Kitchens for Cooks: Planning Your Perfect Kitchen [Hardcover]

Deborah Krasner (Author), William Stites (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1994

Abundant full-color photographs and line drawings highlight a groundbreaking approach for all budgets to kitchen remodeling, offering ideas, advice on equipment, tips on environmental protection storage, and much more. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Food preparation has gradually come into its own as something of an art form. Krasner ( From Celtic Hearths ) makes old material new by reconceptualizing the kitchen and dividing it into four work zones: wet, dry, hot and cold. The logic of her premise and its clear presentation make for a good book. Krasner's approach also rescues the kitchen from the sexism that supposes only women know what to do there, and that the room doesn't need to be attractive--or even functional. Strictly speaking, Krasner's stance isn't new, but her treatment is precise. Her advice is intended for the upscale homeowner and for whom she calls the avid cook; no middle ground is reserved for the middle class. We're rewarded by her suggestions, and by some entertaining photographs of cooks and their kitchens. (It's difficult to make kitchens a glamorous photographic subject matter. Too often, the clean, hard surfaces aren't picture-friendly, and photographers hide the culinary machinery. But not here.) Source recommendations for kitchen equipment are quality-conscious. Only the pricey and excellent are mentioned. Illustrated.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Studio (July 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670845078
• ISBN-13: 978-0670845071
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,777,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My newest book GOOD MEAT comes directly out of the life I lead in rural Vermont. I live in a converted barn on a dirt road with my husband, two cats and a dog. Until very recently we also cared for a dozen laying hens, a couple of Icelandic sheep, and a mixed flock of meat birds including ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl and chickens. All of them are pictured in the book, which was photographed in and around my home.

GOOD MEAT is about finding and cooking grass-fed and pastured meat. Such meat is the opposite of industrial meat -- it is sustainable because it nourishes the earth, is in balance with the land's ability to absorb nutrients and support grazing animals, and supports diverse ecosystems. Grass-fed and pastured meat is increasingly shown to be better for human health, both in terms of nutrients and in terms of fat content. While it's lower in fat than industrial meat, what fat there is turns out to be "good" fat. However, leaner meat can be tricky to cook well, so GOOD MEAT is devoted to showing cooks how to cook it to advantage, using every part of the animal from nose to tail.

In addition, GOOD MEAT is designed to support those who may want to buy their meat directly from farmers in whole, half or quarter animal quantities. Such frozen meat is substantially less expensive than buying grass-fed and pastured meat by the piece fresh at retail, but requires that a consumer fill out a cut sheet detailing how they want their meat cut and packaged. With the help of butcher Adam Tiberio, GOOD MEAT offers a "decision tree" for each animal, showing how to choose the best cuts for you and your cooking style. The book is organized by animal, by primal and sub-primal, and by retail cuts, so that anyone can find a recipe for any part, including offal, fat and odd bits.

Each of my books have been an investigation, detailing the process of my own understanding. From a feminist re-vision of kitchen design to olive oil, I love figuring out what about accepted wisdom makes sense, and what can be replaced with a more logical or sensible perspective. While GOOD MEAT is the most personal book I've written, it is also very much in line with my six previous books on design and food. I loved every minute I worked on it!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a kitchen book without the "Magic Triangle"!, February 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Kitchens for Cooks: Planning Your Perfect Kitchen (Paperback)

This is truly a book tailored to individuals. Deborah Kraser throws out the convential 36" counter height and magic work triangle and has written a book that is truly for people who cook! The book is divided into two sections, detailed tips on how to plan a kitchen just for you, and examples of kitchens that have used this type of method, including Chefs, Cookbook Authors, Caterers and Avid Cooks. I do not claim to be any of the above, yet I have read this book many times and am still learning from it each time.

To quote from the introduction, "This is not a how-to book. Rather it is a 'how-to-think-about' book designed to provide ideas for creating well-planned and comfortable kitchens. Such personal, well-fitting, and idiosyncratic spaces can only enhance our ability to work well within them."

