What couldn't you live without in your kitchen? Post Reply

[mum2000]

What exactly does a waste disposal do?

[dudette]

You put all the waste food down it (also egg shells and tea bags), put a stopper in, and then depending on the make either twist the stopper or press a switch and it grinds everything up, then flushes it down the drain. Stops you having to scrap plates into a bin (which once you've got used to not doing it becomes quite yucky). It's like a giant liquidiser situated in your sink drain.

[mum2000]

Does it not clog your drains up? I ask because my drains seem to clog up quite frequently and I never put anything down them!

[dudette]

Never had a problem with it clogging the drains although most of our food is vegetarian so there isn't much fat going down there.

And yes, a compost is more environmentally friendly but I guess it's better than landfill and Wandsworth isn't exactly known for its eco-warrior residents, judging by the cars most people drive

[LisaAnderson]

AVOID Fisher & Paykel dishwasher drawers! Dreadful.

I perservered with mine for 2 years - not wasking properly, forever getting blocked up - and very poor customer service, until I ended up replacing them with a fab Miele dishwasher. A waste of £900.....

[supermoomoo]

The combi/steam oven is a good substitute for a microwave if you aren't a believer in microwaves ( which I am not) - i know a lot of people extol the virtues of heating up things quickly in a microwave and I can certianly see the convenience it brings; particularly if you have a family - however I just dont trust the food that is cooked in microwaves so I opted for the combi/steam oven , plus I have a traditional oven as well.

The combi oven is great for making grills ( I know it sounds completely counter intuitive??!) whilst keeping the meat still moist inside but crispy sin outside bcos you can tweak the humidity levels in there. and if you do a lot of breads - the proofing function is a dream.

So is the defrost function and the "regenerate" - which is the equivalent of a microwave reheat "zap" - only thing is it doesnt kill the food or make it bone dry and chewy - takes longer though , aprox 1 min vs a 10min wait.

My vote is for miele or gagganeau...

[EatMoreCake]

Damn it! I have just googled Sola kitchens (mentioned earlier in thread) and now I have MASSIVE kitchen envy!!! This is such an interesting post, esp as we are planning a new kitchen ourselves. I am definitely factoring in a traditional larder cupboard and am going to try and keep as much stuff off the surfaces as possible, as I'm so messy I need all the help I can get

[MrsAmanda]

So now I want a walk-in larder ....

[EatMoreCake]

Swooning at the thought of a walk in larder. Who did you get it through? Fitted with kitchen or built separately?

[Nicolastic]

Top of my list on re-doing our kitchen 4 years ago, it gets loads of comments and I still love it is my pot filler tap. (See photo.) They've come across from the States and are used in commercial kitchens. It basically saves lugging a huge pasta pot to and fro the kitchen tap.

Also a wide hob but make sure you get 90cm, as an average 4 burner hob is 60cm wide which allows 30cms per pot. A 70cm width is a bit silly really on that logic for 5 burners.

I have a 60cm width pull out larder unit which I love but I think 2 x 30cm would have been better as its quite cumbersome to pull out and the children struggle. Still makes a good hiding place when I've burnt their supper....again!

I went for drawers and pullout units galore but now regret I don't have anywhere with fixed shelves for larger appliances. They're now hiding under the stairs (especially when they've burnt the supper.) Having said that, I've stuffed three Le Creuset casserole dishes into my pan drawer plus lids plus a number of other saucepans and it seems to cope.

If you buy a dishwasher on recommendation, make sure you go and see it in a salesroom as its the most practical of appliances and needs to work for you.

I have gone for bamboo worksurfaces and flooring which i love, its warm and mellow and relatively low maintenance. Happy to post photos.

Above all, have fun fitting your dream kitchen puzzle together!

[elna]

Hi. Jumping on this thread as also lucky enough to be planning new kitchen too.

I saw the recommendations for Sola so will contact them but wondered whether anyone had any experience of using DT Kitchens, the Poggen Pohl shop, on Lavender Hill?

We have had an initial consultation and they have been helpful so far (will see what quote is like ...) but have no idea what their reputation is.

Any feedback appreciated. Thanks.

[2009Kat]

We have literally just had a kitchen installed by DT kitchens. So far, we have been nothing but impressed with them. We bought one of their cheaper kitchens (from their basement) and they were so helpful and had great design ideas. Things got really delayed on our project and they were absolutely fine about it. pm me if you would like any more help.

[elna]

Thanks 2009Kat. That is very encouraging. Glad your installation has been a success.Will have a think of specific questions and send you PM.

[fionapm]

A full size fridge, freezer and wine fridge. We had 14 for Christmas and totally needed the space.

A dishwasher with two zones, so you don't have to turn the whole thing on, you can just wash half of it.

A larder, so you have all of your food ingredients in one place.

Two ovens, and at least 6 burners.

Underfloor heating - most floors that are easy to keep clean are also cold.

We don't use our insinkerator or our water filter tap.

Think carefully about your lighting, we have 5 light switches with dimmers and different zones, so it means the place can be lit up like a surgical theatre when I'm cooking, but then we can make it cosy and romantic, or normal or whatever.

[Writerlady]

As the last post on this fabulously useful thread was made well over a year ago i thought i would just see if anyone has anything else to add! We are planning our new kitchen now and any tips about anything at all from layout to appliances gratefully received!

Thank you!