Last Tuesday, I checked out the set of chef Eric Ripert’s show Avec Eric in NYC (see the photo of the chef with C&G Editorial Assistant Hollis Romanelli and me below!). The set is a fabulous Poggenpohl kitchen that is as beautiful as it is functional. Eric feels cooking should be social and stress-free, so he wanted a kitchen where the things he uses most often are easily accessible so he’s not running from one end to the other all the time, and where he could enjoy his guests while preparing a meal. Poggenpohl to the rescue, with a plan that met all of his requirements, and did it beautifully too.
Poggenpohl designed an extremely user-friendly kitchen that’s also totally gorgeous, with clean white cabinetry, a large center island, stainless steel Miele appliances and sleek cabinet hardware. Eric’s ovens and stove are very close to each other, so while he’s cooking something on the stovetop, he can easily turn around and check on something in the oven. He likes cooking to be relaxing and social, so Poggenpohl gave him an outward-facing stove, instead of putting it against the wall as we see so often, so Eric can chat with his guests while preparing a meal. The island has a large built-in cutting board around the stovetop, so he has enough room to cut and lay out all of his ingredients right beside him so they’re ready to go while he’s cooking. The trashcan is close to the stove, not under the sink on the other side of the kitchen, making clean up a breeze, and he has lots of drawers close by as well for spices and cooking oils he uses frequently. To get your own functional, beautiful Poggenpohl kitchen visit their showroom at the Architects & Designers Building, NYC, 150 East 58th Street, (212) 355-3666 or poggenpohl.com