I am kicking off the new year with a kosher kitchen.
I am not Jewish, but as a designer it is my duty to try and understand different cultures. This is especially important when designing a kitchen, the central command station of the home.
The main idea in a kosher kitchen is to keep diary and meat preparation separate. In a spacious kitchen this is easily achieved however in smaller city homes it may be prove to be a challenge. I have had my share of 'galley' kosher kitchens whilst working in Manhattan.
The kitchen I am designing has plenty of space making it easier to include all the wishes of the client. I am creating two distinct meal preparation areas, one for diary and the other for meat. A 'Parve' station is also helpful when preparing other foods not including meat or diary, such as bread, fruit or vegetables that can then be consumed with either the meat dish or diary products.
The main thing you will notice when designing kosher is the large number of appliances. Imagine fitting in all the appliances you will usually have in a kitchen and then times that by two.
In the meat section I have included a large stainless steel sink, a dishwasher and pull out trash. A cooktop, vent, double oven, microwave, refrigerator and freezer. Pans, utensils, cutlery glassware and dishes need to be separate from the diary cookware. A similar list of appliances is repeated in the diary section.
In order to end up with a cohesive design, the kitchen needs to be designed to look like one space, and not two kitchens sitting side by side.
I chose the meat section as my 'main' cooking area and selected a large Wolf range top as the focal point, with the larger of two islands sitting directly in front of it. The diary section is more low key with a next to invisible induction hob and a hidden down draft, SubZero drawer refrigeration in the smaller second island which is covered by custom panels. The dishwashers, freezers and refrigerators are also paneled to avoid an overwhelming array of appliances.
Even though there are essentially two prep, two cooking and two clean up areas there is usually one person cooking. So the configuration of the space and the flow is vital. Two smaller islands instead of one enables the chef to get around easier, separate fridge drawers near the diary will save leg work back and forth from the main refrigerator which in this case is located near the meat section on the opposite side of the kitchen.
A central dry food pantry makes loading and unloading food quicker and gives plenty of storage space for small appliances and larger pots.
They are also lucky to have a spacious butlers pantry with an additional sink and dishwasher, so cleaning up after a dinner party is a breeze!
When choosing materials, granite or marble is preferred for the counter tops and stainless steel for sinks. In a large space like this using two tones for the cabinets is ideal, wood grade for the islands and light paint color for the perimeter cabinets. I am including 5 stools for the grandchildren, and space for cook books and coloring books nearby.
A desk with a pencil drawer and a wood top finishes off the design nicely.
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| Culinarium by Christopher Peacock |
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| Culinarium by Christopher Peacock |
The project is in the planning stage, I hope to be able to share some pictures when it is complete, the cabinets are from the Culinarium Collection from Christopher Peacock, with whom I am employed as a Senior Designer.
Any kosher design suggestions left in 'Comments' are appreciated!
www.peacockhome.com
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All writings are my personal suggestions and do not reflect the Christopher Peacock Company in any form.
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