Nick and Rena—London and New York transplants, respectively, who currently live with their two young children in Atlanta—cook a lot. In fact, their kitchen plays host to dozens of home-cooked meals every week. The whole family loves food. Taste, quality, and health are vitally important, but so are cost and logistical necessities. That means very few, if any, meals out, and no frozen dinners or processed foods. It also means a commitment to eating at home, and a lot of shopping, cooking, prepping, and cleaning.
There is no question that's a challenge. Nick has a penchant for very creative but somewhat labor intensive cooking. The kitchen is spacious and accommodates elaborate meals. A dishwasher helps reduce the fear of using too many pots and too many dishes.
The one appliance in constant rotation at this point is the immersion blender. Vegetables and grains are easily blended for their baby. Other than that, the kitchen is more about ingredients than the tools used to prepare those ingredients. Rena and Nick have acquired many great pots over the years and have little need for new-fangled or expensive gadgets. They know that it is not the appliance but the love of cooking and the desire to nurture their family that is most important to the success of their meals.
10 Questions for Nick
What inspires your kitchen and your cooking?
It relaxes me to cook. It's the center of our home. It's a way of traveling with children, easily (exploring other cultures from our dining table).
What is your favorite kitchen tool or element?
Knife
What's the most memorable meal you've ever cooked in this kitchen?
Braised lamb shank for a Passover soon after we arrived in Atlanta. That was probably one of the two times we've used our dining room.
Biggest challenge in your kitchen?
Cooking with other people.
Biggest indulgence or splurge in the kitchen?
iPad as recipe book. And Growler — re-fillable jug for draft beer.
Is there anything you hope to add or improve in your kitchen?
Maybe an espresso machine although the stovetop makes excellent espresso and maybe a larger external freezer. I crave nothing, really.
How would you describe your cooking style?
Precision in technique, but smell-based cooking.
Best cooking advice or tip you ever received:
Clean out the funnel of a stovetop espresso maker (Moka Pot) by blowing the grains out instead of banging it. De-seed bell pepper by slicing the bottom of the pepper and cracking it open. (The pepper instantly falls away from the seeds.) Make your own stock (I make beef, chicken, fish, and veggie).
What is your favorite cookbook?
The Foods and Wines of Spain by Penelope Casas
What are you cooking this week?
Pizza with anchovies, broccoli, mushrooms, and mozzarella; Pasta with broccoli paste, smoked trout and navy beans; Grilled salmon with grilled potatoes and roasted cauliflower; Jean-Georges Vongerichten's short ribs.
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(Images: Jill Slater)
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What a lovely tour! I want the recipes now, please! :-D
I especially like the bowed bookshelf and the pics on the fridge. The kitchen is a well built & maintained workhorse. Kudos!
I love this! It looks like a real kitchen in which real people cook.
They keep their wooden utensils in a different container from their plastic and metal utensils - I didn't know anyone else did that! And... Look at that booze shelf! Thing of beauty!
I would have enjoyed a few more shots of the kitchen. Love seeing inside people's drawers and cabinets...
nice to see a real kitchen with real people, not a kitchen that is not used. Thanks
Looks cozy and perfect.
Absolutely wonderful! Made me want to go home and cook. Changed my thoughts about my kitchen to It's not the kitchen, it's the cook!
I love his head lamp while grilling outside! Too funny! Love the photos. I think it's interesting that people with "regular" kitchens seem to cook way more often than people with the extravagant kitchens (or at least the peolple I know).
Does anyone know what brand cast iron pot that is beoing used to bake the bread? Looks nicer than what I usually see and also seems to be thinner (?), which would be nice.
This is a lovely kitchen, and Nick seems to be a gadgets man. I enjoyed the tour and like Suzeh would love to get the recipes.
Keep up the good work Faith and your team. You continue to encourage us to cook in our own kitchens, no matter how small they may be
Minimalist slow-rise bread, am I right? A staple in our household, too. Love the vintage Creuset. Looks very familiar to me.
Have never posted a comment here before but I have made thousands of meals in a kitchen that looks very much like the one above for my two kids and me, as well as family and friends. Just gave the kitchen an overhaul in order to sell the house and while it's nice to have new counters etc., I never thought that the old one was lacking in anything except buyer's appeal (nor were the delicious meals we made!) Bravo and bon appetit!
This is one of my favorite kitchen tours to date!!!...Felt so comfortable and at home as I was looking at the photos...very much like my own kitchen....and their thoughts on cooking are very much like ours...we like to feed our family home cooked meals that way we know what we're putting into our food and our bodies!!! Thoroughly enjoyed this tour and interview!!! :)
This "tour" is a slideshow following the owner making a meal, not a kitchen tour. While I appreciate that the family uses their kitchen, more shots showing the overall kitchen layout, storage, and materials (counters, flooring, etc.) would have been great, particularly since I live in Atlanta and it's not often we see Atlanta homes featured.