Nothing beats a beautiful kitchen. Whether you really love cooking or simply find yourself in the kitchen a lot, a sleek, stylish backdrop can make the process that much more enjoyable. But successful kitchen design requires more than just style. While choosing beautiful materials and maintaining a consistent aesthetic are important parts of the process, a kitchen is pretty useless if it doesn't support the main event: cooking. That's where Ellen Marie Bennett comes in.
With a background as a professional chef, Ellen founded Hedley & Bennett, a luxury kitchenware brand known for its restaurant-quality aprons, but 12 years later, long-lasting aprons and knives are proving to be just the beginning of her kitchen design expertise.
With both style and functionality in mind, Ellen embarked on a whole new mission this year: to help home cooks revamp their cooking spaces. Kitchen brilliancenow airing, in each episode, Ellen gives homeowners professional chef-approved tips for refreshing their kitchen, and the results are truly amazing.
For more information about the show, H&G We sat down with Ellen to share her kitchen design tips that make a big impact in any style of space. Here we take a look at some of the colorful spaces featured on the show, along with tips inspired directly by restaurant workflows for achieving the most efficient kitchen layout at home.
How to layout your kitchen like a professional chef
(Image courtesy of Tastemade)
8 episodes Kitchen brilliance All of the shows that have aired so far have been great, and Ellen says she enjoys seeing audience reactions. She says the elements of the shows she loves most – short, snappy episodes and lots of practical advice – are resonating with audiences. H&G.
“So many people have told me they've learned so much from the show and after watching one episode they start thinking about where they can brighten up their kitchen, whether that's one drawer or their pantry. The show inspires people to take action, which is exactly what I wanted, so I'm so happy,” Ellen says.
There are many kitchen design tips, but one in particular has had a lasting impact on every kitchen featured on the show.
“One of the big changes is the zones that professional kitchens have. There are zones for certain tasks. They're also called stations. We have a pastry station. Hors d'oeuvre “There's also a fish station at the station,” Ellen says.
(Image courtesy of Tastemade)
Ellen wanted her client's kitchens to be not only beautiful but also usable, so she decided to create the equivalent of zones and stations within a home kitchen. Throughout her redesigned kitchens, Ellen streamlined the cooking process from start to finish by creating dedicated spaces for prep, cooking, serving, storage and cleaning.
Simply adding a cooking zone with all the necessary cooking utensils — pots and pans, olive oil, salt, pepper, a cutting board — can make a big difference in a home kitchen.
“Having everything next to the stove and creating a countertop was a pretty big thing for people, who didn't realise they didn't have to do that every time they cooked and could just keep it outside the countertop,” Ellen says.
Ellen says she organizes most of her kitchen's zones around the stove, with a prep zone on one side and a cooking zone on the other. The prep zone is for “things you do to food before it's cooked,” like turning, seasoning, and slicing a salad. Think about what you need for each step of prep, and what you'll need next to cook, so you always have the essentials easily accessible.
“You want your spice drawer right next to the stove, not on the other side of the kitchen. This flow needs to be fixed, and anyone can fix it, since most people have at least one drawer on each side of their stove,” says Ellen.
(Image courtesy of Tastemade)
A zone-based kitchen layout saves time and energy and makes cooking less stressful. Instead of fumbling around for cinnamon or digging through cabinets for that box of pasta, you can sit back and enjoy the moment you're cooking.
While the prep and cooking zones might seem like the most important, Ellen suggests organizing the process further and incorporating serving, storing and cleaning zones as well. The serving zone should come immediately after cooking, she says.
“When it comes to serving, think of it as a restaurant, where you lay out the food with a pass to give to the waiter. Your serving area should be an open counter,” says Ellen. “Your serving area should be closest to the dining room or where you eat, and ideally close to the cleaning area.”
A clean zone, or clean station, starts naturally with a sink. And, of course, there needs to be a trash can. In restaurant jargon, this station is known as a “dish pit.”
“But also have all the cleaning elements close by,” Ellen says. “You don't want your soaps and everything else in a cabinet far away. Put them under the sink and arrange them so everything is there and within arm's reach.”
“And that storage space should be right next to the cleaning area, so you can stand it up and it's within arm's reach when you're unloading things from the sink or the dishwasher. It creates a flow that's like, 'Okay, we'll cook and prep together, then we'll plate and clean together, then we'll put away,'” Ellen says.
Hedley & Bennett oven mitts
Hedley & Bennett Essential Apron
Hedley & Bennett kitchen knife set
The great thing about a zone system is that it works in kitchens of all sizes and styles. You don't have to invest in new equipment or undertake a complete renovation to get flow. Just think about how you currently use your space and rearrange it as needed. A simpler, stress-free cooking process awaits.
If you're looking for more kitchen design inspiration, Ellen recommends: Kitchen brillianceis available to stream on Tastemade+, Roku, Google TV, Youtube TV and more.
“The show will show you a lot about how sausage is made, and we'll go into a lot of detail, so you'll learn a lot. I don't know how to stay obsessed with the details,” Ellen says with a smile.
