Making Your Kitchen the
Ultimate Gathering Place
charlotte lifestyle feb/march
07
When I was a child, my parents had what
they called a “dinner party” the first
Saturday of every month. My mother, who
was never far from the kitchen anyway, would
start to prepare the meal in the afternoon in a
familiar and ritualistic way. The sauces would
simmer while she carefully fanned out the
napkins, pulled them through ceramic rings,
and placed one ringed napkin at the center of
each plate. Fifteen minutes before the guests
arrived, she would preheat the oven, fine-tune
her sauces, and set a few timers to ensure the
stars would align at just the right moment.
The guests would arrive casually and enter
the living room, where my father would pour
a few drinks for them. The ladies would sit on
the edge of the sofa, elbows on knees, while
the men would stand and chat, drinks in hand,
talking politics above the occasional clink of
ice. And then the moment would come…my
mother would enter the room and inform the
guests that dinner was ready, and all would
parade into the dining room for a relaxing
meal and a casual conversation.
WELL… Times have certainly changed.
Today our kitchen is the ultimate gathering
place, rather than the living or dining room,
and the meal preparation comprises a
culmination of guests’ ideas, interpretations,
and even assistance with the food-prep
process. One guest may naturally gravitate
toward the wooden spoon on the counter
and subconsciously begin to stir the sauce.
Another may surprise us by pulling a small jar
of Madagascar vanilla bean from her purse. A
vial of saffron may come from an inside coat
pocket, with a suggestion on how to enhance
a chicken dish.
Gathering at the kitchen’s center-island
counter for hors d’oeuvres and wine, we revel
in these collaborative culinary efforts as the
aromas begin to permeate our senses and
we begin a journey that may never leave the
kitchen. We may eat standing up at the island
counter, engaged in conversation, and may
retire only to the relaxation of an armchair or
sofa over coffee and crème brulée at the end
of the evening.
The perfect 21st-century dinner party can
be achieved in almost any space or size with
proper planning and preparation, and a little
bit of ingenuity. I often intentionally leave a
wooden spoon beside a simmering pot, and
a stack of disposable spoons on the counter,
to encourage tasting and sampling. I move
the spice rack to the center of the counter
and leave an array of uncut vegetables on a
butcher-block beside a chef’s knife. I like to
create virtual workstations my guests will
naturally fall into. A decanter of wine and
two empty glasses placed strategically under
the island’s overhead pendant lighting will
encourage your guests to take notice. In short
order, your kitchen will become a platform of
artistic endeavors, and the conversation will
flow as fluidly as the wine.
The key to achieving this effect is balance.
In fact, all we do in life is a balancing act,
and planning our kitchen’s layout is no
different. When entertaining, think of your
kitchen as a workshop, and break it down
into workstations, strategically locating
your utensils so they are easily accessible
at each assigned station. If your guests
must move across the kitchen to retrieve a
particular utensil, a cluttered, uncomfortable
environment can ensue. So make sure each
station is well-appointed to avoid such a
traffic-jam.
Now many of us have smaller kitchens that
may not necessarily lend themselves well to
this gathering-place environment; sometimes
storage space is minimal and counter area is
limited, but that should not get in your way.
Overhead pot-racks offer both great design
and utility in a small kitchen. Increasing
cabinet space is often simple, with a few
modifications. A great place to explore is
rev-a-shelf.com, where you will find custom
drawer pullouts, inserts, baskets, etc., that are
easy to retrofit and install yourself. The change
from a 90-degree hinge to a 175-degree hinge
($5.00 at Home Depot) can often make huge
functional improvements to a kitchen. The
mobile center island is a great addition to a
small kitchen, providing extra storage when
rolled into a corner, yet becoming the center
of gathering for wine and canapés when rolled
out.
Regardless of the size and type of kitchen
space you work with, you have options. You
also have to make choices. You can’t have it all,
but you can have all you need to satisfy any
situation. Make creative use of the resources
you have, plan your food-prep experience
carefully, and your kitchen space will become
the ultimate gathering place in your home.