Cooking and entertaining in the great outdoors is a time-honored pastime and one that can be as simple or elegant as the host desires. Options for a sophisticated, five-star outdoor kitchen and dining experience abound today in everything from appliances and cabinetry to lighting and surfaces that allow us to feed our penchant for bringing great culinary experiences outdoors.
“As the home becomes more of a lifestyle and entertaining retreat, the kitchen – indoors and out – becomes an increasingly important element,” says David Lyon, Vice President of Retail for Blackman. “The addition of a well-designed outdoor kitchen to a home is a true investment in the property.”
“Outdoor kitchens are an extension of the home,” says Katie Lee, culinary personality and co-host of The Food Network’s The Kitchen & Beach Bites with Katie Lee on the Cooking Channel, who stresses, “The most important thing for an outdoor kitchen is the same as in indoor kitchen: it must be functional.”
CHANGING LIFESTYLES & ACCOMMODATING MATERIALS | “We are living outside more than ever, even in the colder weather,” Lyon says. “It’s becoming a year-round lifestyle.”
It’s an idea that first took hold on the West coast and in the South, where more temperate year-round climates lend to extended time spent outdoors and complete rooms designed for enjoying life en plein air. But thanks to advances like radiant heating for exterior environments, the lifestyle has extended to areas like the Northeast where colder seasons used to mark the end of outdoor cooking.
“The options now are very exciting,” Lyon says of the materials available for designing outdoor kitchens and living spaces. “The outdoor kitchen doesn’t need to be shut down for the winter.”
It also doesn’t need to skip any of the refinements of an indoor kitchen. “When I was designing my outdoor kitchen, I wanted to be sure that I had enough counter space to spread out and cook, and also use it for setting up a buffet,” Lee says. “If you’re short on space, you can get a bar cart to set up with all of your cooking needs and wheel it out beside the grill.”
Lyon points to stainless steel as a great option for exterior cabinets as the material will acquire a patina over time and, for those who want their surfaces to maintain the look they have on day one of installation, there is Dekton by Cosentino, a counter and floor surface that is UV resistant and impervious to staining.
Companies like Brown Jordan, known already for their sophisticated take on outdoor furnishings, have made the move to expand their offerings and coordinate some of those furniture lines with cabinetry designed with all the attractiveness of indoor options but crafted to withstand the elements. Blackman has brought in these products and more to satisfy the elevated needs of designing for the outdoors. And the notion of grand outdoor spaces has spread well beyond the suburbs and summer properties.
“We’re seeing an explosion of this in the city as well,” Lyon says. “You have people with sizable terraces in the city and they’re replicating this outdoor lifestyle there.”
CULINARY OPTIONS | While the idea of a cookout used to lead outdoor chefs to believe their options were limited, cooking outdoors today lends itself to advanced culinary opportunities that are difficult or impossible to achieve indoors.
“Ribs cooked in a smoker are so much different than those done in an oven,” Lee says. “Outdoor cooking lends itself to all of those wonderful flavors.”
It also lends itself to ideas we didn’t until recently in the states view as outdoor activities. The Tuscan pizza oven, for example, is the top selling appliance and Lyon noted many designers and homeowners making the move to install complete brick oven operations in their outdoor spaces.
“I have an outdoor pizza oven and I love having friends for a pizza party,” says Lee, who has also authored several cookbooks. “I make the dough and then let everyone choose their own toppings.”
It’s those combined elements of discovery, togetherness and new opportunities that are fast making the outdoor kitchen the hottest room in the house, even when the temperatures dip. “Even when it’s cold outside, people want to use their equipment,” Lee says of outdoor kitchens. “Just bundle up and go throw some sausages on the grill, even if it’s snowing!”
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