Efficiency is important in building the ideal kitchen—professional or otherwise. Celebrated chef Rolando Laudico helps homeowners build the right kitchen suitable for their needs. Just simply answer these three questions:
What’s your space like?
In addition to taking note of dimensions, considering where the kitchen will be built is just as important.
Condo-dwellers, for example, are likely to have less room for bulky appliances and fixtures, while those who live in relatively bigger houses are likely to have more space to work with. Those who only have small space may opt for a personal refrigerator or a one-door model, and a built-in hob like those from La Germania’s Euro series or a cooking range (an oven with a built-in stove on top).
Another thing to consider is the exhaust system. Chef Lau notes, “It’s usually the most overlooked piece of equipment, but it’s very important to have a good exhaust in your kitchen. Especially when you live in a condominium where space is small and the windows always stay closed, you need to have a range hood or else your whole place will smell like food for days.”
How often are you going to cook?
This question also includes the number of persons who will eat and the type of dishes that will be prepared in the kitchen.
For newly independent young professionals living in a condominium or apartment, the typical kitchen routine involves basic food prep for one or two persons. Therefore, a single or double-burner stove should suffice.
On the other hand, homemakers who cook relatively more complex dishes for at least three people, and more regularly, would benefit from having both a cooktop and an oven to accommodate their daily needs. A cooking range would be the smart choice, but alternatively, homemakers can go with a built-in hob plus a “combi-microwave” oven set-up.
A combi-microwave oven combines the reheat and defrost features of a microwave, and the grilling, baking, and roasting functions of a conventional oven in one compact appliance.
What type of cooking appliances are you most comfortable with?
According to Chef Laudico, choosing the technology of the stove boils down to what the person who will be using it is comfortable with.
With gas stoves, the flames are a reliable temperature indicator, and they have control knobs that make for easier adjustments. However, one must ensure that food sediment and grease buildup do not clog the burners. Having to regularly replace the LPG tank when it runs out is also an added task.
For most homes, an induction cooktop is a good choice. It works by using electromagnetism to heat the pan and not the hob surface. Induction cooktops are also the easiest to clean because food spills don’t get baked into the surface and there are no crevices for food sediments to get stuck in.
Further, most induction hobs have electronic displays with touch-button temperature settings.
“As a chef, I need as much control and flexibility as I can get when it comes to adjusting cooking temperature. The great thing with the La Germania induction hob I’m using right now is that it actually gives me the best of both worlds—it has knobs that give me that same feel and level of control as cooking with an old-school gas stove; it gives me a lot of freedom and precision with the heat settings combined with the ease of induction cooking,” shares Chef Lau.
