Set up an Efficient Kitchen
Long before you start cooking, your kitchen layout determines how quickly you can get dinner on the table. Professional kitchens are designed for speed at doesn’t mean you have to remodel your kitchen to match a professional one, although it might help! Most folks simply need to maximize the space they have at hand.
Consider the four major areas. Your
goal is to arrange your kitchen so it revolves smoothly around four major
areas: the storage area, the preparation area, the cooking area, and the
cleaning area. If possible, keep these areas relatively separate but linked by
countertops.
In smaller kitchens, it’s likely that
these areas will have some overlap, which is okay. For instance, your microwave
oven is technically a piece of cooking equipment, but it may be on your
countertop (a prep area) or nestled among your
cabinets (a storage area). Work with your kitchen space to
determine the best spot for each area, and move small appliances accordingly.
Draw a diagram. If you’re working
with an existing layout, start by drawing a picture of your kitchen, showing
only the walls, doors, windows, cabinets, and countertops—things you can’t
easily move. Next, pencil
in the major appliances in the places where they best Ideally,
the refrigerator, sink, and stove will form a triangle to minimize walking as
you go from one to the other.
When picturing this work triangle,
take into account the kitchen’s walking paths. Try to keep the work triangle
away from walking paths, so that foot traffic doesn’t cross through key work
areas, especially the area between the stove and the sink.
Create linked countertops or
workstations. Most kitchens link the refrigerator, sink, and stove (or at least
two of the three) with countertops. At the very least, your kitchen should have
two key surfaces: a prep surface and a resting surface, each near the stove or
the sink. Depending on your kitchen layout, you may and it more efficient to create workstations.
For instance, if your stovetop has no
available countertop surrounding it, you can create a prep area near the stove
with a center island or butcher-block rolling cart. Or, if you bake oven and
have a wall oven, you can streamline prep time by keeping a similar work
surface and all of your baking supplies near the oven.
