A. It's true--men today enjoy cooking just as much as women. It’s a great way to unwind, remove stress, and be creative all at the same time. Designing the right kitchen can be like buying a new car and just as expensive. There are many options today for the home chef from Viking ovens, silent dishwashers, to convection/steamer/day ovens.

The mistake most often seen in designing a "Chefs Kitchen" is not having enough counter space. Today we entertain more at home especially if one owns a second home. Top of my list is having plenty of counter space for planning, preparing and space-gathering. Kitchens have become one of the main gathering areas for friends and family. That’s why so many new home floor plans have the kitchen, breakfast, and family room all in one open area. People want to be where the action is and that’s in the kitchen. Even the remodeling industry has picked up on this movement; that’s why kitchen remodeling is the number one area to remodel and has the best payback values at resale, nationally.

Another often-forgotten aspect in designing a new kitchen is getting the look you want. Forget what’s trendy or most expensive, if it’s not for you. Design the kitchen the way you really want it, keeping the simple things in mind. Stirring spoons, tongs, hot pads, spice racks within arms reach. Things like the flip-out tray drawers in front of the kitchen sink and Lazy Susan are major space utilization areas.

Viking oven now has competition; "Gaggenau," a commercial appliance manufacturer is now making a residential oven which keeps the food moist and heated for long periods of time.

Oversized kitchen sinks also gets overlooked in planning a Chefs kitchen. Research the latest in sinks, and find one that allows you room to work with hot spaghetti and water in a bowl. Also research the newest in faucet designs. Today we have so many great choices.

Granite, metal, and solid surface counter tops (like Wilsonart) are still on top of the list for kitchen surfaces. Locate a good kitchen cabinet designer in your area to work out your cabinet storage space. Don’t be afraid to bring in glass cabinet doors in some of your upper cabinets. This is a hot look and becomes a display area.

The cutting surface also gets overlooked; design trends are not building in the cutting boards into counter tops today. Most use free standing cutting boards. I like the wood cutting boards over plastic boards. Food won’t slip on wood like it will on plastic. If you have a large wood cutting board and you can’t place it in the dishwasher or one that’s on rollers, clean often with ¼ bleach and ¾ water-mix and rinse to kill any potential bacteria.

Keep a good knife sharper on hand; nothing worse than a dull knife at the Thanksgiving dining presentation. Granite counter tops are still hot and another item that’s hot is the refrigerator doors that match the cabinets. Have the cabinet company make the panel and attach it to your refrigerator doors. This simple change really makes a world of difference on the overall look of a kitchen cabinet design.

I’m sure not everyone has room in their kitchen to add another dishwasher or another kitchen sink. However, one of my remodeling projects won the State of Texas "Best Kitchen Design" award because of this different style and design with two sinks and dishwashers. This was a large kitchen and both the wife and husband wanted to work in the kitchen at the same time. "So maybe we can say-if we cook together, we will stay together." Note: a noisy dishwasher is a real turn-off. Check into the dishwashers on the market that are whisper-quiet.

Here’s the biggest tip for the "Home Chef;" clean all your sponges or rags really well to prevent e-coli bacteria from growing inside of them. Get into the habit of dropping them in the dishwasher to sterilize. Each time you wipe your counter tops with a dirty sponge or rag that has been only hand rinsed and is not sanitized, you also might be contaminating the entire food surface area.

Speaking of cooking, if you have a special recipe and you would like to share it with us please email me at neidner@consolidated.net and I will also mention your name for sharing that secret recipe with our readers.