Since purchasing this book several months ago, I have designed and built my dream kitchen, which functions beautifully and looks great too! "Kitchens for Cooks" is a great book for anyone who spends time in a kitchen, not just cooks!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kitchen solutions: yes and no, August 11, 2000

By 

David Wihowski (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kitchens for Cooks: Planning Your Perfect Kitchen (Paperback)

The author's preface gives you the most concise description of this book: it is a "how-to-think-about" book. It is design book. It is meant for people who really cook in their kitchens and would like the kitchen to support--not hinder--their cooking efforts. This book is not for microwave cooks or folks who want a "show-off" kitchen. The author asks many questions about current kitchen design standards. She also offers many possible solutions to the questions she poses.

There are a number of things which make this book valuable: 1) most home-builders, architects and even many kitchen designers are not real cooks hence their designs do not usually work well for cooks; the author is a cook and that perspective influences the whole book. 2) The author considers the kitchen not only as a gathering place but as a place in which it is very likely that there will be more than 1 person working (2 cooks, children helping mom and/or dad, guests, etc.). 3) The author realizes the need for kitchen to fit to their users. 4) The author tries to shed light on making the kitchen flexible.

Some of the many kitchen standards the author questions (and offers solutions for) are: the kitchen triangle, single counter height, countertops made of one product (e.g. all laminate or all solid surface), traffic flow, realistic appliance usage, cabinet types and many others.

I do not necessarily agree with her WET/DRY/COLD/HOT solution to the kitchen triangle but it was a useful tool in thinking about kitchen design.

Probably the most useful aspect of the book is that it made me really think about how we use the kitchen and how it could support our work and fun in it. Also extremely useful was the look at a number of real kitchens used by real cooks (chefs, cookbook authors, etc.). The photos, though they were not coffee table book quality, were very helpful in seeing actual examples of some of the suggested solutions.

The text is as boring as a high school textbook, but this book is not meant to be a novel. The are a some hokey "green" suggestions, but some are at least a little valuable in making one think about environmental issues. Unfortunately, the author glosses over the most important environmental solution: a well-designed kitchen is one that is not wasteful. It will not waste appliances (e.g. having unused appliances or having appliances that are too large or powerful for what you need or vice versa). It will not waste electricity in ineffective lighting; task lighting is energy efficient. Unused extravances are a waste of building supplies. Etc.

As to the reviewer's comment that this book is a "green" tract, I disagree. I am not "green" by any stretch of the imagination; I simply believe in sensible, realistic care for the environment we live in. The book does not spend that much time on "green" issues: most of the text and illustrations are about DESIGN issues. As I mentioned above, there are some hokey green suggestions, but they are really pretty much in one chapter. You can probably just skip most of the environmental stuff.

It's not a perfect book, but it is worth the price if you are a cook who needs a better kitchen. On you own, it is not likely that you will have thought about everything that the author has.

I found it a very useful book in coming up with the design of my new kitchen.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some limitations, but well worth it for design information, June 5, 2000

By 

Melissa "Mom of 2 boys" (Northern CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kitchens for Cooks: Planning Your Perfect Kitchen (Paperback)

Kitchens for Cooks is an excellent resource for people who are passionate about cooking, and want to design a custom kitchen that works. It isn't for the everyday remodeler who wants some design tips or who would be most comfortable in a traditional kitchen.

Breaking up the zones into hot, cold, etc. seems obvious upon first read, but it makes sense when working with either unusually shaped kitchens, or when building multiple work stations for family cooking. The author breaks away from the traditional triangle theory - about time! - and shares how professional kitchens are laid out based on the type of food preparation for each area.

Some of the ideas, while intuitive, were groundbreaking for me, since the book opens up the options of multiple height workstations, different counter materials throughout the kitchen, open shelving and/or drawers instead of cabinets. Much of what I'd read in other kitchen design books was standard old-kitchen design. I also appreciated the author's suggestions on incorporating green design into new kitchens. For those of us who live in towns with well water and septic tanks, these considerations aren't optional, since poor kitchen design can have a large impact on your water supply and disposal.

If you are starting from scratch in either a new home, or scrapping your existing kitchen, I highly recommend this book. If you're looking for quick remodeling tips or traditional design, this isn't the book for you. The example kitchens are a bit lacking, and don't use many of the author's design ideas, but otherwise the book is a unique addition to kitchen design.