When I was a child, my mother had a farm kitchen that had very little counter space and contained the washer and dryer and water heater. A lot of meal prep was done on the kitchen table. Most of my adult life I had kitchens with little counter space and my meal prepping was done on the kitchen table. Plus I canned a lot of food in those small kitchens. Now I have a large kitchen (12x9 ft., U-shaped) with an 8 foot island and storage underneath. There is also plenty of counterspace and cabinets above and below. I finally acquired the kitchen of my dreams and love it. I wouldn't want it any bigger because I, too, am a kitchen gadget collector. The space keeps me discipline to not continually buy more stuff.
I have also learned that I will use all the space afforded to me whether I need it or not. :-) And, I love kitchen gadgets. Thank you for sharing these memories Claudia!
Ooohhhh this opened a big door for me! I am in my fifth kitchen, but one that I left behind most recently in our old house was the kitchen of my heart. Although I love so many things about our new home, that kitchen has my imprint on every square inch—from the cabinet hardware to the tile floors, the soapstone counters and the soaring windows. It’s inspired me to write about it, which may be a cathartic way for me to say goodbye… Thank you as always, Rebecca for these great topics! I loved reading about everyone’s kitchen journeys.
We remodeled the kitchen in the home we raised our children in and I felt the same way - every single thing was there because I chose it. After working to remodel our RV, that's how I feel about my kitchen now as well! It's so wonderful to have the freedom to make something truly yours, isn't it?
I had the smallest of kitchens in an old home in Santa Barbara, California, and for some reason, I liked it better than any other kitchen I've ever cooked and baked in. I, too, used the washer and dryer to cool baked goods, casserole dishes, turkeys, and more.
Before that, I had a very small kitchen in a home I rented in Budapest, Hungary. The cabinets and countertops were ridiculously small, but the space was big, with room for a table and four chairs. What was important to the Owner, I guess, was the gathering space more than the cooking space.
Now, I own my home and despise my kitchen. Ha. It needs a remodel - it's a 1980s special! What's good about it? Lots of space for storing all my kitchen tools. What's bad? All the counters are built as corners, making it frustrating to roll out dough or even mandolin some cucumbers without them falling through the center of the corner.
What does this say about me? I like kitchens with no cabinets overhead, and love cozy, warm spaces rich with history - and long, wide, straight countertops!
Years ago I got to go to Italy to cook for a yoga retreat and cooked all our meals in a tiny kitchen that was originally constructed in the 1500s! It was not a convenient space and I had very little modern conveniences to work with, but I loved it so much. Like you, I love cozy, warm spaces rich with history. And - yes, at least one long, wide, straight countertop!
Every kitchen in every place I've lived as an adult has been rammed to the gills because, yes, I love cooking, but I really love kitchen stuff. Even when I lived in an almost 3000-sq foot house with a butler's pantry. Appliances, tools, you name it. And I actually use it. My curse is that I love living in NYC and no kitchen here (that I can afford) will ever really be big enough. That said, I do try to keep my countertops free of clutter and cannot work in a messy kitchen so I've mastered the art of putting (almost) everything I own away in drawers and cabinets, despite seeming like an impossible task. Sometimes I wonder if my kitchen cabinets were made in Narnia.
But, the first kitchen I ever cooked in barely had any counter space and only a couple of pots. No appliances other than a stove and the refrigerator to speak of. I was still a teenager living at home.
This is such a great idea for writing! I've cooked in so many kitchens, of different sizes, shapes and qualities and the memories are spinning! I need to get these ideas down asap! Thank you for the inspiration 😊
I have moved around a lot - from Germany to the UK, Austria, back to the UK, to Belgium, back to the Uk, Italy and now Belgium again so there have been plenty of kitchens - from student housing to flatshares to sterile corporate flats thanks to work. But I will always treasure the tiny open plan kitchen in my first flat when I moved back to Brussels. It had a massive butcher block in the centre. Odd for a flat so small but amazing when my friend Kaja and I started our supperclubs and cooking classes as it was perfect for demo’ing the dishes. I will also always remember my last kitchen in Rome which had a tiled countertop - a nightmare to clean if you ask me! Very grateful for the kitchen I now have - designed with an architect so exactly how I wanted it and with a little breakfast nook where I often sit with an iced coffee and write my next newsletter!
