." These fighting words are from Deborah Krasner, a Putney, Vermont-based certified culinary professional, designer and cookbook author. "Builders need to think about how a meal is cooked," she says.

Krasner, who offers a kitchen blueprint review service, says she walks her clients through the preparation of a spaghetti dinner to show how a kitchen should work. "Where are the cans, knives, spices, and pans? What steps do you go through to get a simple recipe onto the stove and then to the table?" In doing so, she reveals that like items for similar functions should all be sited together.

In the zone
Krasner divides the kitchen into four zones: wet, dry, hot, and cold. "If you mentally divide any kitchen into these zones and put some space between each zone, you’ll have a kitchen that works," she promises. Here are some suggestions for each zone:

• Wet zone: The dishwasher should be on the left of the sink because most people are right-handed, and the sink should be a single, large sink. "Double sinks are a throwback to days when you washed dishes and had a washing side and rinsing side," she explains. Include a back drain under the sink so the space underneath it is usable. This space should house anything that has to do with water: coffee pot and storage for its supplies, colanders, cleaning supplies, and the salad spinner.
• Dry zone: The island should be a dedicated dry zone, with no sink or appliances. Island seating is a must because the kitchen is a social space. "And the island should be lit by halogen task lighting so you can see what you’re doing," Krasner emphasizes. An accessible cookbook shelf should be located in this area to make meal prep easier for cooks of all abilities.
• Hot zone: This zone can be one area, or it can be split into two spaces, says Krasner. "The cooktop and ovens can be on opposite sides of the room as long as storage of the items that are used with them is addressed." For example, by the oven there should be ample storage for baking items.
• Cold zone: This should include both the refrigerator and the pantry, she explains. "You should be able to stand in one place and survey all the food you have in the house."

• Gas cooktops with high-heat output for wok cooking and boiling big pots of water
• Drawers instead of cabinets for easier storage and retrieval of cookware
• Cork flooring because it’s easy on the back
• Butcher-block islands for chopping without having to haul out a cutting board
• New stainless surfaces manufactured to show fewer fingerprints and smudges
• Varying counter heights to accommodate the differing statures of cooks
• Double dishwashers, one that offers room and power to clean pots and pans
• A second sink for the chef’s helpers
• If space is at a premium, an oven and convection microwave instead of double ovens