Reconsidering Luxury, Or, Does The Viking Stove Make The Cook?

Posted by: Cathy Arnst on January 08

Over the holidays I visited the friend of a friend who had a new, showcase kitchen. Viking stove, Miele dishwasher, Sub-zero refrigerator, acres of marble counters, two sinks—your basic $100,000 luxury kitchen. As someone who loves to cook, and has a small kitchen filled with low-end appliances, I was drooling. Then the kitchen’s owner confessed to me—she hates to cook! Her family usually eats take-out.

Which brings me to Mark Bittman, a brilliant cook and the author of The Minimalist recipe column in the New York Times, all about making great meals simply. He also has a blog, Bitten, and in a November 17 entry about braising turkey, there was a picture of him working away in his very small kitchen. It’s typical of a New York apartment: A narrow galley with a plain white stove and miniscule counter covered in Formica.

Well, forget the turkey. Commenters were agog over his kitchen. In fact, Bittman fans were soon questioning whether he really created his recipes in the 7 ft x 6 ft space, as he claimed. Fellow New York Times blogger Tara Parker-Pope rose to his defense and interviewed Bittman on her own blog, Well, in an entry called, appropriately, Mark Bittman’s Bad Kitchen. Said Bittman:

I got a bunch of e-mails that say, “Can you believe all this stuff about your crummy kitchen?” But the whole idea is that you don’t need a fancy kitchen. You don’t need fancy equipment, and you don’t need fancy recipes. When I show people my kitchen, they believe it. But I hate my kitchen also. I bump my shins on the dishwasher. There is not enough room to put stuff. It’s a terrible stove. It’s a terrible dishwasher. I don’t have room for the pots I’d like to have. I’ve cooked in much worse, though. I’m used to it. Someday I’ll grow up and get a real kitchen….I once cooked for six months in what amounted to a basement with a hot plate, microwave and a refrigerator and sink. Not only did I cook for six months, but I wrote the column for six months. It was funny. People like to cook when they’re camping and in other places where the situation is less than adequate. For some reason they think they have to have a great kitchen to cook at home, but it’s not true.

The controversy continued, to the point where Bittman felt obliged to write an article about the whole brouhaha in the print edition of The New York Times last month, So Your Kitchen Is Tiny. So What? He pointed out that professional chefs were not at all amazed by his work space, and interviewed two of the best, Mario Batali and Marcella Hazan. Said Batali:

Only bad cooks blame the equipment. I can make almost every dish in my restaurants on four crummy electric burners with a regular oven — as can just about anyone else who cares to.

Plenty of other foodies have weighed in since. Food writer Ed Levine, on his blog Serious Eats: New York, asked whether a small kitchen is just an excuse not to cook, and soon had 63 comments. Over on iVillage’s kitchen forum, where posters usually debate the merits of one luxury brand stove versus another, there is a long thread with much praise for Bittman and his kitchen, although plenty of people also admitted that they really appreciate their high-end cooking palaces.

I have to admit, I’ve cooked on a $5,000 Wolf stove, and I’ve cooked on crappy apartment-size stoves, and the food always tastes the same. In fact, when I redid my own kitchen a few years ago, I quickly decided on what I didn’t need: a convection oven, water from the refrigerator door, a stainless steel tub in the dishwasher (or for that matter, stainless steel on the outside). I did spring for granite counters, and love them with a passion for their low maintenance, but as for the appliances…well, my father worked for Sears and I have an abiding loyalty to Kenmore as a result.

So readers, what would you have in your ideal kitchen? Those of you with high-end stoves—are they worth it? Is it all about impressing the neighbors, or do luxury kitchen brands really make a difference?

Here’s what Bittman has to say on the subject:

In the middle of all this, a young journalist called and asked what, after all, I considered essential in a modern kitchen? “A stove, a sink, a refrigerator, some pots and pans, a knife and some serving spoons,” I answered. “All else is optional.”

Click on and you will find a chicken recipe that I’ve been making since I had one of the smallest kitchens known to man (carved out of a hallway in a 13-ft wide apartment, it had no counters.) It’s simple, slightly exotic so you can serve it to company, and it only needs one pan and one burner.

Braised Chicken with Oranges and Almonds

2 tbsps olive oil
3 lb chicken, cut into serving pieces and seasoned with salt and pepper
2 onions, chopped fine
3/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tbsps sherry (optional, but a nice touch)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 navel oranges, peeled and separated (I often use clementines or tangerines, easier to section)

In a large pan heat the oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown the chicken, in batches if necessary. Transfer with slotted spoon to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tbsps of fat and cook the onions over moderate heat, stirring, until they are golden. Stir in the orange juice, broth, sherry, cinammon, cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken, skin side up, and almonds, and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the orange sections and simmer, covered, for another 5 to 10 minutes, until chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken to a warm platter and cover with foil to keep warm (or stick in very low oven). Boil the sauce, stirring, until it is slightly thickened and spoon it over the chicken.
Serves 4

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