Designing the Two Cook Kitchen

by James Mahoney

Authors Note: Since most builders, architects and even kitchen design professionals are not real cooks, many kitchen designs fail to design kitchens for two cooks.

The kitchen is not only a gathering place, but it also is a place where it is very likely that there will be more than one person working (two cooks, mom and/or dad, etc.). Good kitchen design ideas must allow for more flexibility in the kitchen, allowing kitchens to be able to accommodate the needs of their users.

Planning your kitchen design idea for a two-cook kitchen is a necessity if you have two cooks who love to cook together; however, they may have very different styles of cooking. If you are building a new kitchen, or remodeling existing one, the National Kitchen & Bath Association suggests that your kitchen design idea takes into consideration your needs. They also suggest considering how many cooks will use your kitchen and then consider designing your kitchen to accommodate the cooks with different styles and needs.

If the two cooks in your kitchen tend to work at the same time, you may find implementing a two-cook kitchen design idea can make cooking a whole lot easier. A two-cook kitchen design means creating extra space for counter work. Your kitchen design idea will also need to consider separate storage spaces for each cook to reduce the number of trips to and from the cabinets to the work center. You should also plan on having additional space for walkway clearances, allowing for 48 to 54 inches of space for the two cooks to pass each other.

In your kitchen design idea, kitchen countertop space should be increased to accommodate the needs of both cooks, allowing for easier access of the shared kitchen equipment. Better yet, consider this kitchen design idea: there should be a special work center designed to meet the particular needs of the cooks and a baking center or grilling area that would be separate from the main work triangle. The countertop should be varied in height to accommodate for the needs (and heights) of the cooks.

When developing your kitchen design ideas for a two- cook household, it is important to examine the patterns of meal preparation. Since no two cooks prepare meals in exactly the same manner, it is likely that no two people will cook together in exactly the same manner. Your kitchen design ideas should reflect those differences.

In some households, for instance, the wife may be more into baking, so she would primarily use the oven. She would need to have a mixer by her kitchen area, access to the necessary ingredients, a second sink and a garbage disposal. One great design includes kitchen farmhouse sinks for a classic style with ample cooking and prep space. The husband does the majority of the cooking in the home, so their kitchen design idea should allow him to be closer to the range top, stove, and refrigerator.

If the kitchen has a rather long rectangle, it would be necessary for a kitchen design idea to include an untraditional island. Perhaps an island that would be narrow at one end and wider at the other to provide room for seating would be ideal. Also, the more counter space that each cook has is better. A good kitchen design idea has different areas of the counter designated for specific duties.

Kitchen island and peninsulas can may excellent work surfaces, particularly if they are sufficiently deep (about 36 inches). If the counter is deep enough, then it is possible for two people to be able to work across from each other at the same time.

For a two-cook kitchen design idea, a work triangle should be placed for each cook. It may be possible for one leg of the primary and secondary triangles to be shared, but the two should not cross each other’s’ path. Appliances may be shared or separated. In an open kitchen design, the stove should be accessible from all sides so that two people can cook together. Also, this open kitchen design idea would allow for contact with guests or the rest of the family.

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