Thank you for all your thoughtful questions! This sent me down a wonderful rabbit hole reminiscing about all my kitchens of livest past and actually made me jot down some memories so I don’t forget.
For years, I cooked in kitchens that were barely there—tiny spaces where every centimetre mattered, where creativity often meant making do. Somehow, as my cooking evolved, so did my kitchens. Now, with more space ( since 6-7 years) I see how my journey with food has expanded too—not just in technique, but in confidence and curiosity. It’s a reminder that great cooking doesn’t start with the perfect kitchen; it starts with the love of making something good.
This is a great question! And I loved reading about your kitchens Rebecca.
I have had so many kitchens. My kitchen now is pretty big and fancy, but that wasn't always the case.
For the first 12 years of my adult life I moved around a lot, in a nomadic extension of student life. It was all city rental flats and houses, and mostly the kitchens were grotty. I was too busy living the party life to cook, or working my butt off as a journalist/press officer.
There was one kitchen though, when I lived in a lovely house with my friend Hannah. It was light and white, open plan with lots of windows, a dark wooden floor and a breakfast bar. We used to go to the local market together on a Saturday and then would giggle with delight as we ordered our produce onto colour coded shelves. We cooked a lot of vegetarian food - Hannah was a vegetarian and I was trying to be healthy to support a burgeoning love of yoga. I have a distinct memory of courgette, ricotta and lemon stuffed rotolo.
Making everything in our 650sqft apartment smell like the Momofuku ramen broth from our galley style kitchen (I will never deal with a galley kitchen AGAIN in my life if I can help it), steaming up all the windows because it was January and we had no control over the radiators and I think we could only open one of our street-facing windows. The radiators were just “on” when our landlord decided they need to be on for that 12-unit building. But I LOVED every minute of making that broth
When I was a child, my mother had a farm kitchen that had very little counter space and contained the washer and dryer and water heater. A lot of meal prep was done on the kitchen table. Most of my adult life I had kitchens with little counter space and my meal prepping was done on the kitchen table. Plus I canned a lot of food in those small kitchens. Now I have a large kitchen (12x9 ft., U-shaped) with an 8 foot island and storage underneath. There is also plenty of counterspace and cabinets above and below. I finally acquired the kitchen of my dreams and love it. I wouldn't want it any bigger because I, too, am a kitchen gadget collector. The space keeps me discipline to not continually buy more stuff.
I have also learned that I will use all the space afforded to me whether I need it or not. :-) And, I love kitchen gadgets. Thank you for sharing these memories Claudia!
Ooohhhh this opened a big door for me! I am in my fifth kitchen, but one that I left behind most recently in our old house was the kitchen of my heart. Although I love so many things about our new home, that kitchen has my imprint on every square inch—from the cabinet hardware to the tile floors, the soapstone counters and the soaring windows. It’s inspired me to write about it, which may be a cathartic way for me to say goodbye… Thank you as always, Rebecca for these great topics! I loved reading about everyone’s kitchen journeys.
We remodeled the kitchen in the home we raised our children in and I felt the same way - every single thing was there because I chose it. After working to remodel our RV, that's how I feel about my kitchen now as well! It's so wonderful to have the freedom to make something truly yours, isn't it?
I had the smallest of kitchens in an old home in Santa Barbara, California, and for some reason, I liked it better than any other kitchen I've ever cooked and baked in. I, too, used the washer and dryer to cool baked goods, casserole dishes, turkeys, and more.
Before that, I had a very small kitchen in a home I rented in Budapest, Hungary. The cabinets and countertops were ridiculously small, but the space was big, with room for a table and four chairs. What was important to the Owner, I guess, was the gathering space more than the cooking space.
Now, I own my home and despise my kitchen. Ha. It needs a remodel - it's a 1980s special! What's good about it? Lots of space for storing all my kitchen tools. What's bad? All the counters are built as corners, making it frustrating to roll out dough or even mandolin some cucumbers without them falling through the center of the corner.
