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By Sang Yoon, Chef/Owner of Lukshon Restaurant, Los Angeles

GOOD IN THE HOOD

Anyone who has lived in a cramped N.Y.C. studio apartment knows that a well-seasoned steak (typically) requires that you turn off the smoke detection. Although my home kitchens are bigger these days, I still rely on an uber-competent ventilation system. Most home hoods are painfully anemic and still entail an ancillary effort to expel smell or smoke -- which is total BS when you are thrown a fancy dinner party. As in my commercial kitchens, I will never compromise on ventilation; a powerful hood fan is the least sexy thing you never knew you needed.

DEEP THOUGHTS

Deep > long. Say it with me. Home buyers are wooed by yards on yards of kitchen counter, disregarding the most important metric: depth. Deep counters allow you to keep everyday-use items (such as my favorite oversize coffeemaker) visible and within reach, so unless you have the arm span of an NBA all-star, counter depth is key. In addition to making cooking more efficient, deep counters provide a place to lay out tools like a pro: a stack of prep bowls, a line of cutting boards, a display of saute pans. Cooks become even more proficient when frequently used items have their own place of prominence.

GET LIT

If a beautiful kitchen has dim lighting, will it ever receive the complements necessary to make you feel okay with the huge $$$ spent? Let's say you've been working on knife skills but you can't see without a flashlight. You get it: Lighting is necessary to see. Lighting is necessary to DO. I like a kitchen filled with natural light from skylights, plus well-placed recessed lighting on a dimmer. Dimmers let you brighten for cooking and lower for moody, in-kitchen dining.

WHAT YOU DON'T SEE

I hate the way microwaves look, but I f---ing love leftovers -- THAT is my burden in life. In my home kitchens, you will usually find a microwave below waist height, hidden in a counter. "That's a beautiful microwave," said no one ever. I also like to build spacious, specially created nooks for large-footprint/rarely used appliances. I need my sous vide machine, but it doesn't live next to my coffee machine. Counters are for workhorses only.

YOU WILL THANK ME LATER

Another overlooked necessity in the kitchen is flooring. People (and builders!) typically pick form over function. As a rule, I will always choose a nonporous tile option for home kitchens -- wood floors trap dirt, and marble will always be a poor man's Slip 'N Slide. A nonporous tile floor will stay clean and stain-free and is basically indestructible.

WATER FEATURES

A sink that you could bathe in is all fine and good. However, I find that two sinks are better than one behemoth. In a perfect world, dirty dishes would wash themselves as you cook. But in the real world, dirty dishes in a sink can mingle with recently blanched vegetables in an ice bath and freshly drained pasta in a colander. To me, this is ick. Two sinks allow for multiple functions at the same time. Additionally, I always install a couple of water "extras" -- an instant-hot faucet and a cold filtered faucet.

A LITTLE COMMERCIAL-KITCHEN FLEX TO IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS

It used to be the case that commercial equipment was exclusive to commercial spaces, having specific structural and power requirements, unable to be integrated into a home kitchen. However, some serious commercial companies are now making a play for the avid home cook. Today there are home versions of professional steam-and-bake combi ovens I use at work. Great baking results can now be had in your jammies.
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