Open Kitchens

For many years, the commercial kitchen was a space that was unknown to the world outside the double doors separating it from the dining room and diners. It was a place that had a reputation for being loud, sweaty, smelly, dirty, and, oftentimes, aggressive. The restaurant kitchen was the place where food was cooked and assembled, usually in a predictable manner, and served to diners. There was no glamour in food preparation or for any of those preparing it. Therefore, the separation between the two spaces served as an inviolable boundary. Since the 1980s through the 21st century, kitchens have changed in their structure, allowing them to be organized differently than in the past. Much of the change is related to the new status among ...