Charmed Life
“It looks just like Julia Child’s kitchen,” my mother said.
“Exactly the idea,” I replied, beaming.
We were gazing upon the wonder that used to be an empty wall next to my stove, and now is my new pegboard pan system ala Ms. Julia. Like most folks, I’ve never had enough convenient storage for pots and pans in my kitchen (don’t even get me started on the “roomy” corner cabinet the kitchen designer at Home Depot sold me on—it’s dark and scary in there! Who know what lurks?) But, after seeing the last few scenes in “Julie and Julia,” in which Julia’s husband Paul installs pegboard and sketches out just where each pan should hang, I got inspired. The pegboard went up on Friday and I spent a satisfying hour on Saturday arranging all my stuff on it.
I’ve noticed that now, when I walk in the kitchen, my eye immediately goes to the pegboard. For some folks, that would be a downside. There’s certainly something workaday about having all your cooking equipment exposed—especially when it’s not glistening copper pots and such. It makes the kitchen look, well, like a laboratory. And that’s kind of against the grain these days, I think. Look at ads for kitchen designers or even the home design articles in Style and you see that so many kitchens today are built as calm and serene showplaces, rooms in which to sip a cup of tea, pluck a perfect peach from a fruit bowl, or perhaps eat takeout. But they are not work spaces by any means. Maybe that’s connected to the argument Michael Pollan makes in a recent New York Times article, in which he points out that while many more people are watching cooking TV shows these days than in the past, many fewer people are actually cooking. I’d venture to say that (at least before the recession) many more people than in the past were renovating their kitchens, but fewer are actually cooking in them.
The other day I had the pleasure of hanging out with John Shields, the owner of Gertrude’s at the BMA, and Tony Geraci, a former chef who is now head of the Baltimore City Public Schools food service, and both shocked me by saying they have tiny galley home kitchens. Tony literally has a galley kitchen—he lives on a sailboat. But he said as long as he has a gas burner and a lighter, he can make great food. And John said the same, though he allowed that it helps to have a few stainless steel racks and an extra refrigerator in the garage for entertaining!
I’m not saying I don’t want a roomier kitchen than the 10 X 10 space I have. I love my husband, but I’d prefer not to have to dance around him in the mornings when we’re trying to get breakfast for ourselves and our daughter. And it would also be great to be able to open the refrigerator door wide without asking the person sitting at the counter to “just scoot over a little toward the wall.” And, well, it would be swell if my daughter had a drawer for all of her beloved tupperware and lids, one that isn’t right under my feet when I’m washing dishes at the sink.
Just the same, I love my kitchen and I love my pegboard. I do plan to paint it a lime green just as soon as I get around to it. I’m not sure Julia would approve of the shade—not very French—but it suits me great.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/09/09 at 12:59 PM
