mise en place….

I have been cooking for a very long time. In fact, I really can’t recall when I first started spending time in the kitchen, I just remember always wanting to be in there. It was a place of solace. I have so many great memories spent in the kitchen with my mom and my nan, my first two cooking teachers.

My first cooking badge when I was in the Cubs was my cooking badge. In grade 2, our class made a cookbook for Mother’s Day gifts, and I used a recipe for cottage pudding that I still make today.

The kitchen has always been my central to my life. It is my happy place.

But the kitchen I had in my home was not a happy place. It was in serious needing of an major update, and did it ever get one.

My old kitchen counter didn’t give me a lot of space to work.


The stove was tucked into a dark and dingy corner, where the paint in the wall bubbled because it was too close to the heat. The fan just recirculated the smoke filled air.


The stairs to the basement sat right in the middle of the house wasting a lot of valuable space.


This was the main load bearing wall the divided kitchen from the living room. The staircase to the basement ran along the other side of this wall.


The walls are gone and there is a massive hole in the floor.


The mostly finished kitchen. I still have a few details that need to be finished off.


I love the new fridge. The bottom section is the freezer, divided into two sections each with sliding drawers similar to the crisper draws of most fridges.


The island top measures 5’x9′, with an overhang on the living room side. I hope to add some stools soon.


A good sink is essential, and this one is a great sink. Its an extra deep sink made deeper since it was put in as a undermounted sink.


Having a stainless steel bench next to the stove is amazing to have. It gives me lots of space to work.


I had a stainless steel backsplash put up behind the stove. The walling near the stove and along that wall is actually vinyl flooring, which I selected to make sure I could give it a good scrubbing.


Having the dishwasher in close proximity to both the sink and the cupboards where the dishes go is going to be super convenient. There is an extra deep drawer under the sink for all the cleaning supplies. The sliding drawer the the right of the sink is where the garbage hides.


So that’s the new kitchen. It was a long process to get it to where it is, and its not finished yet.

So, what’s next? Why do a whole blog post about the kitchen renovation?

Well, like any reasonable chef, I am always planning ahead, and plans I’ve made. The hope is to use this blog as a place to showcase some food pictures, tell a few stories, share a few tips, and even post a few videos helping you to make better food.

Here’s to a brave new venture.