WHAT IS THE KITCHEN TRIANGLE? But lifesty;es have changed, so too must kitchen design... BYE, BYE KITCHEN TRIANGLE, HELLO ZONE! ESSENTIAL KITCHEN ESSENTIAL KITCHEN I: THE KITCHEN TRIANGLE W W W. B E Y O N DY O U R S C A L E . C O M BYE, BYE KITCHEN TRIANGLE, HELLO ZONE! The idea of the kitchen triangle has dominated the kitchen industry for many years. It is formed around the three major appliances: cooktop, sink and fridge. Kitchens used to be closed off and accommodated only one person. This worked reasonably well when only one family member was responsible for kitchen duties, but add another person sharing the workload, and suddenly people arc colliding and crossing paths as they individually move between the three points. Modem families hang out together in the kitchen for multiple purposes, making the "triangle” obsolete. For example, on a busy weeknight between work or school and extracurricular activities, a typical family is usually working on several tasks at the same time in the kitchen: one partner is propping a quick meal, the other is unloading the dishwasher; one child is grabbing a quick snack while the other is parked at the island doing homework. This scenario would have wreaked havoc on the dated kitchen triangle design. ESSENTIAL KITCHEN I: THE KITCHEN TRIANGLE W W W. B E Y O N DY O U R S C A L E . C O M The solution is the zone design! When we design in zones, we are compartmentalizing discrete activities or functions while accommodating both individual and multiple users. The kitchen is divided into what we like to call the “work" and “non- work" areas — the work areas being the cooking and cleanup zones and the non-work areas being for storage (both food and non-consumables), seating, entertaining and auxiliary family work. Prep Zone We designated the countertop areas near our range as our prep zone, since we can easily move our prepped ingredients to the cooking zone. In our case, our prep zone overlaps with our cooking and putting away zones. This is fairly common because the step after prepping is cooking or if you’re super organized and prepping ahead, you’ll have all the items you need to store and put away your prepped ingredients in the same area. Your prep area should contain all the items you use to prep ingredients for the cooking phase. In a perfect world, you would have your mise en place (a French culinary term meaning everything in its place or all your ingredients prepped and ready to go!) ready before you cooked. We’ve opted for drawers for all our lower cabinetry and these are the prep tools we’ve put into the drawers within our prep zone: 1.Things used for mashing, chopping, cutting and opening: cutting boards, knives, scissors, can opener, peelers, garlic crusher, graters, zesters, food processor, spiralizer 2.Things that measure: measuring cups and spoons, kitchen scale 3.Things for washing: salad spinner, colanders 4.Things that contain: prep bowls, Tupperware containers, Ziploc bags (all also used for putting away needs) 5.Things that flavor: oils, salt, pepper, sugar, spices, condiments ESSENTIAL KITCHEN I: THE KITCHEN TRIANGLE W W W. B E Y O N DY O U R S C A L E . C O M Cooking Zone Your cooking zone should be located where your range is since well, that’s where the cooking mostly happens. If you have a small kitchen, your cooking zone will likely be adjacent to your prep zone. In larger kitchens with more space, you might use a sheet pan to move all your mise en place over from your prep zone to your cooking zone. In this zone, we keep: 1.Cookware: pots, pans, Dutch ovens, woks 2.Cooking helpers: tongs, wok turner, spatulas, fish turner (works great on pancakes and fritters too), assorted wooden spoons 3.Things that flavor (move from the prep zone): oils, salt, pepper, sugar, spices, condiments Clean-up Zone Your clean-up zone should be located around your sink and dishwasher. Like before, our sink is located behind our range. We love this layout because it makes it so easy for us to clean up while cooking. If you’re waiting for something to boil or simmer on the stove, you can easily just turn around and wash a few dishes so there’s a lot less to clean up when you’re done cooking. ESSENTIAL KITCHEN I: THE KITCHEN TRIANGLE W W W. B E Y O N DY O U R S C A L E . C O M Other Zones The kitchen is now the hub of the home; it is where we chat, drink coffee, eat, check the news, help with homework and entertain our friends. How do we accommodate all of this? By dedicating a separate area that is inviting to the "public,“ or the people you call the "non-workers" in the kitchen. This allows the cook and cleanup person to have uninterrupted space for their work while granting others access to the space and the ability to participate. An island or a separate area is the easiest way to add guest space where snacks, drinks or breakfast items can be accessible. Call All Kitchen Zones A well-designed kitchen incorporates all the different work zones and celebrates the fact that modem families live in their kitchen — Use it well! No matter the shape or style, a harmonious workspace can be achieved by following the basic plan of kitchen zones.