If your cooking repertoire has become a little stale or making meals just feels like a chore, take heart; it’s not you, it’s your kitchen, and there’s something you can do about it.
Here’s how a few kitchen improvements could kick-start your delicious love affair with all things food.
Upgrade Your Accessories:
You can’t be expected to cook great food in an ill-equipped kitchen. Look at your cookware and utensils and throw out anything which has passed its prime, then invest in some new gadgets.
A great cook needs great tools, so make sure you have the essentials:quality knives, a selection of non-stick pans with lids, some mixing bowls, a rolling pin, a selection of wooden and plastic chopping boards, a pestle and mortar and some digital scales.
Then treat yourself to a food processor, griddle pan, deep fat fryer and a blow-torch.
Once you’ve got the tools, you’re ready to experiment with different ingredients and cuisines.
Good cooking takes planning, so make a feature of a blackboard on your kitchen wall to keep a shopping list on, and if you don’t want visitors to see it, fix a board to the inside of a cupboard door instead.
Now make space and put up a shelf for your recipe books; being surrounded by quality equipment and inspirational books could just be the motivation you need.
Upgrade Your Appliances:
The best efforts of the most dedicated chef can be thwarted by an old oven because most of them have woefully inaccurate thermostats.
Installing a brand new oven will make timing recipes; particularly those that require a specific temperature, like breads and cakes, easy to perfect.
No-one likes doing the dishes and the prospect of dealing with the stacks of pots and pans that come from cooking a large or complex meal are enough to put anyone off.
Install a dishwasher and take the hassle out of preparing any meal. It doesn’t just save on elbow grease, it gives you the chance to wind down after dinner and spend time with your family instead of dealing with dirty dishes.
Upgrade Everything:
Sometimes, you’re better off starting from scratch and renovating everything.
When you plan a new kitchen, you have the opportunity to map out the space and fill it with the cooking equipment and accessories you need to be the chef you aspire to be.
When it’s well-designed, a brand new kitchen should be a warm, inviting space that you want to spend time in. If you’re new to cooking or apprehensive about trying new things, being in a nice environment can help you find the courage to cook anything with confidence.
If you’re thinking about a renovation, take full advantage of the expertise of professional kitchen designers; they know how to make the most of every nook and cranny and can help you equip your kitchen with everything you need to be a really great cook.
Plus, they can usually negotiate better deals on the price of fixtures and appliances than you could find by yourself.
Imagine it: new surfaces, new cupboards, all those spaces which you thought redundant, transformed into cleverly concealed storage, plus that shiny stove and double-door fridge you’ve always wanted.
A new kitchen makes everything easy to access, easy to clean and most importantly, easy to cook, relax and enjoy your food in.
Every great cook needs a great kitchen!