Kitchen Layout Trends:
Practicality Above All
Kitchens are being designed every day – in Singapore
alone, the openings of restaurants happen almost
every week. It’s an elaborate process involving large
sums, critical professionals, lots of drawing paper
and even more opinions. Transparency in terms of
open kitchens has been practiced in the last two
decades. These are the more exciting, popular
choices made by chefs that require investments
to be on the higher side as aesthetically-appeasing
bespoke equipment costs more. Group Executive
Chef Brouard Laurent of Bistro du Vin by Les Amis
mentions, “Practicality is definitely very important
as it affects the flow of operations and consequently,
the customer experience, but there is no denying
the draw of an aesthetically pleasing kitchen. For
myself, I love working in open kitchens. Not just
because it looks nice, but also because an open
kitchen allows the chef and the entire kitchen team
to have a better feel of overall dining environment,
to feel the pace of the service, as well as to allow for
more interaction between the chef and the diners.”CEO/ Chef Hal Yamashita of Watermark Inc Tokyo
says, “The kitchen has to be both beautiful and
functional. It also has to be safe and clean for
the workers and the ingredients. For example, a
refrigerator which opens automatically without
touching, and a water tap which runs by stepping
on a paddle, so you can work without touching
multiple surfaces to prevent cross-contamination
while preparing ingredients. A great kitchen always
gives me ideas to produce amazing dishes. I believe
that kitchen space should be bigger as it produces
better food. The kitchen where I work in is more
spacious than the dining area. My perfect ratio is
6:4, kitchen to dining area.”It’s a whole lot more intricate
than most people would
think and we haven’t even
mentioned safety hazards- another regulation
that for obvious
reasons must be
instated. But, that’s a
story for another issue,
once you’ve wrapped
your head around how
kitchens are done. DD
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*Photography courtesy of Claes Bech-Poulsen.
A kitchen needs to be beautiful, functional and be able
to express the way you cook at the same time.
I wanted to break down the barrier between the dining
space and the kitchen. Why – because I believe it
creates a better energy, better team work and
an atmosphere in the dining room.
Chef Rasmus Kofoed