What does this say about me? I like kitchens with no cabinets overhead, and love cozy, warm spaces rich with history - and long, wide, straight countertops!
Years ago I got to go to Italy to cook for a yoga retreat and cooked all our meals in a tiny kitchen that was originally constructed in the 1500s! It was not a convenient space and I had very little modern conveniences to work with, but I loved it so much. Like you, I love cozy, warm spaces rich with history. And - yes, at least one long, wide, straight countertop!
Every kitchen in every place I've lived as an adult has been rammed to the gills because, yes, I love cooking, but I really love kitchen stuff. Even when I lived in an almost 3000-sq foot house with a butler's pantry. Appliances, tools, you name it. And I actually use it. My curse is that I love living in NYC and no kitchen here (that I can afford) will ever really be big enough. That said, I do try to keep my countertops free of clutter and cannot work in a messy kitchen so I've mastered the art of putting (almost) everything I own away in drawers and cabinets, despite seeming like an impossible task. Sometimes I wonder if my kitchen cabinets were made in Narnia.
But, the first kitchen I ever cooked in barely had any counter space and only a couple of pots. No appliances other than a stove and the refrigerator to speak of. I was still a teenager living at home.
oh that means so much that this inspired some really interesting conversation! thank you, Rebecca!
Thank you for the inspiration! And the trips down memory lane!
This is such a great idea for writing! I've cooked in so many kitchens, of different sizes, shapes and qualities and the memories are spinning! I need to get these ideas down asap! Thank you for the inspiration 😊
I have moved around a lot - from Germany to the UK, Austria, back to the UK, to Belgium, back to the Uk, Italy and now Belgium again so there have been plenty of kitchens - from student housing to flatshares to sterile corporate flats thanks to work. But I will always treasure the tiny open plan kitchen in my first flat when I moved back to Brussels. It had a massive butcher block in the centre. Odd for a flat so small but amazing when my friend Kaja and I started our supperclubs and cooking classes as it was perfect for demo’ing the dishes. I will also always remember my last kitchen in Rome which had a tiled countertop - a nightmare to clean if you ask me! Very grateful for the kitchen I now have - designed with an architect so exactly how I wanted it and with a little breakfast nook where I often sit with an iced coffee and write my next newsletter!
I love this Sophia! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for all your thoughtful questions! This sent me down a wonderful rabbit hole reminiscing about all my kitchens of livest past and actually made me jot down some memories so I don’t forget.
For years, I cooked in kitchens that were barely there—tiny spaces where every centimetre mattered, where creativity often meant making do. Somehow, as my cooking evolved, so did my kitchens. Now, with more space ( since 6-7 years) I see how my journey with food has expanded too—not just in technique, but in confidence and curiosity. It’s a reminder that great cooking doesn’t start with the perfect kitchen; it starts with the love of making something good.
I love this!
This is a great question! And I loved reading about your kitchens Rebecca.
I have had so many kitchens. My kitchen now is pretty big and fancy, but that wasn't always the case.
For the first 12 years of my adult life I moved around a lot, in a nomadic extension of student life. It was all city rental flats and houses, and mostly the kitchens were grotty. I was too busy living the party life to cook, or working my butt off as a journalist/press officer.
There was one kitchen though, when I lived in a lovely house with my friend Hannah. It was light and white, open plan with lots of windows, a dark wooden floor and a breakfast bar. We used to go to the local market together on a Saturday and then would giggle with delight as we ordered our produce onto colour coded shelves. We cooked a lot of vegetarian food - Hannah was a vegetarian and I was trying to be healthy to support a burgeoning love of yoga. I have a distinct memory of courgette, ricotta and lemon stuffed rotolo.
I love this Shell! Thank you for sharing!
Making everything in our 650sqft apartment smell like the Momofuku ramen broth from our galley style kitchen (I will never deal with a galley kitchen AGAIN in my life if I can help it), steaming up all the windows because it was January and we had no control over the radiators and I think we could only open one of our street-facing windows. The radiators were just “on” when our landlord decided they need to be on for that 12-unit building. But I LOVED every minute of making that broth
I can picture this!